Full disclosure time, you guys.
I’ve never eaten coconut cream pie.
So before we dive into this tea review, I want you to know that I have zero frame of reference here and kiiiiiind of have no authority on the subject of which I am about to speak. Just FYI.
That said, if I were to try and imagine what coconut cream pie tastes like (creamy, coconutty, smooth, light?) I think I’d pull the exact same adjectives for this tea. It was lighter than I was anticipating, with a creamy oolong base just kind of slipping into the background. The oolong left plenty of room for the coconut and pie flavors to shine, and let’s face it– even on its brightest day, coconut isn’t exactly a wham-bam overpowering kind of flavor. The coconut is nice, if a bit weak.
The cream flavors are also nice, if a bit muted. I brewed this one nice and strong after reading some recommendations, but even then (as much as I did enjoy it), I was left wanting just a little more. An enjoyable sip, but nothing I’d reach for over and over. One bonus? Now I totally have an excuse to uh, “taste test” some real coconut cream pie to compare. Research. Dessert research. Mmmm.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: David’s Tea
Description
Rich coconut. Creamy white chocolate. And a golden, buttery crust. Can anything top a coconut cream pie? It’s a dessert so dreamy, so fluffy, it’s like eating a deliciously retro cloud. If we had our way, we’d be snacking on coconut-filled custard 24/7. Lucky for us, this tea came along. It’s an unbelievably decadent blend of toasted coconut, white chocolate and cane sugar, all on a base of smooth-drinking oolong. The best part? It’s an all-natural blend. We’ve got pie hopes for this one…
ingredients
Oolong tea, white chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, milk powde r, butter oil, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), coconut, toasted coconut (coconut, sugar, dextrose, salt), cane sugar, natural coconut flavouring.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
On Wisconsin from A Quarter To Tea . . . . A Cheesecake Tea with Cow Sprinkles!
Normally when I see oolong teas with vague names, I pay them no mind. That’s because I don’t usually love oolongs so unless something else catches my eye, I just keep browsing. Luckily I have the sororitea sisters to talk teas with and when I read or hear a rave review, it gets me intrigued…oolong or not. When it came to this tea, CuppaGeek mentioned it was one I just had to get when placing an A Quarter to Tea order and she was certainly right.
One sip. One sip is all it took to get me hooked. In fact, I had a quick cup of this a week ago and have been thinking about it since. So, I couldn’t put it off anymore and got to brewing up another mug of this oolong deliciousness.
This is one of the few teas that promises cheesecake and actually delivers. A slight and familiar cream cheese tang. All atop an incredibly creamy flavor. There is also a honey sweetness drizzled in the mix. All this tastiness and yet the oolong is still present. However, in this case I think it is helping create the overall cheesecake flavor, floral yet sweet. No roastiness. No vegetal flavors. No artificial notes. Just a whole lot of good.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
A sweet and creamy jade oolong with sweet honey and cheesecake flavors and cow sprinkles straight from the dairy state.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Smoked Maple from Shanti Tea. . . .
When my fiancé and I first started dating, he was a) charmed by my goofy nerdiness (or so I like to tell myself) and b) totally baffled that I had never really eaten smoked meat beyond the occasional barbeque. A few years into our life together now, I’m well acquainted with the intricacies of home-smoked brisket (mainly, how to eat it. YUM), which are the best BBQ joints within a fifty-mile radius, and how to reeeally love that earthy, rich flavor that smoking imparts on food. And on tea. (See! I promise this story had a point.)
This smoked maple tea from Shanti may be more nuanced than a brisket, but man, is it delicious. The dry leaf smells unmistakably maple, and brewed, you get the same delicious sweetness with the addition of classic, almost-floral oolong undertones. While I wouldn’t necessarily call this one abundantly smoky, there are some hints of smoke and spice at the end of the sip that elevate this tea to the next level. With the addition of some coconut milk, it takes on almost a toasted-marshmallow-y goodness.
I may be a relative newbie to the world of smoked-flavors, but this tea hits on all notes for me. Now to figure out if I could pass it off as a compliment to the brisket at my in-laws’ next family gathering…
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Shanti Tea
Description
A lightly smoky blend of dark oolong and maple, a best-selling breakfast Oolong.
Ingredients: Tea (Camelia Sinensis), Safflower, Natural Essences
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sir Rhuberry Oolongbottom from BlendBee
My family made a lot of strawberry rhubarb pies in the summertime, and each time I was tasked with washing and chopping the rhubarb from our garden. I was warned that the leaves were poisonous, and only the stems were okay to go in the pie. That dietary fact always made the bowl of chopped rhubarb and eggs and sugar all bubbling together seem like some questionable witches brew. But the resulting pie was always worth the danger, especially with all the pink strawberries in the mix.
Sir Rhuberry Oolongbottom from Blend Bee works to recreate this strawberry rhubarb combination. The dry leaf smells strong and sweet, a bit like artificial strawberry candy. A good dose of hibiscus ensures that this tea brews up bright pink, and brings a blast of tart, fruity flavors. Beneath all the sweet and sour, there is a gentle green, vegetal note, perhaps from the rhubarb or the oolong, and it adds a nice freshness to the tea.
Depending on your love of strawberries, you might really enjoy this tea for the berry sweetness. For me, the strawberry flavoring is very forward, so I would to argue for more rhubarb next time. Though, to be fair, I’m not sure that I would want a full-on rhubarb-only tea. Rhubarb is achingly sour on its own, and needs strawberries and sugar to truly be palatable. There’s a reason rhubarb and strawberries are so often paired together and this tea is true to that classic strawberry rhubarb pie flavor.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Blend Bee
Description:
Juicy and refreshing, this blend has just a hint of sweetness and is rounded out with bold red fruit flavors. You will long for Sir Rhuberry Oolongbottom.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Rose Oolong from Tea Ave.
I’ve been sort of meh about rose teas lately, but this one has some oomph. It’s an iron fist in a velvet glove.
This tea tastes like going to an imperial palace and walking through a rose garden. The rose and the bright oolong have a spring evening feel. You’re walking through the well-tended garden, your feet on the warm yet cooling stones, discussing diplomacy in really awesome brocade silk dresses.
This tea just has just the right amount of caffeine for a productive but not jittery afternoon. Sometimes, when I drink afternoon tea, I feel like I am having a heart attack. Not so with this tea. I’m alert, but not about to fly off the handle. Awesome. Recommended!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Tea Ave
Description
Our Rose Oolong is a flower tea prepared using the ancient method, in which the tea absorbs the flower fragrance during the baking progress, producing a scented tea that’s aromatic and flavorful without using any additives or chemicals.
We blend our Alishan Jin Xuan Oolong with fresh Taiwanese roses to create an elegant flower tea that is both full-bodied and mellow, with rose petals lending delicate floral notes to a robust oolong body. Rose Oolong has a floral fragrance and a rich, sweet taste. Smooth and exhilarating. Dare we say a little bit like falling in love.
