Many Americans are familiar with Oolong tea. Not the gourmet loose teas that many of us have grown to appreciate, but the “Oolong” that is given to customers with their meals at a Chinese restaurant. Your favorite Chinese food is often served with a fortune cookie and tea bag. Since the Oolong tea served in traditional US Chinese restaurants might be the only tea known to a lot of people, I thought I would blog about the tea.

The bagged tea I’m trying today comes from the Kari Out Co. The Kari Out Co was founded in 1964. They specialized in condiments and expanded into several roles of food service including the Kari Out Co. branded Oolong I’m writing about today. The tea bags came when a group of coworkers and me ordered Chinese food from a local restaurant.

The tea inside of the bag was very dark. The bag did not contain near the amount of dust as many well-known name brands I’ve tried. Once the tea was brewed, I took my first taste. I quickly had to take a second taste because of the shock I had during the first taste. This tea tasted almost exactly like Hojicha. It didn’t taste anything like the Oolong varieties I’ve tried in the past. Hojicha is a mesquite flavored tea that is basically derived from charcoaled Bancha leaves. The subtle flavors and floral hints that make Oolong special to me were not present in this brew. The good news, I like Hojicha.

See my previous blogs on Oolong and Hojicha. I will not say anything bad about this tea because too many people including myself enjoy this tea and other “Oolong” teas as we enjoy our favorite Chinese take-out.

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Oolong is a very unique tea that many people tend to pass over because they don’t know what to expect. In order for me to appreciate Oolong, I cannot compare it to my favorite black or green teas. It’s in a class of its own.

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.

Oolong is not my favorite tea. However, the in between nature of Oolong might be just what you are looking for in a tea. I highly suggest trying an Oolong to judge for yourself.

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