I meant to post this yesterday, I wrote a post but I decided not to publish it for the simple reason that I really wasn’t sure how to cast a verdict on this tea.  After pondering it a while, I decided to just tell you how I felt about the tea as if I didn’t know the name.

Like all good oolong, this is a mild tea.  It’s the best of both worlds, combining some of the best traits of green and black – it’s not fully oxidized – so it’s light and aromatic.   I’m a fan of oolong, I always have been.  It’s the tea I go to when I’m tired and just want to unwind, the tea I prefer when I want a beverage that isn’t going to compete with what I’m having for a meal.  If you judge this tea by those criteria, this is a great oolong.  Harney classes it as a Briskness 1 Body 2 Aroma 3 and it’s light, fruity and soothing.  As a straight oolong, my verdict would be an A-.

Here’s the problem, I was fooled by the fact it’s called Ginger’s Oolong and I should have paid more attention to the word ‘hint’ in the description.  I was hoping for a more robust ginger flavour and in that regard, this tea was lacking.   If I was judging this as a spice tea, I would give this a verdict of C-.   Since it’s a little of column A, little of column B, I’m going to give it a final verdict of C+.  That said,  I bought 3 ounces of it so I have plenty of time for it to grow on me.  Alas, it will be growing with the planned inclusion of ginger, cardamon, cassia and cinnamon – I plan on using this as the base of my personal chai blend.