Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Driftwood Tea
Tea Description:
Osmanthus Oolong combines high quality Jin Xuan variety loose leaf tea with fresh osmanthus flowers to produce a most spectacular tea. Handmade and scented using only natural methods this is an example of an aromatic tea that tastes as good as it smells.
Key Flavours: Bright soft stone fruits. Juicy peaches and ripe apricots with delicate touches of natural creaminess.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
After receiving a wonderful mixed box of samples from Driftwood Tea I selected this as the first one to taste and review. When I opened the bag I was greeted with the aromas of a wonderful milky oolong! The dry leaf is quite pretty with small bits of osmanthus flower through out.
The flavor of this tea is creamy which I love in tea. Beyond creamy what I get is a candy flavor! Yes candy. It reminds me of the White Rabbit candies that my daughter loves so much. Okay I admit, I love them too except they are terrible on my teeth! Now I can have my creamy milk candy in a tea! This tea is somewhat sweet but in a natural manner of course which is so much better! I am sure that comes from the fruity flavors in the tea which I find to be far more subtle than other teas with fruit flavors, yet they are present and pleasant!
The peachy apricot notes come out much after the tea cools. They are light flavors however so do not expect a peach flavored pow in your cup.
I did not do an initial rinse and I am glad as thus far it is my favorite steep being the sweetest and most candy like out of my two steeps thus far.
The oolong base is wonderful, light, and fragrant in and of itself so the osmanthus does not totally take over whatsoever, rather just add a lovely light floral element to the tea and I believe also add to the creaminess.
Overall this is a light oolong and while I do love darker deeper oolongs I am absolutely appreciating the wonderful flavor characteristics of this lighter oolong tea! This is what I would consider a late afternoon or early evening oolong.
As I wait on steep three I wanted to mention how fast Driftwood Tea’s shipping is! I was shocked when it arrived within only a matter of days! I can’t remember for sure if it was three days or five days but it was well under a week and I have waited well over a week for teas from some tea companies right here in the United States!
This third steep is so far the creamiest. Its not as sweet nor as fruity but it is like a mouth full of silk! It has a puffy marshmallow like texture that is just so luxurious! As I reflect upon the smooth sensation in my cup I refer to the founder of Driftwood Tea’s philosophy:
Frequently I have encountered tea aficionados – pompous and aloof – seemingly preoccupied by the grade of a loose leaf, or a wonderfully exotic name, when in reality the resulting liquor that was being produced was, well, blah. For me that’s not what tea should be about.
I have now spent the last ten years searching for and sampling some of the world’s finest teas. During this time I have learned many things about loose leaf tea, yet there really is only one point which I have found to be crucial: do I like it? If you like what you’re drinking nothing else should really matter.
I for one agree, and I can say I DO like this tea!
