While in Canada back in March I bought some tea while we were out sightseeing on the last day. See: Friday in Toronto

I have tried the tea a few times, but have not yet written about it. This is partly as I am not sure exactly what the tea is.

There is actually quite some controversy about Milk Oolong. There is a particular type of tea called Jin Xuan which is commonly referred to as Milk Oolong. This tea was created in the early 80’s and has a thick creamy texture that is similar to that of milk.

However, I am sure that the tea that I bought is not true Milk Oolong.

Instead there are many imitations where flavoring or other additives are added to tea leaves to create a milky taste. I believe that this is one of them.

The tea leaves do have a milky smell to them, and it was what drew me to this tea when I was in the store. The store that I bought it at is setup similar to an antique mall where there are small booths where vendors sell different items.

I saw that there was a website listed on the package and planned on visiting it later to find out more about the tea. However, the domain was non-existent and web searches did not find anything. This is not the first time I have acquired tea that has a web site listed that doesn’t exist. I think I need to check the website first and not later 🙂

It could be that the website had to be taken down due to the fact that the name is very similar to another tea company.

Here you can see that the leaves have opened up as the tea infused.

Here are the leaves after draining off the water. I compared the look of these leaves to ones that I found pictures of for Jim Xuan tea. To me they look very different.

I had a bit of difficulty getting this picture because of the steam coming off of the tea. However, you see a nice buttery color for the tea. You also see a lot of small particles in the bottom of the cup. This is not normal with a high quality oolong tea. You may see a few, but not this much.

The tea itself has a milky or creamy flavor with some fruity tastes as well. This fits what a milk oolong should have. However, the milky taste quickly goes away with later infusions and you are left with just the taste of a lightly oxidized oolong. The particles and dust also go away with the later infusions. This is normal, but it seems that the small particles and dust have all the flavor which is not normal.

My verdict. A good tasting tea, but not a true milk oolong. It is a good thing I didn’t pay too much for it. That would have been a clue if I had known more about milk oolong at that time.

Now to find a true milk oolong to try.

Steven