Tea Ave isn’t yet open at the time of this writing- these are some samples I was sent, and I will definitely be ordering this as soon as I can.
The brewing process was interesting- I usually brew oolongs a little lower than 100 C/212 F, but the packet said to try it at boiling, so I did. Recommended brew time for 250 ml was a minute, but I ended up letting it go for a little longer, about three minutes. Maybe closer to three and a half.
Anyways, onto the tea- the important bit. This was a very bright, tasty oolong. One of the dangers of floral teas is losing the tea to the flowers, but I found that the rose played very nicely with this oolong. There was lots of vegetal and floral goodness, without anything overpowering or cloying. The scent was very much the oolong, as was the initial taste- the rose kind of creeps up on you, finishing the sip with a nice burst of flowery sweetness.
The second infusion, which was a five-minute infusion, brought out more of the subtle vegetal flavors in the oolong. Less grass, more herbal/woody. All in all very nice and drinkable- the oolong base is great and the roses are a nice complement!
On a side note: the packaging for this tea is some of the best I’ve ever seen. It’s super informative! In addition to a description of the tea, it tells you the altitude, roasting level, oxidation level, base tea, origin, and gives you brewing instructions for a gaiwan, a tea bag, a teapot, and cold brew… and the sizes for the brewing implements! And somehow it manages to do this without seeming too crowded. A+ visual appeal.
Flavors: Floral, Rose
Hey wrathlet, we hope you have enjoyed our oolongs so far :) We would like to invite you back to our website sometimes when you have a minute to rate the teas you’ve tried. Thank you so much!!