SpecialTeas had this in the catalog, and I was ordering mass quantities of decaf Darjeeling, so I tossed a sample of #191 Darj Poobong Oolong (Black Musk) into my order to see what it's like.
Lovely, is the best word for it.
Like a very good Darjeeling with the corners knocked almost completely off.
Just a tad greeny, not at all smoky or musty.
Deceptively light color.
Great, leathery smell.
And, apropos of an earlier thread, probably the least-dense tea I've seen yet. The leaves are huge and unfurled in the package, and it takes two teaspoons to make each cup. My high-res scale is on the fritz (dead battery) or I'd have better data... Luckily, it's sold by weight, not volume, so it's not like this is hurting the value any.
I even got a second infusion out of it, though I should have lowered the quantity of water for that.
I can see keeping this tea in the rotation for some time to come. And it's not as expensive as its qualities would hint (though I may be shooting that in the foot by popularizing it here...)
--Blair
P.S. Other items in the order:
931 Vanilla with Finest Madagascar Vanilla Kinda boring. The vanilla may make a mediocre tea smell a little better, but after the first whiff the vanilla was unnoticeable. This was a freebie (they do that on certain orders; I don't recall the rules) so it was worth the try, at least.593 China Emperors Red (Fujian) Excellent. Very like a very good Darjeeling, but from China.
821 Earl Grey De La Creme The "creme" attachment faded behind the sourness of the Earl Greyness. I have no idea why people want oil of bergamot in their tea. Must be something about overpowering the effects of tobacco abuse...934 Chocolate Cream with Cocoa Pieces Again, kinda boring. The chocolate gives it a very tinny taste and overpoweringly fruity scent.