The Champagne of tea: Oolong
Wednesday, May 9th, 2007
It has been a couple of months since my last cup of a quality Oolong loose leaf tea. The Oolong I’m drinking this week is made up of dark, silver-tipped tea leaves from Taiwan. This tea is absolutely delicious. I enjoy everything about this tea. It’s the kind of tea I can drink any time of the day. Unlike some strong black teas or “grassy” green teas, Oolong is well balanced. I don’t feel overwhelmed while drinking Oolong.
Now, I get a kick out of how Oolong is often called the “champagne of teas.” If Oolong had the same affects as champagne does on my wife, I’d be a lucky a man. However, the fact is you can safely drive after drinking Oolong, and your inhibitions will not be lost. So, the next wild party you’re at, don’t expect Cristal and Oolong to be flowing. The champagne reference simply relates Oolong as a fancy and exquisite tea selection. I highly recommend drinking Oolong tea. It really does deserve its own classification. You’ll enjoy the natural sweetness and relaxing characteristics.
marTEA



Stash tea is now carrying Yamamotoyama tea. Yamamotoyama’s slogan is “perfecting the art of tea since 1690.” That’s quite a few years in case you’re counting. The chrysanthemum tea I’m drinking today claims to contain 100% natural ingredients. It’s basically Pu-erh oolong tea and chrysanthemum flowers in a tea bag. Chrysanthemums are perennial flowering plants. There are many of you that may have a variety of this plant in your backyard.
A quick Oolong recap: Oolong is classified by its level of oxidation. Oolong’s oxidation level is between a black tea and a green tea. For many, it is the happy medium. For me, I’ve enjoyed almost every Oolong I’ve tried. Oolong is not as grassy as green tea, but it is not as “sweet” as black tea. Oolong is known as a traditional Chinese tea. Many restaurants that serve Chinese cuisine, serve Oolong tea. Unfortunately, the Oolong served at the restaurants is not near the quality of the fresh-gourmet loose leaf Oolongs that I’m used to. That said, I was ready to try a night-blooming jasmine flower flavored Oolong. The scent of the dried tea leaves had
more of a distant floral scent. I describe it as distant, meaning it doesn’t smell like you stuck your nose in the middle of a bouquet of flowers. As with most Oolong teas, a cooler water temperature of 180 degrees for 3 minutes is a good rule of thumb to allow for steeping. My first taste of the brewed tea really exceeded my expectations. The jasmine flavor was perfectly balanced with the Oolong tea. I was hooked from the first cup. It’s the perfect tea for any time of day. It’s good in the morning, afternoon, and after a meal. The tea is just perfectly balanced.
Many Americans are familiar with
Oolong is widely known as a traditional tea from China. My favorite Oolong tea was purchased from adagio.com and was grown in Taiwan. It is described as a Jade Oolong. I have to say that today’s cup is the best Oolong I have ever tried. The leaves are large and hand-rolled. The color of the leaves is mainly green. This particular Oolong has a very pleasing scent. The scent reminds me of a mix between a distant flower garden and a delicious traditional green tea scent. I say “distant” because I want you to know that it does not have a flowery and overpowering floral scent or flavor. The tea is entertaining as I let it steep for 5 minutes in 180 degree water. The hand-rolled leaves unwind and move around in the pot. Oolong prefers longer steeping times in cooler water temperatures. Make sure you follow your providers steeping instructions. After a couple of cups, adjust your steeping time and water temperature to your liking.