Official Oolong thread!

Mmmmm…. Rou Gui is cinnamon goodness :-)

Expecting a RouGui sample any time now. :P

I didn’t put it in your box :( I only have enough for one more cup and I couldn’t part with it.

That’s fine! =)

The RouGui I have coming in was part of the samples I ordered to prepare for Christmas, but it turns out I didn’t need it so I’ll just enjoy it myself when it gets here. :)

You’re preparing for Christmas kinda early ;) heh

It’s almost July already, I should’ve prepared earlier!

Woot!! Your enthusiasm makes me happy sweet girl :-)
Yo, i love TTL oolong, and that Autumn Jade totally rocks!

Have you by any chance come across any oolongs that are like the two I said I loved? That are that floral, TheTeaFairy?

This is my favorite green oolong of the moment….expensive ($7 for 7grams) but worth every penny!

http://yunnansourcing.com/en/anxi-oolongs/3179-competition-grade-tie-guan-yin-oolong-tea-of-gande-village.html

My favorite too! I tend to go for many of the high mountain taiwanese oolongs and anything floral scented (like the Magnolia from Tea Ave, just, yum!).

@TheFairy – its my current favorite too

YES! The competition grade is amazing. It’s very expensive though. I am very happy with their imperial oolong.

http://www.yunnansourcing.us/store/index.php?id_product=643&controller=product

Its beautiful and so creamy with strong floral tones.

Oh I’ve been wanting to try that one from YS, but mann that’s just way too expensive for me. I can’t let myself fall in love with something that I won’t be able to afford again xD

Ost, i totally understand you! May I suggest this then? To me, the quality/ price ratio on this Anxi Monkey King from Teavivre is hard to beat. Deliciously floral and creamy, one of my go to everyday oolong!

http://www.teavivre.com/anxi-monkey-king-oolong-tea/

Actually have had that one before, TheTeaFairy…I think that was one I liked, can’t remember entirely. But I also don’t do well with creamy, milk-ish flavors in oolongs. They always make me feel really sick. :/ I guess since I don’t like the roasted ones, and can’t drink the creamy ones since they make me sick, I’m actually pretty strict on my oolongs. xD I mean, I’ll try any oolong that comes my way no matter what (well unless it says it’s a milk oolong) xD But I guess I’m just picky :P
There was one of their oolongs I really really like, it might be that one, I’d have to look in my notes. But most of their oolongs I wasn’t a huge fan of. Heh, I’m just a picky tea drinker!

This could be a danger zone for me!!!

Yusss!!!!

Sounds fun, but i’m just curious dear, what type of oolong are you refering to for that cocktail?

Lol, you’re cray!! In a very good way sarsita!!

Um, the Fairy and I insist on continuing to receive your oolongs.

Haha! Good call missy!!

i would like to try some oolongs too, if there is room for another :)

I’m awaiting the same pre-order from Verdant, and I’d love to find more like it! Eager to hear some responses…

I have some Dan Cong from another company and was never able to get a brew I liked. What brewing parameters did you use?

I used to love Verdant’s TGY but sadly, it’s no longer one of my favorites…don’t get me wrong, it still a good product but i have found far better ones from Taiwan Sourcing, Yunnan Sourcing and Whispering Pines. I also love Taiwan Tea Crafts.

@Ubacat. I brew mine in a gaiwan, semi-gongfu style. I use about 1-1.5 tsp tea per 4 oz of water @ 185-190 F. I rinse the tea with boiling water first and then steep for 2 minutes, adding 1 minute to each subsequent infusion. I find this tea has a very narrow sweet spot and varying the brewing parameters even slightly results in a mediocre brew. Of course this is just my experience with the batch I have..YMMV.

@TheTeaFairy, thanks for the feedback on Verdant’s TGY. Kind of a bummer to hear theirs isn’t the best but I now know where to order my next TGY from.

I love Taiwanese Gaoshan oolongs coldbrewed overnight!

I ride to work by bike, and on warmer days it’s lovely to have a bottle of coldbrew along on the ride. It’s just so refreshing, and still has the caffeine to pick you up in the morning! ;)

Ditto here. Green oolongs are slowly beginning to supplant Japanese greens as my tea of choice.

It’s interesting that you cold brew from steeped tea leaves. I’ve always used fresh tea for cold brewing. What ratio of tea to cold water do you use? And how long to let it steep?

Often I take a partially-gongfu’d tea home and cold steep it, or one that’s not quite spent and get better flavor, but a good oolong will still give good flavor (a different one from the unsteeped leaves) when I have decided it has progressed to too vegetal a flavor in the hot steeps. My hot steeps are typically 3-5g or 1 heaping perfect teaspoon. I use those leaves and one fill of my cold-steep bottle (which I think is 12oz, I will check and update when I get home and see it again) and steep overnight (usually about 10 hours, though I have forgotten them in the fridge for a day or so and it still turned out fine, just a little more vegetal, like a later hot steep).
Keep in mind that I pretty much always do gongfu or short steeps (maybe reaching 2 minutes on the 6th steep), so that could affect how much flavor my spent leaves still have.
Many teas regain some of the notes of the early hot steeps when cold steeped, but it’s obviously not the same. The only tea that lost its flavor and then regained almost totally for me was Mandala’s milk oolong, but cold butter flavor was not the best cold steeped, haha!

Thanks Equusfell, this sounds like a great way to use up tea leaves that still have infusions left. It makes sense to use gongufu’d tea with this method since the larger quantity of tea will impart the most flavor. Can’t wait to give this a whirl.

Oolong is possibly the broadest single category of teas, and I don’t think there’s an accurate way to describe the way oolong in general is supposed to taste.

It encompasses all of the semi-oxidised teas, so it covers teas from the near green BaoZhong to the near red BaiHao oolong.

I’m afraid you will have to go online to get decent oolongs….i agree with ChaiVeck, there are so many different types of oolong, the best way for you to find out what you like is to try a bunch.

But the most important question is not “what” to try but “who” to try it from. Find a really good seller with integrity and get samples. This thread already mentioned a lot of them. I would start with Yunnan Sourcing, Taiwan Tea Crafts and Tao Tea Leaf. Try different levels of oxidation. The description will usually tell you.

Don’t get discouraged, it took me tons of trials to figure out what I really like. But the search is fun and so rewarding! If you need help when comes time to order, just post here for assistance :-)

I have found some decent and cheap oolong in the oriental section of the local supermarket, or in a local gourmet food shop (slightly more expensive). Republic of Tea makes a very drinkable Dragon Oolong that could be a good place to start. Usually the more expensive oolong taste better, but bagged oolong can be very forgiving if you steep too long

Yup, oolongs probably have the widest range of flavor and aroma depending on oxidization level and processing technique. Floral, honey-like, and roasted are the flavor notes commonly associated with oolongs.

Rishi Tea has some very good quality oolongs that you can purchase locally. I’d recommend their Four Seasons Spring and Bao Zhong to experience green, lightly oxidized oolongs. On the other end of the spectrum are darker oolongs and Wuyi is probably the most popular and easy to find of the bunch. For a middle of the road/standard oolong, try a traditional tie guan yin also known as monkey picked oolong and iron goddess of mercy. Teavana and Adagio both carry it and I’ve seen the Rishi’s TGY at Whole Foods.

Thanks for all the info everyone. I’ve never been a fan of oxidized teas, so maybe that’s why I haven’t found one I like. Checking out H-Mart, which is an Asian supermarket with good prices seems like a good idea.

im planning to get an oolong you might want to try :)

Haha, I’m eagerly looking forward to, and purposely (cough trying cough) to save some money for, the black friday/holiday sales from tea companies.

Does that mean I might be a tea-addict? I hope/am sure others can relate? ;P Help!?

Lol Im surprised you even questioning yourself ! Yes, you are one of us. #teaddict, #teahoarder. And #teawareacquisitiondisorder too. Me too and I’m proud of it

Haha, Boychik, that’s not me actually questioning myself, I know I’m an addict!
It was a silent plea for help, hoping an outsider might throw in a lifebuoy to get me out of this mess! ;P

Ah, well, I know right well I’m doomed to a life of tea, and I’m glad to fall down this slippery slope :P

Sorry ChaiVeck, we can only help you go deeper in the abyss of tea addiction….that’s all we have to offer here (mad face emoji)

Yes yes BezoomnyChaiVeck! You ARE a tea addict. Welcome to the club. Lots of tea addicts here!

PS: Beware of brash decisions with Black Friday. I started out very organized last year but threw it all to the wind. Got great teas but still drinking them down.