Tea Blog

Name: Wuyi Coconut Mango

Brand: Stash

Type: Oolong, flavored

Form: Paper-bagged tea

Review: My tolerance for flavored oolongs is limited, even more so for bagged oolongs, but I admire the creativity of some tea companies. Stash took some Wuyi oolong dust and fannings, flavored it with coconut, mango orange peel and pineapple to create a tasty, inexpensive tropical tea. If you like fruit-flavored teas with a bit of substance, Wuyi Coconut Mango ought to do the trick.

The base tea is a dark, Wuyi oolong (oolong grown in the Wuyi mountains of China). While oolong dust/fannings doesn’t produce much complexity, it does infuse to robust tea with hints of roasted nuts. This is a nice foil for the coconut and fruit flavors: If you tried this blend with a black tea, the flavors may not have harmonized as well and there would be some astringency to deal with. A green tea could be interesting, but would produce a lighter beverage that might not be well-suited to the fall and winter seasons. The oolong adds warmth to the tropical fruits, and surprisingly works quite well.

Incidentally, if you are coconut fiend, you may find this tea disappointing. The mango really dominates this blend. I taste a little bit of coconut, along with some pineapple (I don’t pick up much orange), but it is really a mango lover’s tea.

Preparation Tips: Stash recommends giving this tea a 3-5 minute steep, which I think is entirely too long and draws out some unnecessary bitterness. This tea infuses just fine in under a minute.

Recommendation: Stash Wuyi Coconut Mango is delicious on ice, and could be a nice option as an after-dinner tea for the holidays. Stash wraps individual tea bags in their own little foil pouch, keeping the tea fresh and convenient for drinking on the go.

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