The Oolong which forms this base of this tea is a Se Chung Chinese Oolong, which has a colorful history attached to it.
Se Chung Oolong is said to have been made famous in the Fujian Province of China during the Qing Dynasty. It is said that an elderly monk was suffering from an unknown ‘cold sickness’ and was unable to be healed by the local doctors. In this village lived a tea maker whose blend of tea was said to make people well again. The tea maker was summoned to bring his tea to the sick monk.
Unfortunately (and decidedly a let-down), this legend does not tell what became of the monk, nor of the tea maker, but that style of oolong, named Se Chung Oolong, has persisted through the decades and has become one of the most popular oolongs in China because of it’s superb flavor and affordable price.
This particular certified organic Se-Chung Oolong, which has strong woody notes to it, is blended with sliced almonds which enhances the already nutty character of the Se Chung to produce a very intense Oolong tea which tastes very dark and nutty with a light smoky note in the background.
Frontier Co-op describes this tea as:
Bold-leafed Se Chung Chinese oolong blended with sliced almonds. Subtle, nutty almond flavor nuance combines with light smoky character of the oolong to yield delicious toasted notes. CERTIFIED ORGANIC.
I drank this tea hot, served plain without any sugar or milk, as I think befits this tea. It was so smooth and rich to drink with only a slightly astringent aftertaste, that I would categorize as ‘palate-cleansing’. This is a lovely darkly oxidized Oolong that has a lovely ‘tea’ fragrance. A perfect symphony of nuts and oolong!
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Recent Comments
"When I was a kid, in the middle of winter, my friend Penny and I eachbought a quart of ice cream, skated to the island in the middle of our lake and ate them. Soooo good and soooo naughty. It keeps us young to be naughty sometimes. I would just go for it an enjoy!"
marlena said, in reply to Better Belly Blend from Two Leaves and a Bud on August 30, 2010 at 12:35 pm
marlena on:
Better Belly Blend from Two Leaves and a Bud
"Well, as someone who has tasted a lot of chai tea, I can attest that this really is not very similar in taste to Chai. Chai tends to focus on the spices, whereas this tea’s focus is on the orange, with the spices being very gentle and more of an accent to the orange."
liber-teas said, in reply to Harvest Orange Spice from Octavia Tea on August 25, 2010 at 11:00 pm
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Harvest Orange Spice from Octavia Tea
"How fun! I love drinking tea so I love that you have a whole blog related to reviewing them. One brand that I really love that I don’t see on your list is the Portsmouth Tea Company. When I lived in Boston I used to buy lots of their teas and they were oh so unique. They had some really great fruity and floral blends. It’s interesting that..."
Kelly said, in reply to Harvest Orange Spice from Octavia Tea on August 25, 2010 at 11:25 am
Kelly on:
Harvest Orange Spice from Octavia Tea
"Haha!! My co-worker told me that she purchased this tea after having purchased the Matcha Latte at Seattle’s Best, and her and another co-worker purchased this because they believed it was what was served there. She stated to me today that “it didn’t seem the same exactly…it felt like their was something..."
The Tea Guru said, in reply to Matcha Latté with Honeydew from Tazo Tea on August 20, 2010 at 8:55 pm
The Tea Guru on:
Matcha Latté with Honeydew from Tazo Tea
"I’m not absolutely certain, but I believe that this is the concentrate that Seattle’s Best coffee shops use to make their matcha latte. The lattes I’ve enjoyed there were sweet with a definite melon flavor… and I have noticed that they sell other Tazo teas there. If it IS the concentrate that they use… I am..."
liber-teas said, in reply to Matcha Latté with Honeydew from Tazo Tea on August 20, 2010 at 8:47 pm
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Matcha Latté with Honeydew from Tazo Tea
"I Love this tea!! This flavor is my favorite. I am so addicted to it! Thanks
"
Betsy said, in reply to Raspberry Earl from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea on August 20, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Betsy on:
Raspberry Earl from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea
"Steph: Thank you for your information about the naranquilla. I didn’t find the flavor to be very tart at all – which is what I would have expected from the combination of lime and rhubarb. Perhaps the maraschino sweetened it up a bit and made it much more peach-like. It reminded me a bit of candied apricots or peaches."
liber-teas said, in reply to Easter Tea from Dammann Frères on August 19, 2010 at 7:42 pm
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Easter Tea from Dammann Frères