Sir Rhuberry Oolongbottom from BlendBee

 

My family made a lot of strawberry rhubarb pies in the summertime, and each time I was tasked with washing and chopping the rhubarb from our garden. I was warned that the leaves were poisonous, and only the stems were okay to go in the pie. That dietary fact always made the bowl of chopped rhubarb and eggs and sugar all bubbling together seem like some questionable witches brew. But the resulting pie was always worth the danger, especially with all the pink strawberries in the mix.

Sir Rhuberry Oolongbottom from Blend Bee works to recreate this strawberry rhubarb combination. The dry leaf smells strong and sweet, a bit like artificial strawberry candy. A good dose of hibiscus ensures that this tea brews up bright pink, and brings a blast of tart, fruity flavors. Beneath all the sweet and sour, there is a gentle green, vegetal note, perhaps from the rhubarb or the oolong, and it adds a nice freshness to the tea.
Depending on your love of strawberries, you might really enjoy this tea for the berry sweetness. For me, the strawberry flavoring is very forward, so I would to argue for more rhubarb next time. Though, to be fair, I’m not sure that I would want a full-on rhubarb-only tea.  Rhubarb is achingly sour on its own, and needs strawberries and sugar to truly be palatable. There’s a reason rhubarb and strawberries are so often paired together and this tea is true to that classic strawberry rhubarb pie flavor.


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Blend Bee
Description:

Juicy and refreshing, this blend has just a hint of sweetness and is rounded out with bold red fruit flavors. You will long for Sir Rhuberry Oolongbottom.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Rhubarb Oolong from Stylin’ Tea Blends

stylintealogo175x100Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Oolong

Where to Buy: Stylin’ Tea Blends

Tea Description:

Unfortunately no longer available, but if you see this tea, you have to grab it!

Other Oolong offerings from Stylin’ Tea Blends. . . . . . .

Taster’s Review:

I know. A rhubarb tea.. .  how odd, right? I thought so too.  Probably why it took me so long to give it a go.  Let’s start with how this tea looks.  This tea had the most gorgeous oolongs intertwined with a few larger rose pieces.  A really stunning blend.

The aroma this dry leaf gave off was sweet and slightly floral.  I had always thought rhubarb was more of a tart flavor so I was very shocked and pleasantly surprised when my nose encountered this glorious aroma.  This tea released an aroma that I want bottled in air fresheners and candles alike.

I brewed this up like I do my oolongs- about 190F or so and about 3 minutes to start.  I still had my hesitations.  My brain kept saying- This tea has RHUBARB in it!!! And I honestly couldn’t get past it.  Finally the tea had cooled slightly so I could take my first sip.

Ever have a tea that made you hear glorious singing and just made you sigh? Well this tea did just that.  I can’t honestly say that I’ve ever had rhubarb before but I’m seeking it out! This tea was brilliant, bright, and vibrant. The oolong was a mellower base allowing the flavors to really produce a solid feel.  The flavorings were slight, but enough so there was this slightly sweet yet tart flavor with just a kiss of floral love.  I can’t describe how amazingly light and refreshing this tea was. This is a tea that will make you dream about the next cuppa you get to have of the blend.  It was that good and I still can’t get over how much I adore this oolong blend.  I wish it was still available from Stylin’ Tea Blends because I want gobs of this tea.  I actually felt like crying after the 6th steeping and I knew it was getting close to the time I would have to head home for the day.  I knew I would have to say goodbye to this tea but I am hoping a quick google search will get me more of this gorgeous blend.