Six Summits

I purchased 5 oz. of this tea because it was on sale after the holidays and it smelled like raspberries. Who could pass up a delicious smelling and cheap oolong at the mall? Not this guy!

My version did not have any actual dried raspberries in it (as some have seen) but retained a pleasing raspberry aroma. I was told by an imposing swarm of hawkish Teavana sales staff this was a “natural” flavor and no raspberries or artificial flavor were added to the tea. I think they were confused by this tea as well.

I’ve had a lot of Six Summits to get through so heres the bottom line. The raspberry flavor lasts fleetingly for the first steep. Okay. So its flavored oolong… I wish Teavana would just flat out call it “RASPBERRY FLAVORED oolong” and not skirt around the issue here. Beyond the raspberry flavor (which is enjoyable, adulterant or not) lies a fairly tame oolong: slightly floral, mild vegetal musk, not unpleasant just thin and somewhat unremarkable compared with the rest of the field. Multiple infusions don’t bring out a whole lot more from this tea, I never felt compelled to go beyond 3 or 4.

Overall, the raspberry and mild oolong character lends itself well to blending with other teas – hot or iced – which is always a plus and cannot be said of every oolong. I’m glad I purchased this tea on sale, its tasty, but pretty thin once the novelty of raspberry wears off. Aside for blending, my remaining Six Summits has taken a back shelf to some of the more complex and full bodied oolongs out there.

You know, I normally really like Oolongs, and I was excited to try this one. But…it just really doesn’t taste like anything.

Six Summits is a first time Oolong for myself. It has an earthy taste. I compared it to green tea, but it is unlike green tea in the sense green tea tastes more like a vegetable.

Very good for a flavored Oolong. A light roasted Oolong similar to a tie kwan yin. Lightly scented and flavored with raspberries. Great aspect is that the raspberries don’t detract from the tea itself. Probably one of my favorites from Teavana.

How I love this tea. The raspberry is the perfect complement, and it’s a true raspberry flavor that doesn’t totally overpower the oolong. A very nice light, refreshing, beautiful tea.

A good Oolong, It had a bit to strong of a floral note for my taste, But I would definitely recommend it to someone who like a subtle sweet taste, I did see that others who had bought it thought it was supposed to have raspberries in the tea but what I was told was that the tea trees grew in what was once a raspberry field and that is were the taste comes from.

Very good but needs milk. Steep the 1 teaspoon in about 8 ounces of water. Add in 2 ounces of whole milk to really bring out the woodsy flavors. It has a “watery” taste. Not as in watered down or bland, literally just a watery taste. It’s odd but good.

Update on Six Summits: We got the new version and it has raspberries in it!! SCORE!

This is my favorite oolong tea I have tasted so far. It has a nice light raspberry flavor to it. It has some nice earthy undertones to it as well. I am more of an earthy tea kind of person so I love this tea without any sweetener.

I would like to take this time to apologize to Oolong tea. I’m sorry I said you tasted like a mix of grass, moss, wet tree bark, and mud. I was wrong. Really wrong. But, can you really blame me when the only Oolong tea I had the misfortune to taste was from a tea bag? But you, Six Summits Oolong from Teavana, have opened my eyes.

The scent of the dried tea is pleasant. Actually, the way I’m about to describe it is kind of odd. But, believe me, pleasant none-the-less. It smells like a combination of dried catnip and red fruit roll-ups, folks. It’s earthy, but the raspberries lend a certain sweetness to the scent.

The Oolong flavor was good. I think my taste buds appreciated the quality of this Oolong tea more than the bagged tea that I had tried a few years prior. Initially, I couldn’t taste the raspberries, they did create a pleasant aftertaste though–sweet and slightly tart, just like a raspberry should taste!

Bottom Line: I received this as a Christmas present from my father. Of all the teas he gave to me, this was the one I was most hesitant to try, so naturally I tried it first. I’m glad I did! Would I purchase this tea in the future? Yea, probably. But, more importantly, it opened my eyes that Oolong could actually taste good. Better than good! I’m more inclined to try out other Oolong teas in the future.

I think there are different versions of this tea. Perhaps I was gifted Six Summits when Teavana still concocted it with dried raspberries, because my tin had loads of them. Teavana did not cheat me out of red raspberries. They were plentiful! And I’m not talking raspberry crumbles either. I’m talking whole. big. red raspberries.