Tea review: Grape Wulong Tea

Grape Wulong Tea Reviewed by: Rebekkah
Type of tea  loose-leaf, oolong	Flavor aspects fruity
Where I got it Teavana	Cost $12.98 / 2 oz
How I brewed it 4 minutes with just-under-boiling, 1.5 tsp in 12-oz mug.	Rebrewing notes Don't.
Review Whether or not you like this tea will entirely depend on whether or not you believe in re-brewing. The flavor is actually fairly good on the first brew: it's a strongly grape-flavored oolong, more grape juice than oolong juice. In fact if you dislike oolong but for some reason want to drink it, this tea is pretty much grape juice tea. Therein lies the problem with rebrewing. The second brew is a wrung-out version of the first. If you like grape, the first cup is very tasty; I don't know many people who like watery grape juice, though, and that's what the second cup becomes. You still don't taste the oolong, at least I couldn't; it's just a weaker version of the first cup. So, as an avid re-brewer, this is NOT my favorite cup of tea. While it's a pleasant enough first cup, I can't stand to reuse the leaves without adding more--which kind of negates the purpose of resteeping the leaves in the first place. And to me, oolongs are designed for multiple steepings. I mean, to me that's the main draw, a tea that has wonderful flavor for 4–5 steepings or more. Needless to say, for oolong lovers I do not recommend this tea. But to someone who is new to tea, or who doesn't love the light flavor of oolong, it's a great choice. It's actually probably a great step between fruity herbal teas and green or black teas in general. If you don't rebrew, it's a fun choice and very refreshing--I bet it would make an excellent iced tea, too, though I haven't tried it. So it does have some points to recommend it. Just don't reuse the leaves. But it is pretty, and it does smell good. (Image from Teavana)