Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Whispering Pines Tea Company
Tea Description:
A warming blend of o’olong tea, mint and cinnamon! Crisp, smooth, minty perfection at its finest!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Blackmint Oolong Blend from Whispering Pines Tea Company threw me for a loop when I first tried it. I visited the website and looked under black tea blends, and found two with mint … one with an Assam base and one with a Lapsang Souchong Base. To tell the truth … this tea didn’t taste like either!
So I emailed the company for verification, and they got back to me promptly (I love it when a company makes themselves available promptly to their customers like this one does! It makes me feel comfortable doing business with a company when they’re there to answer questions … and they do so right away!) and they told me that Blackmint could be found in their Oolong section!
That surprised me, because while the tea base tasted smooth and had a thick, somewhat creamy mouthfeel the way dark Oolong teas do, it had a certain strong quality to it that I wouldn’t normally associate with an Oolong. This tea has a very pleasing, rich flavor that would satisfy even those who usually prefer black teas over Oolong. The flavor isn’t quite black tea-ish … but, it has a bolder flavor than many Oolong teas that I’ve tried.
And to be paired with the minty duo of spearmint and peppermint, it would need to have a strong character! The minty flavor is powerful, but, not overpowering. I love the way the mint and the Oolong work together – it makes a minty … creamy kind of taste that reminds me a bit of the creamy consistency of a minty milkshake (you know which one I’m talking about right? I passed by some golden arches yesterday and the sign in the window says they’re back for St. Patrick’s Day!)
The cinnamon in this tea … is less noticeable. Perhaps this is because the mint and the Oolong are both so prominent that the cinnamon plays more of a background note, but, I tasted some earthiness from the cinnamon but not so much of that zesty cinnamon edge. However, I can’t say that I missed the cinnamon because I found this tea to be so enjoyable just the way it was.
A really delightful blend … I’m really glad I got the opportunity to try it.
