Strawberry Oolong Tea

The dry leaf was fresh strawberry, but as soon as the water hit the leaves I got a strong aroma of cooked spinach. I used 2.5 grams (all that was left in my sample packet), though Steepster will not recognize it and will say I used only two.

This does taste somewhat vegetal and is very light in color. I don’t taste any of the strawberry, which is disappointing after reading such high praise for this tea in other reviews.

I’ll leave off the rating since this tea seems to be loved by many. It must just be that it’s not for me.

Dry leaf aroma is of strawberry candy.

Strawberry candy scent is present in the brewed tea.

Strawberry flavour is mild and candy-like. Oolong is sweet, reminiscent of chamomile.

This had a lovely, true strawberry flavor and almost separately, a lovely mellow oolong flavor. Somehow they didn’t seem to combine quite right, but it was still very nice. I’ve been kind of drowning in artificially flavored and sweetened teas lately, so this was a nice refreshing change. I would like a bit more of the strawberry if I ruled the world, but still nicely done.

My second steeping of this tea at the full 8minutes gave me a lot more strawberry flavour. It’s a nice natural strawberry flavour that doesn’t overpower the oolong but complements it nicely.

Strawberry ice cream with oolong butter icing.

I’m not generally a fan of strawberry flavoured things and wary when it comes to flavoured oolongs, but this has a lovely balance. I can pretend I’m eating strawberry ice cream and actually enjoy it! :P

Steep count: 3

I saw a slight “rawer” mineral green oolong note (touch of floral) and a tangier strawberry flavouring in the additional steeps.

I enjoyed the floral and fruity base used for this. It reminded me a lot of an anxi hairy crab oolong.

The flavouring was distinctly strawberry, but it tasted quite artificial to me. At least the oolong was wonderfully creamy and aromatic.

I got a sample of this tea from the GCTTB and I’m always eager to try flavoured oolongs. This one is on the milder end of the flavour spectrum, with the strawberry flavour only really coming out when the tea has cooled off. For the most part it is the buttered-greens flavour of the oolong that takes center stage. The resteep at 4 min had very little strawberry flavour left at all, although the oolong base itself has decent staying power.

Of course I have no idea the age of this sample so my review could be flawed in that sense. But while I was glad I had a chance to try this tea it isn’t one I’d consider purchasing.

GCTTB V2

Thank you Lala for adding a sample of this into the box for me! It’s one I’ve been curious about for a while now, but not curious enough about to actually buy any.

I cold brewed half the sample Lala included, and then left the rest so someone else could also get a taste of this one if they were interested. I’m wishing, now, that I’d taken some proper notes because I’ve since forgotten any of the finer details/nuances of the tea I’d observed at the time of drinking it. What I do remember is that I definitely tasted more of the vegetal base than anything else and that I felt like there was an overwhelming lack of strawberry flavour, or even fruit flavour in general.

Eh, you can’t love ‘em all. If this makes it way to me again and I get a chance to revisit it I think I’ll definitely choose a different style to prepare this in.

This was alright. The strawberry flavor tasted pretty watered down to me, like one of the strawberry flavored waters you can buy at stores. All I really got from the oolong was some floral notes and creaminess, which I will say pairs nicely with strawberry, but the strawberry wasn’t really strong enough. However if it were stronger I have a feeling it might taste weirdly artificial. So this sample is ok, and I’ll use it up, but not something I’d buy.

Received as a free sample from my last order. Brewed grandpa style.

I like that the packet says extract. I know exactly what’s in here. I’m used to seeing “natural flavors” at best. This has a pleasing dry leaf aroma. A strong strawberry scent emerges from the packet. Perfect for spring. The strawberry complements the floral base tea, which is a lower quality light-to-medium oxidized oolong, resembling (as it seems to me) Tie Guan Yin. The balance is so balanced that the liquor tastes as if the strawberry were a natural note that the leaf gave away. It reminded me a Taiwanese high mountain oolong.

I enjoyed this, but I wasn’t struck. The base tea didn’t impress me, but it makes sense to use it for a flavored tea – it’s ok quality at best. Maybe since it’s late summer, I’m ready to depart from this kind of oolong. Maybe next spring… I recommend this for those who love flavored tea, or for those who don’t but might be interested in the more natural side of this genre.