Let me preface this review of Gloria Jean’s Oolong Tea by stating that I am an Tea drinker.  I mostly purchase home grown loose leaf Teas from a local shop that specializes in production of therapeutic Teas; yeah, I’m hardcore.  The tea shop was a gem of a find, but I can’t always get there to buy my favorites.  So when a few days ago Tony (of K-Cup Challenge fame), offered me a K-cup of the Oolong Tea (that he got from Shoffee.com) to brew in the Keurig machine here, I figured “hey, why not”. I was completely out of my stash anyway, so why not try something new.  So how does Gloria Jean’s K-cup stack up to my stuff?  Let’s find out

The Description:

Smooth and sweet, full-bodied with nutty overtones.

The Aroma:

Gloria Jean’s Oolong has a fairly strong aroma.  Whether it smelled like “Oolong” or not?  I couldn’t tell you because I have no idea what the heck Oolong is supposed to smell like!

Drinking it Straight:

If you’re an avid drinker of tea, then chances are that you drink your Tea black so that you can get really enjoy the full flavor.  I must say that there really wasn’t much of a unique flavor to this Gloria Jean’s Oolong, which is what I look for.  To me, it tasted like English Breakfast, but less sweet and with a tinge of something else that I couldn’t wrap my tongue around.  Given a choice, I’d would stick with English Breakfast and bypass the tinge.

The Tea was not of bad quality. Considering it’s Tea that comes in a tiny plastic container – I really was surprised.  I didn’t notice any plasticy taste or anything like that. So if you’re at all concerned about the fact that it’s tea in a K-Cup, don’t be; because it doesn’t effect the taste.

With Splenda:

Now that did the trick.  This Tea claims to be sweet on its own, but I really didn’t really feel the sweet when I drank it straight.  The 1 Splenda packet I stirred in made this Tea come alive for me.  I don’t think I would drink it again without the Splenda.  It really enhanced the flavors, and that odd tinge of “something” that I tasted when drinking it straight was much more pronounced.  It went from a tinge, to a good flavor; albeit one I still couldn’t identify. Could it be Oolong?

Final Thoughts:

Gloria Jean’s Oolong wouldn’t be my first choice, but I could see it being a good standby flavor when your favorites aren’t readily available.  If you like English Breakfast, then you should give Gloria Jean’s Oolong Tea a try.  I personally can’t wait to check out some of the more delicate herbal flavors that Gloria Jean’s produces to see how their flavors stack up.

Shameless Plug

Our sample of Gloria Jean’s Oolong (one of several varieties the company has recently discontinued) was provided by our friends at Shoffee.com.  If you have any interest at all in sampling Gloria Jean’s Oolong (or Passion Fruit, or White Tea), I suggest you get your virtual backside over to Shoffee.com and order a box.  As I said, they’ve been discontinued, so when they’re gone, they’re gone forever.

I fee like I’ve said it a million times, but in case you’ve missed it…  Shoffee.com has an outstanding selection of coffee and teas for your Keurig Brewer.  Don’t have a Keurig Brewer?  That’s fine, Shoffee’s got those too.  In addition to the main site, which now offers the opportunity to review all the products Shoffee.com sells (I’m not going to hold the competition against them), you’ll probably want to check out Shoffee’s CupOfTheWeek for outstanding deals on K-cups by the boxful (how else do they come?).

While you’re here at Qwowi.com, check out our growing list of reviews that make up the K-Cup Challenge.