Review of Stash Coconut Mango Wuyi Oolong tea.

Stash Coconut Mango Wuyi Oolong.  Photo: Elizabeth Urbach

I am currently trying to assist a family member or two in improving their diet, substituting iced tea for the various sweetened and artificially flavored cold beverages that they usually drink. One person is extremely picky about everything and “doesn’t like the flavor of tea” but wants the health benefits, so I have been experimenting with flavored oolong teas in order to avoid the characteristic “black tea” and “green tea” flavor, but keep all the antioxidants.

I purchased Coconut Mango Wuyi Oolong tea, from Stash, at Nob Hill Foods in Milpitas. The tea is packed in Stash Teas’ characteristic brightly colored foil teabags, and is pleasantly fragrant. The aroma is fruity, but only slightly coconutty, and the flavor is similar. It makes a nice iced tea, sweetened with Splenda, but doesn’t taste like typical “iced tea” and contains all the great antioxidants of real tea.

To make a pitcher of iced tea for my family with this blend, I used this recipe:

½ quart water
several cups of ice cubes
6 Stash Coconut Mango Wuyi Oolong teabags
3 packets Splenda sugar substitute

Bring the water to a boil, remove from the heat, and pour over the teabags in a heat-proof container. Steep for 4 minutes, then strain. Add the Splenda and stir until it is completely dissolved in the tea. Allow the hot tea to cool for several minutes; meanwhile, fill a two-quart size beverage container halfway with ice cubes. When the tea has cooled somewhat, pour it over the ice cubes in the container. Allow to cool completely (the ice will melt) and chill. Serve with a piece of dried mango or tiny bit of unsweetened shredded coconut in the bottom of the glass, or a squeeze of lime juice if you like!

The tea, on its own, has a nice flavor, both hot and cold. The coconut flavor is really mild and only detectable in the aroma when the tea is hot. The mango flavor is sutble, as well, but ads a nice element to the oolong. We went though a box of this tea fairly quickly – since it takes 6 teabags to make 2 quarts of iced tea – and I’ll probably be looking for this more in the future, although my family was not in love with the flavor, because it doesn’t taste like juice or soda!

Stash teas can be purchased at most major supermarkets in the San Jose area; I purchased Coconut Mango Wuyi Oolong tea at Nob Hill in Milpitas.