Brown Sugar

This is the first oolong I’ve legit enjoyed. Honestly I started avoiding them because I often get this (for lack of a better word) “plasticky” aftertaste from them. I don’t have that here though, huzzah! Might be that I prefer darker oolongs, since I think my previous ones have all been fairly pale, so I’ll have to try more and see.

Anyway, the dry leaf smells amazing, I stood in the kitchen huffing the bag for perhaps a little longer than I care to admit. Dry leaf also looks very pretty with the bright safflower petals. The tea itself is lightly sweet, not in your face about it, just pleasantly mapley with a slight nuttiness. I added a bit of honey after the initial taste because I’m a honey fiend, but really, it was fine without it.

I’ve been drinking quite a lot of Oolong recently, and some of it has really challenged my assumptions about the variety. I thought for a long time, for example, that I didn’t like Oolong at all. Then I realised that mostly what I don’t like are dark or roasted oolongs, but lately I’m even beginning to wonder whether that’s true. Mostly because of teas like this one!

Read my full review here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2015/10/16/brown-sugar-organic-oolong-tea-leaf-co/

This is the last of my freebies from Tea Leaf Co.‘s Instagram giveaway. I had tried it before, but not reviewed it. I’ve been so busy between work and taking care of an injured kitten my mom found. (Who is doing great and almost back to normal now.) She’s a little Tasmanian devil and can be seen ad nauseam on my Instagram. Link’s on my profile.

Now, this is a more darkly roasted oolong than what they used in Soul Good. The leaves are the color of dark chocolate, mixed with gorgeous scarlet safflower petals. It’s very pretty. The aroma reminds me so much of brown sugar oatmeal. The nuttiness of the oolong really plays that up. It’s definitely breakfast-y.

The brown sugar aspect is comforting and a little nostalgic. There’s something about it that kinda reminds me of pancake syrup. You know, the American kind with hardly any actual maple in it. All this pairs very well with the roasty but not smoky oolong. It’s a little on the hearty side, and while I’m drinking it iced, I feel it would be great hot on a cool fall morning. Definitely recommended.

There is something incredibly hypnotic about this time of year, something sleepy and just a little bit magical. The air gets heavy with heat, humidity, and the sound of cicadas, the sky goes from brilliant blue to a perpetual haze, and the storms are not as frequent but when they do show they are full of heat fueled lightning. It has been mostly rainy and cool (for the Midwest) this year, and I have been very glad for it, and it seems the current heatwave will be over by Tuesday (hooray!) meaning back to nice coolish summer weather. Also luckily my cold seems to definitely be on the way out, clearly medicinal Minecraft helped yesterday.

Today is a day for Brown Sugar by Tea Leaf Co, and now that song is stuck in my head, fun side story, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure fourth arc has my favorite character, Bruno Buccellati whose Stand (magic superpower, let’s just go with that, it would take too long to explain) is called Sticky Fingers, his name is a reference to Brown Sugar and his Stand is a reference to the Rolling Stones album the song is from…and it is probably one of the few Rolling Stones songs I like. So that totally random rambling aside, this tea is a blend of Dark Oolong (the smoky tones make me think it is maybe a Wuyi) Natural Essences, and Safflowers. The aroma of the leaves smells like Canada, or at least what Canada is thought to smell like: maple syrup, campfires, burnt sugar, and more sweetness…that is totally what Canada smells like, right? It smells yummy, I certainly hope that Canada smells like this!

Into ye old steeping apparatus the leaves and petals go. Fun fact, thanks to the inspiration of my instagram friends, when I move and have my own tea room, it will be called the Tea Lab, so my pseudo-alchemy equipment will fit perfectly. So, after steeping the aroma takes on a surprising note of stewed plums with a distinct caramelized brown sugar note, hah, name drop! Blend in maple syrup and molasses and a touch of smoke for a sugary sweet explosion. The liquid is a sweet blend of caramel, brown sugar, maple syrup, and campfire, wow what an impressively sweet tea!

The taste is intense! So many sugary notes without actually being grossly sweet, it is the taste of caramel and brown sugar, burnt sugar and smoke, and a touch of plums. I like how it tastes of sweetness but only has a hint of sweetness, that is a really neat effect. The finish of the tea is a lingering sweetness and smokiness, like eating plums roasted over a campfire.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/07/tea-leaf-co-brown-sugar-tea-review.html

I had been warned that I would be blown away when I opened the bag, so I purposefully did not unseal it until I was ready to brew it. Delicious aroma – mostly brown sugar, a little maple. I think I could have been happy just smelling it all day but I know you want to know about the flavor too.

The color of the leaf was dark, almost like a black tea so I knew that it would be very oxidized (my favorite). I love seeing safflowers in leaf; they add such a pretty touch. I honestly don’t know what they do flavor wise but remember, we eat with our eyes first and my eyes were really feasting on this. I picked the cup and saucer for the shoot based on the safflower color.

The color of the brewed tea was remarkable. It was a golden orange color that reminded me of sunsets over the ocean.
Full review and photos: https://tealover.net/2015/07/tea-leaf-co-brown-sugar/