Amanatsu Oolong

I’ve almost hit 10,000 words on NaNoWriMo and the 3rd day isn’t even over… I’ve decided I need to cut myself off and cool down with some tea reviews! I also can’t sleep, and writing about tea is pretty soothing.

I think this is the tea I meant to order when I got their Jasmin Mandarin last time. Not, you know, exactly—but I thought the Jasmin Mandarin had actual mandarin orange in it and was hoping for a light citrusy green. Sadly it’s just a jasmine tea (which I ended up giving to my mom!) but this is essentially what I was looking for. It’s an oolong not a green tea, but that’s even better! I love oolongs.

In the bag this smells SUPER overpowering, and fake. But I trust Lupicia, and brewed it’s very light. Japanese Tangerines are sweet but also a bit bitter, like marmalade, and that transfers over to the tea. It’s very lightly citrusy, with some floral qualities from the oolong downplaying the “bite.” It’s one of the most refreshing blends I have ever had, and I bet this would be perfect for a hot summer day. It’s good all year round though, since I associate clementines and similar fruits (like tangerine!) with Christmas. I think this would make a really good brine for a nice holiday chicken actually! Mmm, maybe with some cloves.

(Also, is it just me or do the tangerine bits/candies in the photo look like gummy bears?)

Mmmmmmm – that is all I have for now … going to go brew a tub of this and soak in it sipping down the level until I can refill – think I have enough leaf? Ahhhh Glorious!
A Tea from my Lupicia Happy Bag.

I’m surprised I am the first to log this tea. I suppose it is due to how many teas Lupicia carries, there are just so many to choose from. I got this on a whim with my order after reading tasting notes about other citrus and lemon oolongs.

I love watching oolongs unfurl. The tiny little pearl leaves unfurl into huge one inch wide leaves that are at least an inch long. Such beauties. And completely unfurled during the one and a half minute steep.

Ahhh….this tea certainly has sweet tangerine flavor along with a nice darker oolong base. Sweet and vegetal, slightly creamy and totally tangerine. This tastes very natural, not artificial at all. I’m so happy I purchased a pouch of this! YUM!

Yet another Lupicia oolong sample thanks to Alphakitty!

This one smelled delicious but didn’t pan out in the taste so much. There was just something missing… I wanted more sweetness, more buttery floral notes from the oolong. The light tangerine was nice at the beginning of the sip but otherwise it was barely present. I’m not sure if this one suffered from storage in a plastic bag or what, but it wasn’t quite as good as some of the others from Lupicia that I’ve tried.

Loose
Appearance: med dark green knobby oolong, yellow bits of citrus, reminiscent of gummy bears in appearance.
Aroma when Dry: Sweet, fruity, orange/tangalo citrus
After water is first poured: candied tangerine
At end of steep: orange, tangerine, hinting at grass
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: hinting at green
Staple? yes, Possible Spring, summer seasonal
Preferred time of day: afternoons
Taste:
At first?: Tangy, tangerine, slight smooth finish
As it cools?: notes open up, and lighten, a vegital earthy note surfaces
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, light citrus, hinting at smooth crea,
Will revisit chilled, want to try mixed with hibiscus too.

Second Steep(4 min):
Aroma: Tangerine scented broth
Taste: light tangerine notes, brothy texture, slight salt note
As it cools? gets a woody, foresty slightly roasted texture
Lingers? yes, the salt note, and broth note closes

Third steep (5min)
Tangerine scented, flavored water

Wow, this is the 2nd lupicia tea I’ve had and I can just say this… their oolongs are SUPER AWESOME. I mean, this is like top quality here. I barely even taste the tangerine – I could just drink this as a green oolong. =O! I need to buy more of their teas, me liking oolong and all…
Thanks Meghann!!

I received this in a swap a while ago I believe from Meghann so thank you!! :) This one smells very good! There are small yellow-white jelly-looking globs and slightly curled up, large, dark green leaves. The scent is light and fruity.

Upon steeping, the leaves unfurled into large, beautiful ones. The liquor was light yellow. Light floral scent. The taste… wow. I was very surprised once I tried it. It is very flavorful yet it is a light type of flavor. I’d say it overpowers the scent, which is generally unusual for me. It tastes like a light tangerine or citrus but the floral tones of the oolong stand out. How delightful!! I’ll have more steeps thank you!

This is a very light tea even by the standard of Taiwanese oolong. Love the floral oolong base. There’s a mild citrus flavour in my cup which resembles tangerine candy. Would be delicious when iced!

New Year New Tea Week!

Going to do my best to try as many teas that I have not tried before in my cabinet. This one is a sample that has been sitting in a plastic bag for a few weeks so I am not entirely sure it is as it should be, the smell is definitely not as potent as when I received it.

Preparation: Western
Tasting Note: Really delicate, floral and refreshing, great tawainese rolled green oolong base. There is a ghost of a tangerine in the aftertaste and frequently fades in and out. I personally wish it was more present as it almost feels as though this isn’t a flavored tea anymore. I may have to try it again with a shorter steep time and a little lower temp. In no way a bad tea, just could do with a little more potent citrus for me. Would potentially try it with gongfu too as that could coax more citrus out.

Another sample from Cameron B. :D Thank you <3 I am so glad that I got to try this one.

Ahhh, the amanatsu fruit from the Yamaguchi prefecture. I did a lot of world traveling with my parents growing up and we went to Japan a few times. I remember, a little me, saying to someone there “I liked the tangerines back home (America) better because these aren’t sour.” Of course, my parents scolded me for being rude to whoever gave it to me. I still ate lots of them during one summer there. ^^

The aroma of the golden liquor was like a delicate sweet tangerine and vegetal. It was pleasantly surprising to me to smell the latter note so strongly. Unfortunately, they don’t have this on their site anymore (if they do, I can’t find it.) but I think it’s a Taiwan Dong Ding oolong. It was sweet and mellow, with some floral-osmanthus aroma (the floral flavor really came out in the 2nd steep), and a velvety, creamy mouthfeel. It’s different than all the Lupicia samples I’ve tried in that the flavors are so delicate. There was no bitterness, it was slightly astringent on the second infusion. It had a good finish with a citrus-tropical fruit aftertaste.

190-200F, 6g, 6 oz, 2 steeps: 2 min, 3min