Ahhh, free at last, free at last. Hubby and I got off the no-caffeine diet finally, but this is the first new tea I’ve tried since then. This may creep some of you out, but I got this tea at an estate sale nearby. Apparently, a fairly wealthy lady passed away, and the family hired a company to sell off basically her entire house worth of stuff… including whatever non-perishable food items she had. This tea was among them, and I just couldn’t pass it up. I think the woman tallying up my stuff just gave it to me for free, because it was in a bag with a whole bunch of other stuff, and she took one look in the bag and said, “Two dollars.” Score!
Anyway, the loose leaves smell wonderful, like strawberries and wildflowers. They unfurled nicely when steeped, pretty much all the way, although I still intend to try a resteep, because oolong. The brew is a lovely medium green color, but the strawberry smell is gone. It smells now of just flowers (the package suggests orchids, and I suppose I buy it, along with maybe daisies and honeysuckle, since there’s a little sweetness in there). There’s also a slight earthy/grassy smell, which I associate with oolong in general, like smelling a bouquet of flowers that someone just picked and that have a bit of soil left on them somewhere. Anyway, I don’t really get the milk or cream flavor that these oolongs are supposed to have, but it’s a perfectly enjoyable tea nonetheless. It tastes like summer, fresh and green and lush. I may not buy any more, but I will enjoy it to the last leaf. There’s quite a bit left in the tin, so I have much to look forward to. :)
