Trader Joe's Unsweetened Golden Oolong Tea

Every now and then, an under marketed product slides in under the radar while everyone else is going gaga about cauliflower pizza crust. This tea is the jam y'all. 




I don't buy bottled drinks often, but I made an exception for this one.  Am I a tea connoisseur? By no means, but oolong is one of my go-to drinks at my favorite bubble tea shop. It has a nice earthy, delicate flavor with some fruity notes. 


Seeing as I'm not a tea expert, I'm not going to go on about the laundry list of health benefits. Although consider this - Chinese people have been drinking oolong for YEARS, way before it became cool or mainstream. And this here tea is apparently brewed from loose leaf tea. Real stuff. Made in Japan too, so I'm expecting high performance too. 


And yes, it's really healthy because it's UNSWEETENED. For some people, the fact that it's good for you is enough. Forgive me as I struggle to describe the taste of this oolong. It's earthy but light. Think green tea (ish) but cleaner-tasting and mellower with a hint of a fruity essence. It's energizing too in a calming sort of way. It was one of those drinks that I purposely drank slowly in attempt to make it last longer so I could savor every sip. Dare I say this oolong tea is better than whatever oolong I have at the bubble tea shop. It even tastes great unsweetened. A liked it too, except his instinct says this tea is supposed to be hot, which you could do easily, but I find that this tea chilled is so utterly refreshing, particularly while I'm at work struggling to stay awake. 

I've already repurchased a few times and even shopped around at a few local Asian grocery stores for comparable products. I didn't find any "made in Japan" bottled oolong teas, and the next closest products came in smaller bottles and were at least $1.49 each. You get 500ml/16.9 fluid ounces of this deliciousness for $1.19. Most vending machines charge you more than that. 

Y'all know I'm stingy with product ratings, like those college professors that never give perfect scores. The only way to make this product utter perfection is to add a bit of sweetener and chuck in some tapioca pearls. I would totally fork over $4 for that. :P

Can you say summer road trip? Picnic in the park? Chilling on the couch? THIS TEA THO IS SO LEGIT Y'ALL. REPURCHASE REPURCHASE REPURCHASE. Or as my dear imaginary grandma Mary Berry would say, "sheer heaven in a bottle." Find it in the refrigerator case next to the salads and wraps. 

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Unsweetened Golden Oolong Tea. Authentic, made in Japan, delicately earthy oolong. OOO YES. 9 out of 10. 

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