G’day, tea-ple! It’s time for another foray into the Land of Oolong — a lush valley between the mountains of Black and the rolling hills of Green. (Disclaimer: this is not literal.) Oolong is like Doctor Who: it can travel between green and black at will. You never know where it will be. It will always surprise you.
Today’s pick comes from Nunshen, which has a really chic Bauhaus-style logo.
The pouch that held the tea sachet was made of a fine matte plastic that felt like a high-end business card. The sachet itself was made of a nice cotton/linen sort of material and had the stitching turn into the string that held on the tag. (David’s Tea’s sachets have similar construction. I was always impressed by those, too.)
I’m sharing this because I LOVE good design. It shows, right from the get-go, that these people care. (Well-packaged tea might not always be delicious, but you know that they had some meetings and they WANTED your experience to be nice, at least.)
The oolong that came out of this hella-chic packaging is surprisingly earthy. It’s like I momentarily entered the world of Helvetica/Bauhaus and forgot that tea existed. All of this smooth black-and-white sans-serif typography is covering up… plants for me to drink. RIGHT. I WAS HERE FOR THE TEA.
More than anything, this tea tastes like healthy cereal. The descriptor on the bag uses the word “oats” and “long.” I’m absolutely getting the oats. When I ran out of my own cereal once, I tried substituting my mom’s, some kind of uber-fiber keep-you-regular comes-from-the-earth blend. This is that. If you love oats and earthiness, this is for you.
I do not, for the life of me, now what “taste: long” means. I actually opened up Dictionary.com and typed in “long” thinking there was some kind of secondary meaning. A Google search on “long taste” offered up a jumble of results, including one that mentioned aftertaste.
So I stopped sipping, and yes, I do still taste this in my mouth a moment later. So maybe they mean it’s a lasting flavor?
REGARDLESS, if you love some malty oat flavor, you’ve gotta get on board with this tea. And then report back to me on what you think “long” means. Please help.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Nunshen
Description
Get closer to nature with fresh grassy flavors and scents that will remind you of an open meadow in the spring.This blend is guaranteed to cœrce your mind and body to feel at peace and one with the Earth.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Bai Hao (Oriental Beauty) – Tillerman Tea Co.
All hail the Queen! The queen of teas that is. Everything about this tea shouts royalty. Unfortunately, the dry smell isn’t coming through due to cross contamination from another tea but the wet smell more then makes up for the loss. In the first 30 seconds of steeping an aroma blossoms from the leaves that is borderline heavenly. One would think they infused rose oil into the leaves. It’s so floral it almost hides the earthy tones.
The essence extracted from the leaves in the water, aka the flavor is truly unique. Floral and fruity notes with a honey finish. Considering that it’s 70% oxidized, I’m surprised that the earthy tones are so mellow. The surprises keep hitting with this tea. I’ve tried it hot, luke-warm, and cold and find the flavor notes do best right in the middle.
Oolongs are truly one of those tea types that are not well known enough the USA. If you are a first time tea drinker you generally start off with something that isn’t even tea [to be considered tea it has to have the camellia sinensis leaf in it]. These are generally called herbals or tisanes. They then will most likely try blacks like English breakfast or scented greens like Jasmine. It’s not until you really dive deeper into the world of tea that you discover oolongs. Even the world of oolong is intense. The type of oolong you get depends on how much it is oxidized. As I said before this tea (Bai Hao) is 70% oxidized and thus is closer to the black tea spectrum. If you truly want to branch out into the tea world or just want to discover more about oolongs and you don’t know where to start, this is a good tea to begin with.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Tillerman Tea
Description
One of the few high grade teas to be harvested in the summer, this tea, first known as “Bai Hao” in Taiwan, reminds us a bit of a superior first flush Darjeeling. We are not the only ones to think so; the story (certainly apocryphal) goes that Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, enjoyed this tea so much that, when she ran out of her Darjeeling, she dubbed this the “Oriental Beauty.” This was subsequently translated back into Chinese as “Dong Fang Mei Ren” Multi-colored twisted leaves mixed with an abundance of silver furry tips gives this tea its visual appeal. The unique flavor profile results from the way this plant develops. The tea green leaf hopper attacks the young developing bud in the spring causing it to wither on the branch. The lower leaves are harvested in the summer with the withered “white tip” attached. This tea is organically grown in Hsinchu County in Taiwan. For anyone who likes a fruity malty tea like Darjeeling with an intriguing honey note, this is a great alternative. After all, if it was good enough for the Queen. . .
Grower: Hsu Sheng Fu Dashi
Cultivar: Qing Xin Da Pan
Region: Emei, Hsinchu
Altitude: 300m
Harvest: Summer 2016
Oxidation: 70%
Roasted
Brewing Suggestions:
Use between 3-5 grams of tea. This is a wiry leaf so practice is required. Pour 195°F (90° C) over the leaves and steep for 1 minute. Always remember to adjust steeping time depending on water temperature, amount of tea you have and personal flavor preference. Increase time and temperature slightly with each infusion.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here
Nonpareil Taiwan Li Shan Oolong Tea by Teavivre
I steeped this tea at 212 degrees for 2 minutes (using the entire sample packet). The packet suggested 1-2 minutes; I sampled it after 1 minute and decided I wanted it stronger, so I left it in for another minute.
The rolled leaves start to expand as soon as they’re submerged. They’re pretty tightly rolled, but they expand a LOT. I’m not really good at determining the level of oxidation in an oolong but I’d say it was fairly light to medium, based on the color of the leaves (and of the liquor). They seem to be high-quality, fairly intact leaves; I was able to pull out one crumpled piece and tease it open to discover that it was actually a couple of entire leaves attached to a bud by the associated stem. So cool! It makes me feel a lot closer to the plant, somehow, than when the leaves are pre-measured into a sachet and/or chopped up into eensy bits.
The tea liquor when steeped is a mid-light yellow, not quite as light as the average green tea, with that distinctive oolong-y fragrance (a bit floral and a bit savory).
First sip: tangy. There’s a definite presence of acidic/astringent aspect. A warming, slightly roasty flavor travels over the top of the tongue while the astringency pulls at the sides of the tongue. By “roasty flavor” I mean an almost nutty, hearty savoriness. It’s not exactly roasted (and certainly not smoky) but it’s a very hearty presence with more depth than just the floral/orchid oolonginess.
The flavor is overall quite smooth with no noticeable bitterness. This smoothness combines with the savoriness to give an almost buttery impression. There’s maybe a tiny bit of mineral-y-ness as well, combining with the green (in a good vegetal sort of way) and slightly roasty/hearty/buttery flavor to create a very satisfying flavor profile.
The tea is fairly sweet already, so I added just a pinch of sugar. I don’t usually prefer milk with oolongs, so I didn’t add any. I imagine you could re-steep this tea with good results as well, based on the quality of the leaves.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Description
The Nonpareil Taiwan DaYuLing High Mountain Cha Wang Oolong Tea is grown in the area at the altitude of 2500 meters, in which the climate is cold and forests grow well. This cold and moisture condition is suitable for tea trees’ growth. In addition, the soil here is fertile, meanwhile performs well in drainage. Thus the tea leaves carry a natural scent of flower and fruit.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Orchid Oolong from Art of Tea. . . .
Spring is just around the corner. At least in my neck of the woods it is. It seems like everybody is tired of lugging around the winter coats and heavy sweaters and are ready for the change of seasons. Even I’m ready to open up some windows and let the fresh air in.
With the coming of the seasons, also comes (for some of us) a change in our tea drinking habits. I’ve noticed that I’ve been craving more bright spring like teas with a floral touch lately. So the other day I prepped up my kettle and checked out Orchid Oolong from Art of Tea.
Orchid Oolong has been a tea that I’ve had my eye on for a bit so I was quite ecstatic when this tea arrived with our other Art of Tea samples. With fresh pops of floral notes coming from my Wall Tea Infuser, I knew I was in for a treat.
First sip into this tea and I couldn’t resist just gulping the rest of the tea down and devouring several infusions. A rich smooth silky texture, buttery rich touches, and a gorgeous floral finish. . . This tea couldn’t get any smoother, richer, or more alluring. This oolong yielded such a beautiful flavor that you can instantly see where this tea gets the name Orchid Oolong. . and rightfully so. Everything about this tea was simply breathtaking and so giving.
Orchid Oolong is a luxurious treat but at such a reasonable price. Highly recommend and one I’m going to have to add to my tea cabinet. The fact that this tea is also offered in pyramid tea bags makes this tea even more attractive to me. 90% of the time, I drink loose leaf but with having to get everybody to school and work. . .it just isn’t in the cards. Knowing that I have this beauty at my fingertips. . . .that is an investment I’m going to be making.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Art of Tea
Description
Our Orchid Oolong tea is grown in the hilltops of Nantou, Taiwan. Often covered in cool mist and surrounded by crisp streams, the leaves are hand-picked and basket-tossed in a process known as oxidization. They are then rolled into kernels that wait to unfold in your teapot. The resulting tea has a unique lilac flavor that is full and smooth, with a fresh orchid finish. It can be steeped multiple times (each time unlocking a different taste), and is also available in our Eco Pyramid Teabags
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Taiwan Beipu Black Tea – Oriental Beauty – Premium Grade from Cameron Taiwan Premium Loose Leaf Teas
Taiwan Beipu Black Tea – Oriental Beauty – Premium Grade from Cameron Taiwan Premium Loose Leaf Teas is the tea of the moment here at Sororitea Sisters! Taiwan Beipu Black Tea – Oriental Beauty – is also known as – Dong Fang Mei Ren. It’s Cameron Teas’ fully fermented version of their traditional Oriental Beauty Oolong.
If you are looking for a natural black tea that is good-sippin’ at just about any time of day try Taiwan Beipu Black Tea – Oriental Beauty – Premium Grade from Cameron Taiwan Premium Loose Leaf Teas! The black tea itself isn’t overly strong. It’s more-so what I would consider a more gentle medium strength black tea. It has a more maltier honey type taste to it and also offers-up floral notes to the senses of ‘taste and smell’. The end sip is subtly fruity, too!
I really enjoyed Taiwan Beipu Black Tea – Oriental Beauty – Premium Grade from Cameron Taiwan Premium Loose Leaf Teas. It’s not too weak and not to strong of a black tea flavor where I think it would please the masses! Try it for yourself and let us know what you think!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Cameron Taiwan Premium Loose Leaf Teas
Description
*This black tea is a fully fermented version of our traditional Oriental Beauty Oolong
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
