Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Tea Avenue
Tea Description:
Known for it’s calming qualities, Magnolia is a sumptuous, exotic tea, light and pure-tasting, Magnolia is a highly refined tea with an appealing sweet flavor and warm floral notes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh. My. Goodness! I have often said that jasmine is my favorite flower with which to ‘scent’ a tea – but when it comes to Oolong teas, I think that magnolia is my favorite. Don’t get me wrong, I love Jasmine Oolong – just as I adored the Jasmine Oolong tea from Tea Ave., but this … this Magnolia Oolong Tea from Tea Ave. is absolutely superb!
The base tea is my favorite type of Oolong – Ali Shan! – and that’s been scented with magnolia blossoms. The essence of magnolia is absorbed into the leaves during a baking process which imparts a lovely note of the flower without becoming too perfume-y.
The tea has a sweet flavor that is buttery, like browned butter. I can taste a hint of caramel in the buttery notes. It isn’t overly vegetal, although I do get hints of vegetation. The floral notes are soft and sweet – no sharpness! Sweet, nutty notes. So smooth. No astringency. A sweet, delectable cup.
And of course, this is an Oolong – and that means multiple infusions! With a tea that tastes this good, I find myself thrilled that I’m going to be tasting more!
My second cup (infusions 3 and 4) was a little stronger in flavor than the first. I found the magnolia notes to be a little more focused. Focused – but still not what I’d call sharp. Still beautifully soft and sweet. This cup is a little less creamy, but I still get some of those delicious browned butter notes. I taste a little more vegetative flavor but it’s still not a strong flavor. The nutty flavors are more distinct now and remind me of hazelnut – like freshly toasted hazelnuts! Mmm!
The third cup (infusions 5 and 6) was still fantastically flavorful. I am still getting the same flavors that I tasted in the first and second cups: sweet, hazelnut, brown butter, I’m even tasting distinct hints of butterscotch! Floral but not sharp, whispers of vegetation. Truly, a delightful cup of tea.
Tea Ave. celebrates it’s GRAND OPENING today – it’d definitely be worth your while to go and peruse their teas! I highly recommend putting this one in your cart while you’re there. This is a tea that I’d recommend to all tea lovers – even those that are usually not fond of floral essence in their tea. The way the floral notes mingle with the sweet, creamy butter notes and nutty tones is so delightful! You really MUST try this one!
