A darker oolong tea from Taiwan, formerly known as Formosa (which means 'Beautiful'). Deep raisiny and ripe fruit aroma, autumn 'leafy' note. The lingering flavor and smooth, refreshingly fruity astringency and a lovely introduction to Taiwanese tea.
Customers use these reviews to describe their experience with Formosa Oolong, including flavor, aroma, preparation preferences, strength, and how the tea fits into daily routines. Browse the full review history page by page to compare tasting notes, steeping tips, and favorite ways to enjoy this tea.
When I sipped this on a first brew, the word that came to mind was 'campfire.' I got a very smoky impression (which I consider a positive trait when done well like this!). But what I loved most about this was when I re-steeped the leaves, it was a completely different, but still extremely enjoyable flavor. On the second go round, the taste was milder and lacked the smoke. I feel like I got two experiences for one out of this cup!
I highly enjoyed this oolong. It tastes almost like a sweeter black tea. Very refreshing, perky, and not too bitter.
I like my oolong more on the dark side than the green, so this was tasty. Nice earthy oolong with hints of raisin. Love that I can get multiple steeps out of this one.
Perhaps my nose is different than most of the other reviewers, but instead of getting the woody or earthy smell that most got, I smelled nothing but raisins. Which is not a bad thing to me, it simply is what it is. It wasn't until I started drinking my cup that I was treated to the full spectrum of flavors this tea offers: raisins, yes, but also an earthiness like mushrooms, and just the slightest hint of citrusy brightness. Knowing myself and how I prefer black teas, I steeped it slightly cooler than what the site recommends (195 instead of 212), and the result was very little astringency. After a few sips I added milk and honey, and that really brought the fruity flavors forward!
When hot, this tea begs long, slow sips to truly enjoy the smooth richness. Earthy and mild, there is a slight sweetness and just a touch of astringency to keep things interesting. No sweetening is necessary but keep the brew time to 3 min. to avoid bitterness.
The aroma of the dry leaves reminds me of the damp forest floor in autumn. The tea tastes earthy with a moderate astringency. Reminds me of the tea served in Chinese Restaurants. I find it soothing. 200F for 3 minutes.
Woodsy flavor very earthy, great with honey and cream. Recived in my communitea packet.
Nice oolong, I enjoyed a bit of Smokey flavor. The packet gave several good steeps. Nice early evening pick me up.
Educating my palate the CommuniTEA way! Today’s Oolong was a darker tea. A dark almost metallic flavor was present for me. It tasted similar to tea served at Chinese restaurants. Pleasant, but not a showstopper.
Reminds me of what wet wood chips might taste like but I’m liking still liking the taste of this oolong. I
Inadvertently oversteeped my second cup but it was still fantastic.
An earthy aroma reminiscent of autumn leaves emanates from the CommuniTEA packet today. Steeping for 3 minutes at 212ºF produced a toasty brown brew.
The first sip is earthy and brings to mind the pleasant scent of petrichlor after a fresh fall rain. Scents of roasted rustic bread can be detected hovering over the steeping basket. The damp tea leaves have released all their earthy and roasted flavors into the cup, which tastes smooth yet provides a light but lingering astringency at the finish. This is a great afternoon sip to pair with chocolate.
The earthy flavors from this tea are like a cross between Kukicha and Fujian Rain, minus the mineral 'rock tea' character. It also has some earthy characteristics that come out when adding cream to certain Pu'Ehr teas. Overall, a really great toasty oolong tea that leaves you wanting another sip!
(3 mins @ 212ºF)
I steeped this CommuniTEA packet for 4 minutes. It's very earthy and reminds me of raisins, which was mentioned in the description. Sugar weakened the flavor, but it still tasted a bit like dirt. It was better without sugar. I did not try resteeping it. Overall, this is worth trying if you want an earthy tea but I don't see myself buying it.
This tea really isn't bad - it does have that slight 'burnt cardboard' taste that a lot of oolongs seem to have, but beyond that it is actually pretty pleasant. It's bright like the standard orange pekoe I'm used to. Overall, not a bad tea, and it's actually a little heartier than a lot of the oolongs I have tried recently. I'm pleased with it - but ultimately would not buy a full bag of it.
My communitea packet smelled like raisinets this morning. An earthy, slightly raisiny-chocolatey oolong leaning more towards a mild black tea than a green tea. First brew at 200 for about 3-4mins, second brew at 190 for 5mins
Compared to other oolongs I've tried, this one is lacking in flavor. I get mostly earthy/woody notes.
This was a another good oolong. I received a sample packet from the March CommuniTEA box. I like oolong a lot and this one did not disappoint. Very earthy. Almost mocha like flavor. With a hint of raisin. Deep complex woody flavor. Will be ordering this again.
Nice scent and taste. I definitely prefer darker oolongs like this one.
If you like black tea, this might be the oolong for you. If you like oolongs, keep in mind that this is very dark. I haven't had many oolongs this dark but this one didn't have much of the earthiness of many of the oolongs I've come to know and love. It's quite sweet whereas the oolongs I enjoy tend to have minimal sweetness that doesn't overpower the more basic flavors of typical oolongs.
I'm definitely getting fall leaves and the raisin/craisin vibe here. It's earthy and almost mushroom-y. Due to the timing with having that lovely currant tea yesterday in CommuniTEA, it almost feels like something is missing, but other than that it's an interesting, complex oolong. I want to drink this again in the fall and see if it's even more enjoyable then. This feels like a special occasion tea to me, but not something I would want to drink every day.
I LOVE oolong and I LOVE this tea. At first sniff, it takes me back to the many lunches I ate with my grandmother at our local authentic chinese restaurant, after a day of shopping. But it is not quite so generic as that. Woody, fruity, smooth, refreshing. I drank it with just a touch of Stevia.
Unlike the 212F as stated on the package, I brewed this with the 190F Oolong button on my kettle instead. I feel like a higher temperature would burn this and make it icky.
Lower temperature and a splash or two of milk makes this awesome!
Had a strong earthy, woody flavor that I'm not particularly fond of. However, it was decent enough that I still did a 2nd steep, which tasted even woodier.
212 degrees for 5 minutes. I definitely got the autumn leaves vibe. Smooth, woodsy, clean. Nice dry finish. Sugar brings out the more honeyed notes of the brew. I get a hint of smokiness in the aftertaste. Overall, pleasant tea.
I received this tea as part of the CommuniTEA box. Additionally, I drank this tea a day early, so I'm going to have to remember just how this tea tastes. Still, let's go onto the review:
Upon opening the tea, it smells of a pleasing, almost woody tea. Not as organic or green as green teas can be, but not entirely of wood like a rooibos, it's actually a rather nice scent. The leaves seem interesting, not rolled and almost broken up, but I elect to use a basket to give them the most room to expand as possible.
I steeped this tea twice, the first with boiling water for three minutes, and the second with boiling water for five. Apart from a slight color difference (the first cup was a deep red amber color, while the second didn't have as strong of a color), both cups were very consistent. The taste was both simple, and far from simple, in my opinion. There were slight woody organic flavors, almost similar to some green teas I've had in the past, but with the depth and darkness of a black tea. There was no astringency on the palate, and adding sugar did very little to alter the taste, even upon adding slightly too much sugar (it was simply too sweet, rather than brighter as would usually happen when adding sugar to it).
Overall, a very pleasing tea that I actually enjoyed. My mother didn't care for it at all, saying that it tasted too green, so it seems as though this tea could be one of those take it or leave it teas.
This is a rich and earthy oolong with strong mineral notes. It has a stronger astringency than I generally prefer, but no bitterness, which makes it possible for me to enjoy even with the higher astringency. Not my favorite oolong, but an enjoyable one. (3 mins at 195 F)
Out of the packet it reminded me of oolong tea at a Chinese restaurant; Yum! I sampled this Tea as part of the CommuniTEA March box
Based on the ComminiTEA packet: a nice oolong with a woody roasty flavor. A bolder taste than other oolongs that I've tried.
A nice, classic oolong! Has a bit of a sour, fermented smell out of the packet, and brews to a woody and smooth tea. Tastes a little like black tea but still has those oolong characteristics! I added some rock sugar and it was good with or without :)
Pretty multi-colored, cream, dark brown, and dark green leaves were noted in my communiTEA packet. Mild woody scents and smells like a shou (completely fermented) Pu-erh were present.
I did a three minute steep at 200°F. I used the one and a half teaspoons of tea that was in my packet.
When hot, a stately chestnut brown color liquor was present in my mug. Heavily oxidized bold and dark oolong with black tea flavors starting to creep in were noted. Dark chocolate flavors were mild.
When warm, moderate honey-sweet and toasty nutty flavors were noted. Mild astringent aftertastes similar to unsweetened dark chocolate were noted.
This oolong is bolder than, and has a very similar taste profile of a milder Bai Hao oolong. If you like bold and toasty oolongs, this one’s for you. (3 mins @ 200ºF, no additions)
As oolong teas go, this one is more reminiscent of black tea than the others I've tried. If you prefer black teas, but would like to try an oolong tea, this one would be a good fit!
Way too strong of a taste for me. I added cream and sweetener and still wasn't a fan. Fun to try but I wouldn't drink it on a regular basis.
Continuing the haiku trend:
I wanted a hug/
Formosa oolong and milk/
My tongue feels the love
I found this tea a little bland and biter. Maybe I brewed it too long.
I am not an oolong fan, but this one lies a little closer to black tea than some of the other oolongs I've had so I find it more palatable. It has a slight mustiness, plus the green hay/vegetal scent and flavor that I associate with oolongs. A touch of sugar toned down all of those notes and made it even smoother to drink. The green hay flavor was strongest when hot and become milder as the tea cooled. Since oolong doesn't really do it for me I likely wouldn't order this but also wouldn't turn down a cup if someone offered me one.
This oolong is closer to a black tea than green on the oxidation scale, with some deep noted sweetness without any bitterness. Both the first and second steep resulted in a deep amber cup. It has a sweet nuance to it that is hard to place. Brewed for 4 minutes at 200 for the first steep, and 3 minutes on the second.
As a tea in general, it isn't bad. As an Oolong, not something I enjoy. It's on the much darker side and almost tastes crossed with a black tea. Not undrinkable, but I like my Oolongs smooth and buttery almost and this was dark and woodsy. If I drink it thinking of a black tea, it is smoother than your average English Breakfast.
This tea is roasty, almost savory, with flavors of dried brown fruits like raisin or fig. Very pleasant and unique.
Right out of the packet I got a sweet, earthy, toasty aroma wafting at me. Those notes came through in the flavor as well. It has a smooth, mellow vibe, but the flavor is deep and woody, with a hint of sweetness. As I read other reviews while sipping, I found myself nodding in agreement that it has a breakfast tea quality to it - though it is so smooth, with no bitterness and lacks the strong bite of a regular black breakfast tea. It also strongly reminds me of the flavors found in base of a thai tea you would get in a restaurant - I feel like if I added some sweetener and cream I would be transported to my favorite Thai restaurant. (reviewed through CommuniTEA; 4 min @ 190F)
I accidentally oversteeped my tea today a little, but it didn't seem to hurt anything too much. I get powerful toasty notes mixing with the characteristic oolong flavor and a hint of astringency. It's really lovely and a great value for the price.
Nice tea and a different spin on oolong tea. I’m not detecting any of the fruit flavors mentioned in the description, but it does taste leafy and leave a bit of an astringency. Hard to describe. Interesting but not a favorite.
I like this tea a lot! There's a toastiness to it I enjoy. The flavor peaks at around 145-150 F, after it's cooled down a bit. It's a touch astringent after 4 minutes, so I wouldn't recommend brewing it any more than that. I added a little sweetener and then half-and-half after I'd tried a few sips; the sweetener was a good addition, but the half-and-half covered the tea up more than I wanted. (4 mins @ 195 F, no additions)
Part of the March 2021 CommuniTEA Box. Definitely getting a delightfully fruity nuance from this cuppa.
This is nice. Solid black tea that is reminiscent of English breakfast but lighter tasting.
If I wanted a basic oolong, this is what I would buy. The tea leaves do smell woodsy. It's not as strong as I thought it would be. The color of the tea could be mistaken for a black, but that is one of the most interesting thing about oolongs.
I'm not typically a fan of earthy teas unless it's part of a blend. But this is enjoyable enough, simple and subtle. Will probably enjoy more with a touch of sweetener and over ice.
Very earthy tea. Smooth and no bitterness, but a little too earthy.
This morning's CommuniTea came through on the Oolong! While not the teas I recall drinking at restaurants as a kid, this one is pretty good. Deep golden color, a bit astringent.
Formosa Oolong has a strong flavor with a briskness not to my liking. The tea screamed for sugar.
Rather than double my sugar intake this morning I added the oolong to my matcha latte, sweetened with honey. Perfectly drinkable.
The beauty of CommuniTea is that I can taste many different teas without ending up with a cabinet full of tea I will never drink. Today I found out oolong is not something I like.
I gave it 4 stars because my written review is based on personal preference for the style of tea. I didn’t want to dock stars simply because I do not like oolong.
I keep seeing reviews stating that it's got these deep fruit notes and I have to confess, I'm not tasting any of that. All I'm getting out of this is an earthy flavor that makes me think of piles of raked leaves. It's not bad, but it's definitely a disappointment when I'd been expecting, between the CommuniTEA description and the reviews, to get hints of fruit as well.
This js a great tea. I love me some pure oolongs. I was intimidated by the dark color and was concerned it would be woody tasting. So it was pleasant to taste more fruitiness. This feels like a nice, sunset on the beach or midday walk in the woods.