Almond Oolong from Adagio

Scent in tin: vanilla nut, sweet – yummy.
Brewed in: Glass teapot
Steeped: 5 minutes @ near boiling
Cup: porcelain teacup

After my experience with Adagio’s Grapefruit Oolong earlier this week, I was pretty excited to try this one as well. I love the smell of almonds, but in the tin, this tea almost smelled more like vanilla than anything else. It’s a very dark oolong with bits of real almonds blended in & Adagio instructs that it should be brewed at 212 degrees, but I was still a bit too apprehensive to brew it at a full boil, so I poured the water just before it hit the boiling point.

And then I was very afraid.

Anyone who’s been brewing tea for awhile knows that smell – the one that you get when the water is just too hot for the tea and the leaves seem to be burning in the cup. I sighed, but decided to wait and see, reserving judgment for the tasting. There was still time to brew another pot, if I had to. The tea does look absolutely lovely while brewing – rich, golden, but still very clear, like topaz.

I poured it into my cup, still disappointed that I’d apparently ruined the tea. It appears as a lighter black brew in the cup, which struck me as interesting and lovely since it was still very clear in the cup, just dark. I went and sat down, waited until it had cooled a bit more, and then took a tiny taste, just to see how badly I’d burned it.

Then a larger sip, and another one after that. I discovered that the tea was not burnt at all – it was just the particular scent of this tea steeping, the almond scent overwhelming all else! Whew!

Needless to say, it was wonderful. The oolong base was smooth and silky as it rolled over my tongue, leaving behind a wonderfully sweet almond and vanilla taste. As it cooled, the worrisome scent resolved itself into a relaxing sweet vanilla fragrance that I quite enjoyed. Neither the taste nor scent were too strong…just pleasantly noticeable and very well blended with the dark roasted oolong. Not only was it the perfect tea to relax with, but the flavor was very warming on a cold winter night. Excellent for this time of year.

So this one gets another hearty thumbs up from me – try it…just don’t judge it by the smell while it’s steeping!