Tell me everything about Oriental Beauty Oolong
It is now my favourite of all the teas, I have always loved Oolong, even as a kid i loved it (maybe because its quite forgiving with the boiling water)
Now im all over the Oolongs, but particularly OB’s. but i still dont know much about how their flavour differs and why. are certain areas notorious for flavours, and do they have fushes, that kind of thing…? are there different processes for the oxidisation, etc…
whos the OBi-wan Oolong Jedi around here
i know they get munched by the insects similar to darjeelings and the leaves are different colours, a good tea will have the leaves selected for a certain flavour.
can you choose based on looks of the leaves? and any examples of great OB’s would be fantastic as well
Can anyone recommend a good Oriental Beauty oolong? I tried this one from Arbor Teas (http://www.arborteas.com/organic-oriental-beauty-oolong-tea.html) and wasn’t blown away by it. It tasted like a standard roasted oolong.
i buy from https://www.imperialteas.co.uk/ , so UK/VAT/Expensive anyway. but omg they are delicious. The ones i really liked were from Miaoli county so maybe try and google that. almost spicy, cinnamon, honey, floral, very complex and delicious.
Not really dry and savoury like a standard Oolong, but like a very good wine with balance leaning towards sweet, wonderful aroma and beautiful mouth tingling aftertaste that lasts a long time
The best one I ever had was from Green Terrace Tea, they call it Eastern Beauty.
Summus Tea’s OB is my fav so far. I haven’t figure out how to get more though so I’m trying not to get too attached to it. Look at it! https://instagram.com/p/4H3OD-Ot7G/?taken-by=oolongowl
really strong scent and very peachy floral. Mine is packed in 7 gram little tins and they are perfect condition each time, it’s crazy.
Without this going off topic, does anyone know any info on oriental beauties and what sets then apart, if at all?
I just looked it up and the process of growing oriental beauty is pretty fascinating. From Wikipedia and Green Terrace Teas:
“Eastern Beauty, also know as Oriental Beauty, Bai Hao Oolong, and Champagne Formosa, is one of the most famous and unique Asian teas. During the growing process, green cicadas or “leafhoppers” bite the leaves, stimulating a hormonal reaction in the tea tree that develops its natural honey flavor. This also means that the tea is organic, as no pesticides are used during production. Eastern Beauty is more oxidized than other oolongs and has a very distinctive taste. It is delightfully smooth and fruity, with naturally sweet honey and floral undertones. Thanks to its lack of astringency, this selection is also very forgiving to oversteeping and its savory flavor persists through many infusions.”
“..Dongfang meiren is the chhiⁿ-sim tōa-phàⁿ (青心大冇) cultivar grown without pesticides to encourage a common pest, the tea green leafhopper (Jacobiasca formosana), to feed on the leaves, stems, and buds.1 These insects suck the phloem juices of the tea stems, leaves, and buds, which leads to the tea plant’s production of monoterpene diol and hotrienol that give the tea its unique flavor.2 The buds then turn white along the edges which gives the tea its alternate name, white tip oolong. The insect bites start the oxidation of the leaves and tips and add a sweet note to the tea…”
Yeah, it is the same as a second flush Darjeeling – which is why the SF Darjeelings are sweeter and honey compared to FF Darjeelings
and a really special one will have been picked by a tea master to make sure the right amount of leaves have been bitten so a certain amount of enzyme has been released to obtain the right flavour. I have two of these and they are really nice. others have a similar flavour, but these have a much stronger taste and complexity. one being spicy with aroma and the other sweeter.
i really like Dongfang Meiren
Aha! i have answered my own question, Dongfang Meiren must be 2nd Flush because that is when the insects come out!
nice article. made me drink up a darjeeling. lol.
i havent got an OB yet but this discussion is interesting :)
now you got me looking at OBs! i suppose it is fine to deviate from my puerh fixation while i havent gone in too deep :)
it will take a while for me to contribute to this thread tho coz shipping will take some time plus i would have to compare more than a few OBs to be able to say which is best for me :P
If you can get a sample of the silver medal miaoli from imperialteas Lincoln try it (i got the last of the gold medal) omg.
nice site! too bad it is from uk..i shudder at the shipping…not to mention the price of the tea itself…maybe it will take me longer than i thought lolz. BUT it is pretty attractive :)
Fang’s Gourmet Tea Sells an excellent one except they call it Eastern Beauty. I am not sure if it is still in stock or not.
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