Tea Review: Congou by Oliver Pluff & Co.

 For Christmas, my mother gave me a tea sample set from Oliver Pluff & Co., which is a small blend company out of Charleston, South Carolina that seems to specialize in historical blends.  The sample set she gifted me was "Teas of the Boston Tea Party" - blends created to recreate as closely as possible the tea blends dumped into the Boston harbor in the 1700s before the American Revolutionary War.

Needless to say, as a tea nerd and a history nerd, this gift set appeals to me greatly and I have been super excited to try the blends.  The blends come in little test tube like containers that sit in a little cherry wood display.  It's a very nice design.  It also comes with a little card that describes each blend.  I decided to start with the Congou blend because I've already had the Colonial Bohea and know that I love it and want to save it for last, I wasn't in the mood for the super smoke of a Lapsang, Congou was the only black blend left and I already had boiling water which would have been too hot for the other two blends.

So the write up for Congou intrigued me.  From reading the description "toasty black tea, smooth and sweet with the flavour of baked apples" - I had no real idea what flavor to expect - because I couldn't think of any black tea I've ever had that fits that description.

Looking at the rolled leaf didn't help me imagine the flavor any.  Rolled tea that I'm used to is mostly green - like Da Hong Pao tea or rarely a high quality hand rolled oolong like High Mountain Lishan Oolong from Taiwain. 

Not knowing what to expect in flavor didn't mean that I didn't know how to deal with a tight rolled leaf like this. Like with pearled tea - be sure to give your rolled tea leaves extra room to expand in the water.  This is not tea to use in a tea ball - this stuff is better for free floating pot brewing or in a large basket.  Because I'm having a lazy day, I decided with the basket approach for easier clean up.

Brewed up, the color looked SO DARK in my tea pot - so I poured a bit into a small glass to get a better indication of the true color - and as you can see, it's a beautiful gold that could easily be mistaken for whiskey.

Flavor wise, though I went in with no expectations (or thought I had no expectations), it still took me utterly by surprise.  This tastes like something I would expect to get in a high end traditional Chinese restaurant.  I'm so skewed by my tours of historical homes from the Revolutionary period in what I expect tea to smell like.  This was NOT it.  I did not ever picture the Colonials sitting in their parlors sipping something that tastes so VERY CHINESE.  My mother of course gave me a scornful look and said "well, all of the tea back then DID come from China". ........ thank you mother.  Yes.  I knew that.  I knew that historically - but I think of colonials drinking Brittish tea, and Brittish tea doesn't taste like Chinese tea..... well, not anymore.  

Something I noticed - after I finished the small amount from the glass, I poured myself a cup in my usual ceramic work mug that I use every day for tea. BIG MISTAKE.  This is a delicate tea that definitely picks up residual flavors from the ceramic - yes, even through the glaze.  For the true flavor of this tea, you need to use glass that hasn't been used for tea before, or an unseasoned ceramic cup.  Thankfully, I happen to have a few unseasoned ceramic tea cups - so I finished the pot using one of them as the flavor is far more delicate, complex and enjoyable when not mixing with the ghosts of earl grey and PG tips.

Flavor - there is definitely a toasty flavor and it's strange - it's toasty without being smokey.  It is smooth in the mouth without being too dry - though the aftertaste does dry out the sides of my tongue ever so slightly.  It doesn't taste at all like the flesh of baked apples - not even when I'm looking for it.  It DOES have a lingering after note that somewhat reminds me of the SKIN of baked apples, but without the butter or sweetness that such desserts usually come with.

I spent the entire pot trying to puzzle out what would pair best with the tea - because I really think it NEEDS something.  Lemon would mess it up entirely, and for some reason I didn't even want to try milk or sugar... but it feels somehow unfinished.  After puzzling over it for a very long time... I think something with warmed peach and black sesame would be amazing with this.  Or maybe dried apricot... though a chive pancake might work too.

...... this may require further experimentation.  

Final thoughts:  This is a high quality tea not meant for every day consumption and worth dedicating a tea pot to for purity of flavor.  I also now very much want to spend hours tasting it with different food pairings to work on bringing out its best flavors.