We don't know when or if this item will be available.
“Of all the delicate, champagne-y colored oolongs I’ve tried, this is by far the sweetest. Has a really nice, pale steeped color and feels smooth in your mouth. (And if I say it tastes like sweet...” Read full tasting note
“Apparently I’ve had this tea twice now, though I only remembered having it the first time. Both times I did short steeps, since that’s how everyone else had steeped this one. Last time I wanted to...” Read full tasting note
“I received this as my prize in AmazonV’s tea art contest a while back! (Thanks AmazonV!) It’s been calling out to me to try it for a while now – and I finally listened! This is delightful. ...” Read full tasting note
“Steep Information: Amount: 25g Water: 750ml filtered water at 195°F Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL (Oolong, custom) Steep Time: 1 minute Served: Hot Tasting Notes: Dry Leaf Smell:...” Read full tasting note
These leaves are roasted at high temperatures for a clear aroma and taste, with a hint of fruit and flowers.
Zealong is grown naturally without chemical sprays, fertilizers, additives and other contaminants. Additionally, a strict quality assurance system has been implemented that meets the ISO22000 standard. It is tended and picked by hand and processed to the world’s most stringent food safety standards.
Chicago Tea Garden is an online tea shop committed to providing extraordinary teas and tea education to tea lovers and those new to the leaf. Chicago Tea Garden's co-owner Tony Gebely also runs the World of Tea Blog [http://www.worldoftea.org] and Tweets at @WorldofTea.
Wombatgirl sent me this one a little while ago and apparently I haven’t yet posted about it. Which is weird because I can’t really wrap my head around the fact that I haven’t tried it before. I ought not have tried it before anyway, because I always try to post about it the first time I have samples that people have sent me. But there wasn’t enough left that I can understand not having used some of it. Otherwise Wombatgirl sent me really small sample. Which also doesn’t fit, because I would have remembered that. Small samples tend to get tried first, because if people only give me a little it gives me the impression that it’s because it’s awesome and difficult to part with. You know?
Anyway, this one is living up to its name and is showing itself as very aromatic indeed. The aroma is quite floral, I think, and underneath that it has those thick full notes like green teas can have. I’m thinking especially of senchas and dragonwells here.
I have to say I liked the Pure better than this, but it’s still very good. It’s very fruity in flavour with a very strong note of apples and pears, and especially apple.
On the aftertaste there’s the floral notes I found in the aroma. They’re not very VERY forceful, but they do build up.
As the cup cools a bit more the apple and pear note transfoms into something more like maybe peaches and tangerines and with a bit of nuttyness on the side.
There’s definitely a lot of stuff going on in this tea, but yeah, I think the Pure is my favourite of the two.
I finally tried a tea from MIDDLE-EARTH thanks to QuiltGuppy! Wow, what a unique product. I also finally got to try out my new (well, old) gaiwan in the process. This yielded four successive steeps of varying degrees of excellence. Only the second steep was unfavorable. My favorite was the last because it took on a grape note like a Bai Mu Dan. Overall, a very nuanced oolong that had shades of vanilla cream, caramel, various fruits, and only a slight graphite finish. I would gladly walk into Mordor for this.
Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/04/10/review-chicago-tea-garden-zealong-aromatic/
Perhaps someone reading this may be hesitant to take a “kiwi tea” seriously… I know I was reluctant when I first heard about Zealong.
Don’t wait; get some sooner rather than later! This is a great example of all the good qualities of a Taiwanese high-mountain type oolong. In fact, I’d pick this tea over many “green oolongs” that I’ve tasted. In addition to the fabulous taste and aroma, the completely unfurled leaves are large and uniform, so this tea gets points for aesthetics as well. I look forward to trying the other versions of Zealong soon!
I usually throw away the first wash of teas and start drinking from the second steeping, but I didn’t do that with Zealong Aromatic and it was a good move: I love its aroma and taste, which include almond and some other fruits I can’t distinguish exactly, maybe green apple (without being sour though), but I think a lot of the taste goes away after the third brew :( I tried until the 5th wash, increasing the steeping time up to a little more than 2 minutes and I still got a nice taste but quite a watery tea.
I was expecting this to be fruitier, but I don’t get much fruit from either the taste or the smell. It is sweet, but more like the sweetness of barley. There’s definitely the taste of some kind of grain in there, though I can’t say for sure that it’s barley. It’s also pretty earthy, slightly vegetal. I steeped it 5 times and then stopped because it was already over 80 degrees outside, but the taste stays strong with every infusion.
