Coconut Pouchong

Wow! I’m so glad that I’d read Shanti’s note about this tea and decided to give it a whirl. I have never craved coconuts, and I generally avoid them on sweets or cakes. Um, but I think that I’ll now take them in my teas! To paraphrase a wise old bird: I’m cuckoo for coconuts!

I think that others who have been reviewing this do a better job than I could. The one thing that I’ll add is that I don’t know what is going on (or if this is a common thing with oolongs because I had an oolong the other day that did this same thing) but it feels like little sugar bombs are going off in my mouth. Like, the size of a tastebud sugar bomb randomly “pops” on different spots on my tongue. I don’t even know if this has a name in the tea world, or if it’s just me, but I love it!

This isn’t a guaranteed future purchase, but it’s going on the short list. NE

This smells and tastes delicious. The aroma is real coconut, no artificial tinge at all. I was able to get two nice mugs of tea from my sample pack. I ordered a tin of this untried, so next time I’ll be brewing it with more tea!

If you don’t like coconut, don’t try this. It is definitely COCONUT!

Thank you Melanie for this wonderful sample!
I’ve been seeing this tea reviewed over and over again…so what’s all the hype? What’s so great about this tea? Curiosity got the best of me when I saw that Melanie had this in her cupboard for a swap…hee hee…would she part with a pinch for moi? She agreed (to my delight)! I don’t go along with the crowd unless there is danger… I form my own opinions and hope you all do also and this tea review is not an exception. Beginning the process I kept the steep at just 3 minutes and at about 180F. Sniff, there isn’t a huge burst of fragrant coconut…no…I’m reminded more of oolong…a faint memory of that corny, floral butter scent. First sip is very creamy and rich, diving right away into a deep pool of coconut taste the way you get it right out of a fresh coconut in the tropics. It’s the aftertaste that is so honest. I spent 4 months living in Puerto Rico where you could stop and get a chilled coconut at the roadside, have the top lopped off with a machete and drink the coconut water with a long straw. So good. That’s the coconut flavor I taste. But there is that floral orchid mixed in also. Makes you want to put on a sarong and lay on the beach. Sometimes it helps to pull away and come back to tea when it is so intensely complex. Doing this was helpful for me. I came back to my glass cup and realized that there is a custard quality quite a bit like the fragrance of jasmine in the Summer on a hot evening when you swear there is coconut cream pie somewhere close by…or you hope there is one waiting at home (there never is though). Real jasmine never tastes like that smell. Tragedy! I think this is very good tea but not one I would serve with food. Too special for that. This is dessert and could stand up to fresh strawberries or pound cake. I thought chocolate was too strong alongside the tea because I tried some and said “no”. Tried some sugar and it was good. I’m off to finish the lovely liquid without you now…bye.

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 heaping scoops (i didn’t want to use all 3 in case i messed it up)
Additives: none
Water: filtered boiling 1 teapot, set to cool a few moments until it was around 195
Steep Time: a little over 3 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: sweet baking coconut
Steeped Tea Smell: baking coconut (not like fresh coconut milk), grassy, vegetal (like some kind of buttered stewed leaves), maybe even a little nutty
Flavor: watery vegetal, again like buttered stewed leaves, very silky smooth mouth feel though
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: coconut, sweet
Liquor: nearly clear, yellow-brown

This was a gift from SoccorMom!

I have never had a Pouchong before. Pouchong – Wikipedia suggested following the directions for Oolong tea.

The tea was very natural tasting, not like two distinct flavors (tea, coconut) being put together, but one flavor that was both tea and coconut.

The vegetal that I dislike in greens was not a negative thing, it was more a nice cooked side dish of greens doused in butter and silky smooth.

The steeped leaves unfurled into beautiful green full leaves! I could swear they were just picked.

I am glad I got to try this as it was good and different, but not a favorite that I would stock up on, but I certainly wouldn’t mind having it again.

I never even knew there was such thing as Pouchong before, and I think I preferr this to green now that I know it exists!

Post-Steep Additives: none

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/02/golden-moon-tea-loose-leaf-pouchong-tea.html

Flavored teas can be tricky. I’m the type of tea drinker who generally prefers unflavored, straight tea, so if I’m going to drink something flavored, I’m kind of picky. I want a flavored tea to still taste like tea. I want the flavor(s) to enhance the tea, not overpower it. I want the flavors to taste natural and not artificial. Coconut Pouchong satisfies my requirements.

The coconut flavor of this tea is lovely — as other reviewers have mentioned, it’s kind of a toasted coconut flavor. Very natural, and it smells wonderful as well. The tea itself — well, I think I would drink this tea even if it weren’t flavored, because it’s sort of in between a green and an oolong, but comes off more like an oolong. It’s sweet, only slightly vegetal, and a bit (but not too) floral. When sipping this tea, the flavor of tea mingles with the coconut flavor and the end result is a balanced, pleasing cup with no odd aftertaste.

Overall, drinking this tea is a wonderful escape. I like it iced as well as hot, and it goes perfectly with almost any type of Asian food. I find it the perfect foil to spicy Thai curries and noodle dishes, or even desserts such as mangoes and sticky rice.

It is so warm here today! So, I decided to have this, as it is a nice, light, summery tea. I haven’t got much left now though, and I will sorely miss it once it is gone. The coconut has a slightly toasty note, but it still manages to be sweet, smooth and buttery.

After reading some of the rave reviews here for this tea, I was a little initimidated. Kind of like meeting a movie star: would it be as nice in person as I’m imagining? Cutting open the sampler packet, I was immediately hit with the aroma. Not the suntan lotion coconut I’d feared, but rich, creamy and toasted. The leaves are pretty too – they look good. This bodes well!

The taste follows through on the promise of the scent. The coconut flavor is incredibly creamy, and makes me think of a macaroon dipped in milk. There is so much rich, delicious coconut flavor in fact that I’m not getting a whole lot out of the tea other than a background hum. Nothing offensive, but nothing standout either. I’d normally think of pairing coconut flavor with black tea and then putting cream and sugar in it to make a yummy warm drink, so I’ll be on the lookout for that variety next. Still, this is a very tasty tea.

It has been years since I fell in love with oolongs, but flavoring them just sounded like such a terrible thing to do to such an interesting tea as it is….but coconut? There is something about that particular flavor that just sounds like it would go SO well with oolong’s fruity nuttiness. Then half of Steepster seemed to be so in love with this one, I just couldn’t wait to try it.

When it arrived today, I of course tore open the package…and was scared. I only smelled coconut, with no oolonginess. This is what I was afraid someone would do to oolong. But I brewed it up anyway, and even the first few sips were concerning. Just coconut. Lovely coconut, but I wanted tea.

But then it cooled, and the magic happened! The coconut faded a bit, and a delicate oolong came forward. Much, much better. I will definitely finish and greatly enjoy this tea, but I’m still not sure it will ever call my name from the crowd of great oolongs. Except….iced. I bet this is insanely good iced. Will have to try that asap.

UPDATE: On the second steeping, my opinion is that this is a well-balanced cup but just not a match for my general aversion to flavored teas. It really would have been a miracle for me to love it, and I still bet most people would like it quite a bit.

Thanks, Stephanie for this sample! This is pretty great! It’s a lot like DavidsTea’s coconut oolong, but I think it’s more balanced in flavor and smoother. DavidsTea’s version seemed rougher around the edges, and the coconut in the first infusion was pretty overwhelming. I think I’ll be checking out Golden Moon Tea sometime!

I could just smell the open packet all day and be happy. I steeped the whole sample in 5 oz. water. My daughter and I are both smelling buttered popcorn? Right at the first I even taste popcorn with a coconut aftertaste which doesn’t sound nice at all but actually is…quite. It’s yummy…I’m bummed I can’t make another cup right away—definitely getting a tin of this. Off to re-steep!