Dark Chocolate Oolong

I got this a long time ago from Jake B!  Thank you!  This isn’t really labeled other than ‘chocolate oolong’ but I’m pretty sure it’s from Liquid Proust because I recognize his style of packaging teas.  And there are only 13 search results here for ‘chocolate oolong’. It looks like the photo too – a mess of chocolate colored everything.  I wish there was an ingredient list with this, but it looks like dark big leafed oolong with rooibos, assorted chocolate ingredients including flat little squares.  I wouldn’t say the flavor is drenched in chocolate – it’s almost like a berry flavor to me.  Probably the oolong coming through mixed with the rooibos tastes like berry to me? With an acceptable hint of roast from the oolong.  It is sweet though.  On the second steep, much more of the roast comes through.  With hints of rustic cocoa here and there.  I notice a few bits of apple in the steeped leaves now.  Third steep, not noticeably stronger flavor other than more flavor from the oolong.  It seems like a distant memory now that I was tasting berry in that first cup.  I definitely think using two teaspoons was the right idea. And it looks from other tasting notes this might be SIX years old now. I wouldn’t think this tea was chocolate focused during any of the steeps, but I do love Liquid Proust’s experiments. :D
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for full mug // 20 minutes after boiling //  2 minute steep
Steep #2 //  14 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 6 minute steep

Sipdown (128)!

Finished off as a hot mug, which was sort of unpleasant until this reached around room temperature; and then it was surprisingly good? The floral notes which I find very poorly paired with the chocolate notes seemed to melt away and instead it was like drinking milk chocolate. I feel like that’s more what LP intended this to taste like. Not sure why I could only achieve that flavour so briefly, though.

Yum! Chocolate nutty roasted oolong goodness. . . Another winner from Liquid Proust Teas, but this may be my least favorite.

Another lovely tea from TeaNTees goodie box! Thank you again my dear.

I really enjoyed this one, LiquidProust. It’s very similar to Numi’s Chocolate Pu-Erh, but a little bit more complex. It was silkier, with milk chocolate being followed by a floral moss. The texture was pretty creamy, and fairly smooth. I soaked it the first time in three minutes, then the second in four. It started to fade in the third, with bits of grass, moss and flowers, but still smooth.

I added sugar the second time after sipping it a few moments pure, and it brought out the chocolate a little bit more. If were to guess, I think the base might be a roasted Tie Guan Yin because it has remnants of the floral character of one. The only other Tie Guan Yin I could compare it to is maybe the one by Rishi, which is partially roasted.

I liked it on it’s own, though I wish there was a little bit more strength the first time that I had a session with it. I brewed it again last night while painting, making the teaspoon heap a little bit more. It was then exactly what I wanted, and exactly what I needed to get working on my painting.The first time, I felt like there needed to be more flavor especially with the chocolate, wanting something a little bit fuller and not as light. Last night, it had a more complete profile to me with a little bit more chocolate and roasted oolong sweetness. I even got a few other tasting notes, like graham cracker and even s’mores as little hints. This tea deeply satisfies my cocoa craving, and the roasted oolong as a background that really compliments the chocolate. The chocolate is strongest in the first steep, and over the other two steepings, second being four minutes and thirty seconds, and the last being closer to seven, it transitioned to roasted then to floral grass with graham cracker.

I’d recommend it to any one, but ‘d say this is more for an intermediate tea drinker, with some younger tasters and more aged ones possibly going for it. I think that more experienced drinkers would appreciate the complex character of the roasted oolong itself. This might also be a good medium ground between a pure tea and a flavor one since the chocolate is extremely natural to me, and doesn’t have the slightest artificial character that a lot of other chocolate teas typically have. I’ve said originally in this post that a part of me prefers a darker chocolate, but after steeping it with just a few more leaves, I definitely changed my mind. I think that the milk chocolate in this would appeal to a broader demographic, and make people slightly newer to teas much more willing to try oolongs and other chocolate teas similar to this one. My mom especially liked it, though she is not a huge fan of chocolate teas. She even said that it’s one she might keep in her cupboard.

I am so glad that I have this one in my cupboard, and I am going to be especially depressed when I finish it up. I really hope that this one becomes one of the main teas on Liquid Proust’s menu, for it is one of my favorite ones that he has made thus far.

Not going to lie… I was screwing around with silly ideas when I made this, but when it turned out to be something I wanted to keep drinking I ended up making a few to see how others will receive it. With this working, I look forward to other crazy ideas like cotton candy infused teas :)