Tea Time Thursday: Oolong Tea: Pineapple Oolong

 

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Oolong Tea: Pineapple Oolong
Ingredients: Tie Kwan Yin Oolong, Pineapple, Apricot, natural flavouring.


     





     The type of Oolong tea I'm used to is a heavily oxidized tea which results in a deep reddish brown color and more bitter earthy taste when brewed. But the Oolong used in this one has minimal oxidization, so when brewed it ends up looking like a light green tea. It also gives it a more floral and crisp flavor. 
     When I first smelled this tea, the dried pineapple and apricot gave it a sweet candy like aroma. Actually if you've ever eaten dried pineapple or apricot it's exactly like those. The fruit make it sweet enough that I didn't think it was really necessary to add anything else. But the candy like smell kept hinting at something familiar and I couldn't quite recall it until I was reading and suddenly it came to me. It tastes like those chalky Pop-eye candy sticks that you can only get at Halloween! Which I absolutely love!
     With Oolong tea I usually keep reusing the tea leaves (re-steeping), it's said that after each subsequent steeping the flavor gets deeper and more aromatic and it's definitely true with this tea. What's really surprising about this tea is it's perfect hot or cold - but it's really really good cold, or if carbonated water was added it'd kind of be like White Tea Raspberry Canada Dry (Gingerale)! It's a great sipping, reading tea for out on the deck. 

Overall: 5/5 Cups of Steaming HOT Tea!

It's a major hit with me because I love pineapple, and I love Pop-eye candy sticks and this way I can get the taste without the horrible sugar overload.