I had this as a hot cuppa over the weekend, and it was very nice! Medium-bodied and smooth with a lot of distinct floral character from the oolong itself, which I thought played really nicely with the fresh, bright and tropical flavours. I’d call this more of a pineapple tea, but in that sweet and juicy way and less the tangy, acidic qualities of pineapple. A few sips sent me back a decade to drinking Butiki’s Flowery Pineapple Oolong and wow what a trip of nostalgia! The dragonfruit does the pretty predictable thing of tasting more like a fruit punch than real dragonfruit, but that’s to be expected with a commercial blend.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the average person simply doesn’t know what dragonfruit tastes like so the flavouring industry has basically created a generic and pleasant enough flavour that could be attributed to dragonfruit without feeling offensively out of place. It’s a nice flavour, but anyone looking for real dragonfruit is bound to be disappointed. At least it’s not too saturated, and just sort of rounds out the sip following those fresh florals and gentle pineapple notes.
Probably this would have been better iced or cold brewed. Arguably more juicy made that way. However, I think potentially less oolong forward too – and I like that I’m not losing the base in this blend.
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Any idea if mangosteen tastes as good as is rumored? Ever had it?
Mangosteen as in the actual fruit? I’ve had it a handful of times and thought it was nice. Reminded me a little bit of lychee. I’ve also had mangosteen flavoured blends, most of which kind of had a generic tropical kind of taste to me. Sorta sweet and lightly tangy, I suppose?
Yes, the fruit. I have long heard of it but never had opportunity to taste it. For a long while there has been an agricultural ban on it, then there was a scheme to grow it in Puerto Rico, but a hurricane came along and destroyed the plants. Haven’t heard anything in the last decade or so.
Any dragonfruit teas that you’d recommend? I love the fruit so much
As far as “true to the fruit” dragonfruit blends go, I still haven’t found one that feels quite right. However if you don’t mind the more fruit punch-y kind of interpretation, I do really like the White Dragonfruit cold brew from DAVIDsTEA – but obvious bias on my part because I helped develop it.
Any idea if mangosteen tastes as good as is rumored? Ever had it?
Mangosteen as in the actual fruit? I’ve had it a handful of times and thought it was nice. Reminded me a little bit of lychee. I’ve also had mangosteen flavoured blends, most of which kind of had a generic tropical kind of taste to me. Sorta sweet and lightly tangy, I suppose?
Yes, the fruit. I have long heard of it but never had opportunity to taste it. For a long while there has been an agricultural ban on it, then there was a scheme to grow it in Puerto Rico, but a hurricane came along and destroyed the plants. Haven’t heard anything in the last decade or so.
Any dragonfruit teas that you’d recommend? I love the fruit so much
As far as “true to the fruit” dragonfruit blends go, I still haven’t found one that feels quite right. However if you don’t mind the more fruit punch-y kind of interpretation, I do really like the White Dragonfruit cold brew from DAVIDsTEA – but obvious bias on my part because I helped develop it.