Nov 08
Jamie’s Teaview Snapshot
 | "This tea was good but not outstanding. The tea is magnificently perfumed and deserves regard for the quality of the scenting. The oolong base is a bit too subtle paired with the strength of the yuzu for me to give highest marks."
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Naivetea really wowed me with the wonderful fragrance and superb scenting of their Lychee Oolong and I approached this tea with high expectations. Naivetea uses traditional methods of infusing their oolong teas - layering high altitude grown oolong leaves with fruits, flowers or essential oils to fully infuse the tea with scent and flavor.The yuzu oolong is apparently scented with pomelo (which is not the same thing as a yuzu, as best I can tell), which is a grapefruit like fruit. It's a big green citrus fruit about a size larger than a big grapefruit. A yuzu, according to wikipedia, is a grapefruit like citrus fruit a bit smaller than a grapefruit. Given that my expertise in the area of grapefruit-esque citrus family members is inadequate at best to carry on the discussion, I'll just say that the tea smells fabulously like grapefruit. It's a mind clearing joy to inhale and I was excited to infuse my tablespoon of tight, rounded twists of greenish black oolong in 8 ounces of 190 degree water.
I'm in the midst of packing in preparation for a move, and though I wanted to infuse these leaves in a guywan, I've already packed up all the delicate items in the kitchen, so used a pot. I steeped two minutes. The dark golden, hesitantly greenish liquor is substantially grapefruit-esque in scent. The yuzu is fresh and bright in flavor with a slightly spicy aftertaste. The oolong itself is a bit hard to perceive. The Naivetea website does warn that the oolong flavor is mellow, and I would definitely concur. From the website: "Intense citron aroma with hints of oolong. Light and smooth body with a blend of zesty grapefruit and mellow oolong flavors. Elegant finish with a natural sweet after taste."
This seems a pretty honest and adequate description of the tea. The scenting and flavors of the yuzu do develop as the tea cools, but the tea itself remains a bit elusive.
For a second steeping, I repeated the first treatment, with another two minute steep. The second infusion was also bright and full of yuzu flavor, with a more watery, wet nature to it. The oolong taste, really quite subtle to start, has retreated to nearly nil. I don't feel that the tea has a great deal of body, though it is quite full of flavor.
A third infusion was much the same as the second. I actually added a touch of sweetener, something I almost never do with oolongs. The sweetener, lightly applied, is actually a lovely touch to the final infusion. It brightened the yuzu and was just sweet and tasty. I enjoyed it.
I thought, overall, that this tea was good but not outstanding. The tea is magnificently perfumed and deserves regard for the quality of the scenting. As far as yuzu flavor goes, it's quite sturdy and enjoyable. The oolong base is a bit too subtle for me to give highest marks. I enjoyed Naivetea's lychee offering immensely and can't imagine that the oolong base is any different in that tea than this, but I think the difference for me in terms of numerical ratings here (I rated the lychee a ten out of ten - it was a joy to savor!) is that the lychee is light and floral whereas the yuzu is much bolder a flavor. Where the lightness of the oolong seems to pair perfectly with the lightness of the lychee, in this yuzu scented offering, the fruit flavor is so outstanding that it seems to emphasize overly the lightness of the oolong's body and comes across as out of balance.
In terms of integrity of flavor and quality of fragrance, Naivetea is definitely worth taking note of. I do caution that someone searching for a robust oolong coupled with high flavor may find the oolong here a bit subtle.
— To purchase Naivetea Yuzu Oolong, or for more specific information on ingredients or the story behind this particular blend, click here to go directly to the manufacturer's web site.
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Jamie Teaviews.com Reviewer » Read more about this reviewer on Jamie's profile page. » Find a list of recent posts by Jamie. |
November 8th, 2009 at 11:12 am
I do notice that “youzi,” the Mandarin pronunciation and pinyin spelling most often gets translated into pomelo. Comparing youzi I bought in China to pomelo bought in the US leads me to believe they are the same or extremely similar.
Therefore, I took “yuzu” to be a Cantonese or Taiwanese spelling of youzi.
November 23rd, 2009 at 2:11 pm
We would like to clarify that our Yuzu Oolong is indeed infused with peels of pomelo, which in Chinese is pronounced “You-zi” (柚子) There are many types of pomelo and they are all called “You-zi” in Taiwan. Yuzu is the Japanese pronunciation of the same Chinese characters. Although a true Japanese yuzu is smaller and not as readily edible as pomelo, they have the similar citrus aroma and taste derived from the peels.
We apologize for the confusion.