Whilst browsing through this blog I have noticed that oolong tea's have not featured a great deal here. I think partly I'm so in love with black and green tea that I tend not to always venture further away from these two tea's. Also, I was a little in awe and unsure of oolong tea. Unsure of what to do with it, how to brew it correctly.
In recent weeks I've been focused on the festive, seasonal Christmas tea's. And they are gorgeous, but at the same time I have missed my familiar, sturdy, reliable green tea's. As with anything to do with Christmas, over indulgence in rich, flavoursome tea's can leaving you wanting the more simple tea's in life.
Last week I visited Piacha's website with the aim of buying some more of their Apple Green tea which is a firm favourite of mine. However, I have a total inability to just stop at one tea, so decided to try their Oolong Iron Mercy. I was taking the step into the world of oolong.
Oolong tea is a cross between black and green tea. So, black tea is fermented, green tea isn't and oolong is partially. The taste of oolong can vary, depending on many things, such as where the tea is grown, for example. That's it in a nutshell!
Before I start the review I will say a little word about Piacha. They are a company who have a tea bar in Islington, in London and also sell tea online, too. They are one of the friendliest tea companies going. Their natural enthusiasm and love for tea is infectious and they are nothing but kind and friendly with me. They are a delight to deal with and their tea is wonderful to drink. So if you are in Islington, do pop in. I'm aiming to in the near future!
Anyway, back to the tea. As Piacha explains this tea can be infused up to three times and each time the tea tastes differently, so I've settled down today to have three good cups of tea!
The instructions for this tea are to boil the water up to 90c and infuse for two minutes, and I've followed those instructions carefully.
First Infusion: I am immediately impressed with this tea. It's just sooooooo smooth and a pleasure to drink. On first impressions this wonderful tea resembles a softer, gentler, gunpowder green tea. It has that familiar sparkling, pale yellow hue and the wonderful woody, plant like taste that is all too familiar with good, high quality green tea's. And I'm in no doubt whatsoever that this tea is of the highest quality. It's quite expensive, £11.80 for 75g's but it oozes taste and quality. It's a luxury tea but for any green tea lover this will be worth every penny. I love how light, fresh and delicious it is. Just so refreshing and wonderfully tasty. And despite this being a slightly plant like tea, there is a delicate air of honey about this tea as a after taste. With each sip of this tea, especially as it cools, the tea develops in it's flavour. It's amazing.
Second Infusion: Whilst infusing the second time I noticed the tea brewed to a slightly darker colour. It brewed to a light green rather then light yellow colour. Still, the tea retained its smoothness, however it has now taken on a stronger, woody type flavour. Very pleasant, especially for me as a green tea lover. The change in flavour is quite big but still appealing to me. It has morphed from something delicate to something a bit sturdier, something you can get your teeth into!
Third Infusion: By this final infusion the colour has changed dark green colour. For me, on this third infusion the taste is even deeper, a full on strong, green tea flavour. This has developed from a light and airy tasting tea to something a bit more solid. I still enjoyed this tea on it's final infusion but it had also developed a slight tart, bitter twang. Personally I would stop at the second infusion, but if you like your tea stronger and don't mind that slight bitter after bite then you will happily get along with three infusions.
I really, really enjoyed this Oolong blend. It is a luxurious tea and it feels as though you are drinking something really, really special. I love the smoothness, I love the woody like flavour that appeals to me when drinking green tea. I just loved this tea. And, as I said, it's a perfect tonic to the highly spiced Christmas tea that I've been drinking a lot of.
This tea was worth every penny I spent on it. And I will be buying more!
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