Steep Time: 3 minutes
First Sip Thought: “Slow Down.”
Smell: The after steep is a beautiful amber shade that has soft lemony scents. I enjoy the shade because when I see amber I think of a stop light and to “slow down.” This is a nice tea to remind me to do just that and savour each scent and taste. The entire aroma of the tea is not strong, but a nice and calming.
Taste: I was very excited to try this rare oolong from the organically certified Makaibari tea estate in Darjeeling. I love a good cup of Darjeeling and wish I had it more often, so it was neat to get my hands on a DarjOolong for the first time. The initial taste I got was lemon. Not additives are needed as there are hints of natural sweetness with each sip. I enjoy it as a great light tea with flowery undertones. The quality of this tea is remarkable and I can’t help but imagine the leaves being handpicked with care and making their way to my cup. In my experience, most people who don’t really enjoy “pure” teas have a reason of it tasting like grass. I get that, and I’ve had that experience with many teas myself before. However, I assure you that this one is not grassy at all. I would recommend it to anyone that wants to start getting into pure teas without additional flavouring. It definitely sets a high standard for the rest.
Verdict: 4 out of 5 tea leaves