Creamy Nut Oolong

Picked up my Teaopia order from Purolator today because apparently they wanted a signature (boo!) But…. I got it! Yay! Starting off with the tea I was most excited about, based on Steepster reviews. The other teas are mostly herbals for icing.

In the bag, this one smells quite caramelly and nutty. Just like dessert! Mmmmmm… It’s pretty similar when steeped, with a bit of a woody aroma (bark, stick-like??). Maybe that’s the oolong? The flavour is pretty bang on though, nutty and creamy, with a lovely aftertaste of oolong. I know this one’s loaded with artificial flavour, but I’m really liking it! Yay Steepsterites for good reviews that convinced me to buy this tea! Yum… definitely want another cup of this tonight. I feel like this is a good one to curb those dessert cravings.

ETA: Oh creamy nut oolong, there is just something about you that is so freaking delicious. Second infusion loses a bit, but is still hitting the mark for me. 2 minute infusion at 90C this time. Yum. I’m not sure the creamy nut flavour will last for a third, just the woody oolong base, I’m suspecting. (Got a good half third infusion and fourth infusion.)

So when I was burrowing through some stuff in my basement, I came across a long-ago purchased hammock that I had forgotten about. Imagine! I could have been using the damn thing all summer, and only just now found it. Ah well, at least I found it.

I got this one from tattooed_tea, It wasnt what i expected the caramel overpowers it to me, I think it should be named Caramel Oolong but OMG it’s so so good, i was impressed, Thank you so much I hope you are enjoying yours teas as much as I am this one.

First of all I want to thank Kittenna for generously sharing some with me. I really REALLY wanted to try it as it sounded SO very yummy. HOWEVER … I can’t stand it.
I feel bad because it was so nice of Kit to share with me but for some reason it is very off putting to me.
It seems to be a love it REALLY love it or really dislike it tea.
To me it tastes and smells like dirty gym socks.
I don’t like sounding mean but I have to be honest.
I feel like telling the tea “its not you its me”.

I got some of this thanks to Kittenna! It smells do yummy while brewing. It was actually cool enough to do some hot brewing yesterday and this morning do I took advantage while I could!
At first sip, this seemed to me like something a coffee drinker might enjoy, though it is lighter than coffee. It’s nutty and desserty with a sweet profile. Quite nice. While this is nicely done, it’s not my favorite nutty sweet tea. Perhaps the darker oolong base is working against my taste buds. The base is roasty and adds to the nuttiness, but it’s not too interesting.

On an unrelated note, I’m hungry. :(

I may have steeped this a bit too long, so keep that in mind. I’ll try again later and adjust the rating as needed. Long and the short of this? I love the tail end of this tea. The initial taste makes me scrunch up me face bu the after taste that it leaves behind is a really nice nutty, creamy taste.

This one is interesting. I didn’t expect to like it but dry it smelled lovely so I stole some from Indigobloom. Brewed it is definitely more flavour than tea. I steeped for four minutes since I wasn’t going to be awake enough to do a lot of infusions, and the longer time got me a caramel flavour with intense hints of nuts. The colour is a golden brown, the colour of light maple syrup and now that I say that I detect faint maple notes in the tea. Adding a dash of sugar brought the maple and caramel to the forefront. I think this one would be really nice in a muffin recipe to add a bit of sweetness to the mix.

Teaopia is a franchise that’s become increasingly popular in Canada over the past year or two. They still haven’t opened a store in my city unfortunately, but there’s several stores in places I often visit on vacation, so I’m not entirely bereft. ;)

This tea smell absolutely delectable – when I smelled it at the store I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist it – it’s sweet and creamy like a creme brulee with a touch of almonds added to it. Interestingly when I added the water it found I could really smell the apple pieces as well.

It’s also quite a delicious-tasting tea – sweet, though not too sweet and caramel-y the nuttiness is surprisingly strong and there’s just a hint of fruitiness. I think I’d steep it a touch longer than 1 min next time, but other than that this tea is a really enjoyable treat.

This is my first taste of Teaopia! But……Purolator really made me mad, they didn’t even attempt to deliver the package and then when I tracked my package 2 days after they were supposed to deliver it, I found it that it has been at Purolator for 2 days already. GRRRRRR.

Anyway, sorry about that, on to the tea.
This tea was really good, creamy, nutty, slightly sweet but not too sweet.
The buttery oolong comes through as well. What a tasty treat!

2nd steep: 95degrees, 4 minutes, still just as good of a cup, I taste more of the oolong, still sweet and nutty.

3rd steep: boiling, 5 minutes, growing a little weaker, but still very good

Well, it SMELLS delicious. I thought it was a little on the pricey side, though, to be honest. For a flavoured oolong? Still, I made the trip. I decided on this one when I discovered that there was a hidden Teaopia (not even on Google Maps, let along here) near(ish) to me. Jillian’s well-timed tasting note on this tea helped with the decision.

Dry it’s very creamy sweet smelling, brewed there is definitely more of a nutty profile in there (more in the wet leaves than the brewed tea, however). It’s sweet and creamy, and definitely nutty. The nutty, I think, blends well with the natural flavours of the oolong used (looking at the large, darkly colourful leaves, I wonder if it’s bai hao). The nut flavour, I think, is the culprit behind the light astringency on the tip of my tongue, because the tea is rather smooth otherwise. I think the nut is what sets this tea apart, because without it it’s just a cream oolong of some sort (not that that’s terribly ordinary anyways, but who would think to pair nuts and oolong? I like it).

Teaopia recommends three minutes, but that had seemed a little much; I started with two, but when I poked my nose into the pot, I saw that there hadn’t been any convection at all, just a small cloud of brown surrounding the teaball; I spent an extra (timed) thirty seconds of dunking to mix the tea and let it steep a little darker. The oolong leaves themselves look dark and oxidized enough that I assume it wasn’t meant to be a light brew.

First cup’s cooled more, and I’m picking up fruity hints. This is mellow and very nice.

This is a satisfying tea, and I’m delightfully surprised with Teaopia (not that I was expecting bad things). Also, they have (only in-store, not on their site) Turkish teacups! Except they sell them individually. And the saucer comes separate. Five bucks for a single glass teacup, three dollars for the saucer. Jesus Christ.