Oolong from T2, iced; also Not For Purists, III

Well, not exactly iced - it's a little too chilly for that today, although the sun is now out - but I did cold-brew a jugful using the last of my T2 oolong, garnishing it with chopped pears and sliced blood orange to serve at room temperature this morning. The orange slices were a lovely addition, especially after they'd been steeping in the tea for a few hours.


As I think I have said before the T2 oolong is not a terribly exciting one - it's pretty heavily roasted and not particularly fragrant or anything like that, but it does cold-brew nicely, and is also very pleasant hot - can even withstand a few infusions. I won't be buying it again in a hurry; but it is a useful 'everyday' type of tea to have around.

Another thing I like to use the T2 oolong for, actually, is to add a tablespoon of finely-ground leaves (which I do in our small mortar and pestle, they're pretty dry and crumbly and grind down very easily) to a banana smoothie. I first got this idea from the Teas.com.au website - they recommend using their White Dragon Oolong, but I've never tried that particular tea. I like to add a sprinkle of ground cinnamon to the smoothies I make with the T2 oolong - the flavours seem to complement each other nicely. Sometimes I use soy, sometimes regular milk, depending on what I have on hand - both are very tasty (I suspect almond milk would be too). This makes for a great breakfast drink or snack. Given that the recipe calls for quite a substantial amount of dry leaf, I'm not sure if I would like to make it with an oolong or other tea that I really loved drinking on its own, or that was very expensive, but for a middle-of-the-road-okayish kind of tea, it's a good use.