If you have not tried a Ruby Oolong yet, do yourself a favor and find a good one as soon as you can. Ruby Oolong was my first introduction to a deeply baked and higher oxidized oolong. From my first try, I can say it is easily one of my favorites. The dry aroma was the first thing that got me. Over time, I have realized how much I like oolong tea. I find it has such interesting variations, as do other tea classes, but for some reason, oolong pulls at my tea strings the most! Although you can purchase oolong from many areas around the world, the best is from Taiwan. They have a very rich history in producing oolong. This oolong though, interestingly enough, is from Thailand!
Dry:
When breathing in this tea, you are immediately taken to a bakery looking at your favorite pastry. It hits on those nostalgia feels all the way. There are deeply baked notes of caramel, and cinnamon. It’s almost like smelling a great pie dough out of the oven. Before I tried it, I thought that maybe it was more of a dessert tea. but after my first steep, it was easy to conclude that I have a great tea here!
Steeped:
The aroma of Ruby steeped changes as you go to sip it, which is what I love about. When that water hits the tea and steeps, your nose is greeted with fig, walnut, butter, caramel, slight nutmeg, and lingering cinnamon. The secret note for me is a little coffee. The sip holds on to a little sweetness, but switches to some earthy notes. I get wet earth, leather, slight blackfruit, and roasted notes like smoke, and campfire. It is a transformative oolong! It coats the palate, has a medium body, and really drinks down smooth.
To see more Oolong, check out my Muhza Tie Guanyin review!
Origin: Doi Mae Salong, Thailand
Preparation: I use about two teaspoons of tea, water at 185 degrees, and a one minute first steep in my gaiwan. Subsequent steeps are around 1.5-2 minutes.
You can find out more details about this tea at Rishi
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