Orchid Oolong Tea Tasting

Smith & Hawken Team: Cathy, Ian (Manager), David (Assistant Manager), Cheryl

We’ll… we just finished up our tea tasting at Smith & Hawken in Chevy, Chase Maryland. What fun! I learned a lot about the care of orchids and how to get them to bloom more than once. Lots of information floating around as we served Orchid Oolong tea. It was such a success, they asked us to come back. I believe we may have an ongoing gig to do a tea tasting every other Friday at the store. Thanks Smith & Hawken for your support!

If you have never had an Orchid Oolong Tea, you are missing quite a wonderful experience. The aroma is classic green oolong. The liquor is a golden yellow and there is a hint of something unusual. If you didn’t know it was orchid, it would remain a mystery. Our Oolong is a high mountain green Oolong from Taiwan which is shipped to Fujian Province China to be scented with fresh orchid flowers.Yulan, the type of orchid we use is a much larger flower and much more aromatic than a jasmine. The danger can be that the tea absorbs too much moisture or becomes over scented and the crucial balance between tea and orchid taste is lost. This year’s crop represents the zenith of the art of scenting.

If you havent read the wonderful article in the Washington Post on Oolongs you must do so! How wonderful that Oolongs are becoming more known.