Osmanthus Green Tea

After two pretty disappointing tea experiences in one day, it was time to fall back on something I know I love. I have a whole bunch of new teas sitting there waiting to be tried, but oh well! Sometimes you just need a familiar cup.

This is one of the teas I got with my $100 certificate. I bought a lot of teas with it that I wasn’t familiar with or even sure that I’d like, and this was definitely one of them! I’ve never tried anything osmanthus flavored, and descriptions I looked up seemed pretty vague (peachy? floral? vegetal? malty?)—but hey, it’s free tea, I might as well take a chance! Boy, am I happy I did. Osmanthus is a flower, and it’s certainly quite floral, but in a deeper way than some other floral blends (jasmine, rose, etc). It’s a rich, almost juicy taste, and underneath the floral tones is a bright, tasty citrus. I was not expecting that at all, but it’s fabulous! It’s like the love child of jasmine and mandarin orange. The green base is very nice too—not too vegetal, but with some sweet and lingering woodsy flavors.

This has quickly become a staple in my cupboard, and the fact that you can get 4+ good steeps out of it certainly helps. It seems like it would be fantastic iced, but I can never seem to wait long enough to cool it down—I just want to drink it right away whenever I take the leaves out!

Ooh, a tea that I haven’t yet tried! Also courtesy of Alphakitty, thanks! Also, oof, did I mention that I’m trying to hit 1200 tasting notes by the time my 1-year Steepster-versary rolls around, which is on Jan. 29? I have 37 to go….. yikes! I thought I had until the 31st, which would totally be more doable…. so hopefully I drink a crapton of tea tomorrow with Sil, Raritea, and Indigobloom!

So I really had no idea what osmanthus was, but when I sniffed this tea, it smelled sort of peachy. Since I was expecting floral, I assumed contamination… until I just read the tea description that mentions notes of peach! Awesome! Much more stoked to try this now, haha.

Strangely, the flavour reminds me quite a lot of 52teas’ Virgin Fuzzy Navel green… well, strangely until it occurs to me that Fuzzy Navel is orange/peach, not just citrus. (And then I read Alphakitty’s note which also mentions citrus…. go go tastebuds!!) So yes, the primary initial flavour is peachy/citrusy, which is tasty, and once those fruity flavours fade, I’m left with a really nice caramelly flavour, which I totally wasn’t expecting! I assume that it’s from the green tea.

So I’ll admit that this is another tea I wasn’t super stoked to try, but I’ve been proven wrong again. This, is tasty! And the sencha base is pretty good. So, I’m glad you sent me a sample of this one, Alphakitty!! And for those of you missing Virgin Fuzzy Navel, I’d suggest you give this one a shot. Perhaps it isn’t as strongly flavoured, but it’s hitting the same flavour combination for me!