Twinings Pure Oolong Tea (20 Count, Original)

When you get a good batch, this oolong has a delicate, nutty flavor with a sweet aftertaste and a fresh tea aroma. It brews to a beautiful clear yellowish-green color and isn't bitter or astringent when steeped properly. The flavor profile is gentle and refreshing, making it approachable for everyday drinking.

It should be—the tea bag format is convenient and the flavor isn't bitter when brewed correctly. However, there's a significant caveat: quality control issues are frequently reported. Some customers receive fresh, flavorful tea while others get weak, flavorless batches or even contaminated products. If you get a good box, it's a solid introduction to oolong. But the inconsistency makes it a bit of a gamble.

This is one of the red flags with this product. Multiple customers report that their tea brews cloudy and murky instead of the clear golden color oolong should have—even after rinsing the bags multiple times. This suggests quality control problems during manufacturing. Fresh, properly processed oolong should brew crystal clear, so cloudiness often indicates stale or improperly stored tea.

Unfortunately, yes. While some customers love their boxes, others report serious issues: weak or completely flavorless tea, torn tea bags with leaves spilling out, crushed packaging, and in extreme cases, bugs or mold. There are also reports of receiving wrong items or missing products. It seems batch quality varies significantly, which is disappointing for a brand like Twinings.

The key is not over-steeping—oolong is delicate and can turn bitter if left too long. Customers who enjoyed this tea mention it's not bitter when brewed correctly, suggesting a lighter steep time works best. Some advanced tea drinkers tried rinsing the bags first (a traditional oolong technique), though this didn't solve the cloudiness issues some batches had. Start with 3-4 minutes in water just below boiling and adjust from there.

Probably not consistently. One experienced tea drinker stated this was the first tea they 'could not make taste good' despite trying multiple brewing methods. The quality inconsistency, cloudiness issues, and reports of weak flavor make this unreliable for discerning tea enthusiasts. If you're serious about oolong, you'd likely be better off with loose-leaf tea from a specialty retailer where quality is more consistent.