This tea is a lie. It's mediocre oolong that's been sprayed with caramel apple flavoring. Republic of Tea isn't always the highest quality, but I at least expected them to be honest. The can gives no indication that it's flavored and the website positively claims that it isn't. At first I doubted my own senses, but I was able to wipe the flavoring oil from the inside of the can onto my finger. The flavoring tastes like caramel candy and Granny Smith apple peels.

After steeping, it's obvious that the tea isn't very high quality. The tea is older, larger leaves. High-quality jade oolongs are small, young leaves and are often two tiny leaves and a tip attached to a soft, green stem. These leaves are at least an inch long when unfurled and match the leaf pictured on the can. At four dollars per ounce, it's borderline fraud.

I'm amazed that Republic of Tea would claim that this tea is unflavored. If their supplier lied to them, then they either didn't taste the tea themselves or don't know what tea tastes like. I've also wondered if the tea normally has only a small amount of the flavor to add the "milky taste and silky texture," but my can got a larger dose than it was supposed to. I don't know. I do know, though, that I won't buy anything else from Republic of Tea. Caveat emptor, indeed!

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