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i know it must seem as though i rate every tea i like with a 100, but really, this is so deserving! milky, buttery and creamy. probably more buttery than anything else. very forgiving of temperature, though i don’t go out of my way to scald the leaves ;)

i’ve had this for 2 weeks maybe? nearly halfway through the tin, but that’s because i like to double up on pouches/sachets/bags. that’s just me.

buttery mouthfeel, buttery flavor….i can’t believe it’s not butter!….maybe it’s ghee! very delicious.

i can’t tell if this is natural or flavored and i don’t care. assuming this is all-natural, the milk oolong is a creature to be revered!!

rich but delicate….i smell the orchid for sure! but this isn’t an in-your-face orchid (i’ve experienced that with some much greener Spring harvest oolongs that taste, quite frankly, of lilac!) this milk oolong has a very delicate orchid note, a delicate but discernable non-astringent tartness, and an abundance of cream. sometimes, i even pick up on the pineapple (or vague approximation thereof), which is mentioned in the description on the tin.

btw- i should note this review is for the tea pouches, not the loose leaf. i had seen the loose leaf in stores a few months ago!! but have had so many subpar experiences with Republic of tea that i was hesitant to purchase something from them to which i’d attached extremely high expectations. oh, how i’m hitting myself over the head now. it’s virtually nowhere to be found, so while i was hesitant to get the pouches, fearing they’d be a disappointment, they were anything but! yielding not 1 but 2 delightful cups! (you can even get 3, if you do short steeps..) the liquor is an awesomely bright yellow. (quite pigmented in contrast to what i’ve come to expect of most oolongs i’ve tried, which tend to be very light.)

has this tea been genetically engineered?

i’m so enthusiastic about this tea (and the whole milk oolong genre in general) since that is the reason i signed up for Steepster! i was perusing the site and i couldn’t ignore the milk oolong by Mandala which kept popping up at me, and it just looked so scrumptious! the dark green buttery leaves practically overflowing from a white porcelain gaiwan. my mouth was watering. since i wanted to add it to my wishlist, i had to sign up! (not that i minded in the least!) and it is the very first tea i added to my wishlist. a very fond recollection. happy to finally to meet the leaf face-to-face ;)

now of course, i’m off to purchase some more of this in loose leaf form from RoT’s website (just for comparison and because i’ll inevitably run out), and also many others from other companies. first stop, Mandala!

ETA— there is a peach note i get in the after sip, that lingers on the back of the soft palate. it’s happened many times now, so maybe it’s safe to assume i’m not imagining things..