As I delved into my tea cabinet recently, I realized I had been stockpiling oolong teas. Where did they all come from?!
Since the season is finally starting to turn, and oolong teas always make me think of spring, it seemed like a good time to try them all.
So I had an Oolong-A-Thon and brewed ten samples from my stores. The numbers below aren’t a “best-of” ranking, but they roughly move from most delicate in flavor to the most potent in flavor. . . . .
- Alishan High Mountain from Cameron Taiwan Premium Loose Leaf – The dry leaf smells sweet and nutty, and this sweet-oat flavor is echoed in the first steep with additional notes of green melon. The second steep is nuttier still more oat than fruit, though a bit of the green flavor lingers on the aftertaste. (See a review from my fellow Sororitea Sister).
- Alishan High Mountain Eco First Pluck from Terrior Tea Merchant – The dry leaf smells like sweet grass and sour fruit. The first steep is not sour at all, but very green and buttery, with more interesting notes like citrus or bok choy coming out on later steepings.
- Ding Dong Oolong from Eco-Cha – Prior to brewing, this tea smells dry and earthy, like hay or dried grass. Brewed, the first steep is roasty and savory, with just a hint of starchy sweetness in the aftertaste. The second steep has nutty, brown rice flavors, but still remains light and drinkable. (See a review from my fellow Sororitea Sister).
- Ding Ding Oolong from Cloud Nine (Spring 2015) – The first steep features fruit notes like plum, grape, and currant. There are almost red wine or acai berry flavors. This potent fruit flavor drops off in the second steep, with more green notes and fewer berries, more like green grapes and white wine, though the brew never got too bitter or dark even with longer steep times.
- Ping Lin Pouchong from Cameron Taiwan Premium Loose Leaf – These long dark tea leaves smelled like caramel or burnt sugar when dry, but their first steep was surprisingly green and floral. The brew turned out to be slightly buttery, with almost-seaweed notes. The second steep wasn’t distinctly different, with similar savory tones and a smooth, buttery aftertaste.
- Jin Xuan Milk Oolong from Teavivre – The first steep of this tea ended up tasting like sour grapes and bright florals, with a hint of roasted nuts and a supremely smooth mouthfeel. The second steep increased the almost-honey flavor and feeling of the tea, and brought forward some either, grassier notes to the brew, and maintained the milky smooth texture.
- Tie Kwan Yin Oolong from Tea Ave – The first steep was surprisingly roasty, with notes like warm toast or freshly baked bread. There were no green or floral flavors, but the starchiness was well-balanced with an herbaceous earthiness. The second steep brought out a stronger roast, and slightly bitter, dry hay notes, though the flavors were still balanced and very drinkable.
- Shui Xian Oolong from Origins Tea – The tightly rolled dark leaves, smelled like hay and earth slightly bitter, though the first steep had a pop of tart currant, quickly buried under strong, roasted almond flavors. This tea had a dry mouthfeel, very nutty and savory, with even a hint of smoke, like an oolong for lapsang-lovers. The second steep brought out even more sweet, starchy, marzipan flavors.
- Alishan Charcoal Fire Heavy Roast from T-Oolong Tea (Spring 2012) – Despite the name the first steep of this tea did have some bright notes like a greener alishan oolong but with a distinct, roasted, malty depth. There are some charcoal notes: mineral and toasted. Both steeps brew up dark in color, the second steep maintains the toasted rice and malt flavors as the first steep, but develops a smoother mouthfeel. (See a review from my fellow Sororitea Sister).
- Gingseng Oolong from Enjoying Tea – I tried this tea last, because it was the only flavored oolong in this grouping. Anything with added flavor was bound to be more potent than just the leaves alone. This tea smells sweet in the dry leaf, and brews sweet and sour with a very strong passionfruit flavor: green and slightly tropical. The second steep is earthier, less sweet and more like wet foliage, still some lingering passionfruit notes, especially on the aftertaste.
And there you have it– the results of my Oolong-A-Thon!
Like black or green teas, there are many variations and flavors to be had from trying a variety of oolong teas. From my point of view, there wasn’t a bad tea in the bunch, and each had its own flavors to suit the changing weather or my variable tea cravings.
There is certainly an oolong out there that will fit your tastes as well. Happy oolong brewing!
“Calm Fragrance” November 2016 Mi Xiang Oolong from Global Tea Hut. . . .
Every tea I drink is an experience but when I drink a tea from The Global Tea Hut it’s more like a meditation. “Calm Fragrance” November 2016 Mi Xiang Oolong from Global Tea Hut is the tea I am writing about at the moment.
“Calm Fragrance” November 2016 Mi Xiang Oolong from Global Tea Hut was part of the November 2016 Issue and Package. This oolong is a gently roasted oolong that – indeed – does have a calm fragrance. This oolong hails from the Mingjian, Taiwan area and is a 2016 Mi Xiang Oolong. Elevation-wise we are talking roughly 500 Meters!
Once the leaves unfurls in the strainer I was shocked at how BIG the leaves actually were. This just proves how tightly rolled the leaves were to begin with! I know it would be even more stunning to see if infused and unfurled Gongfu Style. Next time I will surely try it that way!
The color of the post-infused tea liquor was a lightly-tanned brown. The natural flavor is absolutely delicious! This will certainly be going on a future Top Ten List of mine!
The flavor on the tongue is of medium strength but there are equal parts woodsy and sweet happening. I can’t decide which part of the sip I enjoy more!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong Tea
Where to Buy: Global Tea Hut
Description
To learn more about the amazing experiences Global Tea Hut has to offer, click below.
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!
Tahitian Vanilla from The Tea Can Company . . . . . .
Steeping this tea was the first time I steeped tea in a tea bag in like years! I always use loose leaf and I definitely contemplated pouring the leaves from the bag into my steeper but there wasn’t much to the sample so I decided against it. However, I was intrigued by the ingredient list: Oolong, rose petals, natural flavors (assuming vanilla flavor). I absolutely love anything with rose petals and pretty much anything that says vanilla!
The dry leaf of this smelled very yummy. I could smell the vanilla and rose mingling together with the oolong and it was very enticing. I plopped the tea bag into my cup and filled the cup with hot water and I let it steep for 5-7 minutes. I was not impressed with the tea bag situation and wish that I had cut it open and just used my usual steeper but whatever!
The smell of the steeped liquor was not as sweet as the dry leaf, but I could still smell that floral vanilla. This blend definitely needed my usual spoonful of agave to sweeten it up and bring out those flavors. Once it was steeped to my liking and I added the agave, I took a little sip. I was pleasantly surprised! Rose definitely is dominant here. This tea is floral with the aftertaste of sweet vanilla, which was definitely brought out by my addition of agave. Im not sure why, but I feel like a taste a little bit of citrus or fruit and that could be the oolong.
Here is how this tea makes me feel: I am sitting down at a cute little bed and breakfast inn. The dining room window overlooks the beach and I can see the waves crashing on the shore. I am surrounded at the table by other vacationers, snacking on danish and scrambled eggs. The smells of tea, coffee, and bacon intermingle with the fresh “beach air”. The teapot on the table catches my eye and I pour some into my cup, with the smell of sweet rose wafting up to my nose. I take a sip as I look around at the wallpapered inn walls and sit back, relaxed and in total tranquility!
Its safe to say I liked it! 🙂
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: The Tea Can Company
Description
Created with luxuriously rich French Polynesian vanilla and rose petals picked from the finest blossoms, this Oolong tea is ooh la worthy. Supports the health of the heart, hair, skin and teeth, rich in antioxidants and high in vitamin C.
Ingredients: Oolong Tea, Rose Petals, Natural Flavor, Contains Caffeine
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
