Me Love Oo-Long Time! Five Dollah!
6 Mar
Before I get into the discussion on oolong tea, let’s take a step back and crack up a wee bit about that title. If you don’t get it, say it out loud with a really bad, stereotypical asian accent. (I swear I’m not racist. I just appreciate a bad pun… emphasis on bad.) Got it now? You can thank FyreTyde of A Koala Tea Blog (get it!?) for this gem.
In any case, back to the story of tea and – more specifically – oolong tea.
One day, my brother and I were wandering the streets of Kunming talking about tea. I mentioned how much I enjoy oolong teas and he started laughing and told me, “The Chinese make jokes about how foreigners love oolong because it’s a naturally sweeter tea and foreigners like sweet things more than they do” (not necessarily an exact quote).
This conversation remained in the back of my mind every time I read about, found, or tasted an oolong tea. Since I was on a bit of a ginseng oolong kick at the time, this seemed especially on point. I remember one day on Tea Chat, I was asking for some advice on what teas to order and from where. I said I was partial to oolong teas and it was suggested to select a sampler pack from Life In Teacup.
It was upon receiving a few Dong Ding oolongs and a nice Tie Guan Yin sample that I experienced my first truly natural oolong tea. It was exciting and leafy. The flavor was herbaceous and complex. It tasted somewhat roasted and delicious to me. It did not carry the same kind of sweetness that I had come to expect of oolongs, so it was both shocking and exciting.
The variety of flavors among oolong teas specifically is related to the variety of ways that oolongs can be produced. There are two main ways an oolong can be manufactured – open, long leaves that are typically more highly oxidized, or balled leaves that are less oxidized and referred to as a green oolong. Of all the tea types, oolong is widely considered to be the most complex to manufacture and will require the most skilled tea makers to produce a multi-faceted tea that reaches the full potential that oolong has to offer.
Oolong teas are referred to as semi- or partially-oxidized. The different oolong teas can be oxidized anywhere from 12% to around 80%, depending on the intended flavor that is trying to be evoked. With the balled oolongs, they will typically have a somewhat lower oxidation level (hence being referred to as “green”), and they will essentially repeat a part of the tea-making process.
After withering the leaves, they will essentially be tossed to break the cells in the leaves, allowing them to oxidize to the desired level, at which point they are heated in order to stop the oxidation, and finally dried. It is after the dry leaves have rested that the real forming of the tea begins. The leaves are gathered into cloth sacks and rolled in order to begin shaping the leaves into the balls we steep in water. Once they are finished rolling the cloth sacks, the leaves are separated out just to be put back into a sack to be rolled again. This process can be repeated as few as 30ish times to as many as 70 or 80.
The open-leafed oolongs are a bit simpler in the fact that their production stops once the leaves have been dried. However, more often than not, these open-leafed teas will be more heavily oxidized and produce a darker, more amber liquor.
Oolong teas are made primarily in south-eastern China (Fujian and Guangdong Provinces) and in Taiwan. Many of the most highly prized oolongs are made from leaves of bushes that grow at high elevations and in rocky areas. However, despite the fact that these are the primary producing areas of oolong, it can be found elsewhere. For example, the plantation that created the featured review from last Saturday is renowned for their oolong teas, and they’re located in New Zealand!
The variety in flavors possible is one of the things about oolong teas that makes me absolutely love them. I rarely find an oolong tea I dislike and find them hard to “mess up” (unlike green teas, which require more particular care when preparing). Oolong is really the tea type that really brought me into the fold of finer teas, and I have so far managed to use it to help bring others to the side of tea.
So if you’re reading this and you’re really not so sure about moving on to loose leaf or nicer flavored teas, definitely check out some oolong! I would suggest checking out options from Adagio or Verdant Teas to get you started. And hey, let me know how it goes! Feel free to add comments of your experience here (even if it isn’t right away) or contact me using any of the information on the Connect With Us page. Looking forward to it!
Sources
1 The Tea Enthusiast’s Handbook: A Guide to Enjoying the World’s Best Teas by Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J Heiss.
2 The New Tea Companion by Jane Pettigrew and Bruce Richardson
Images
All photos by Briana Morrison
I just have to say… “Five Hundred Dollah” – Bubble Boy
Oh my god, I suddenly love you more than ever! I haven’t seen that movie in AGES!
Love learning about new Oolongs. Sometimes I go back and drink the sorts of Oolongs I started with years ago, and I’m astounded at how much my tastes have changed.
I enjoyed how you went about describing it here. Nice blogpost.
Thanks, @lahikmajoe! You just made me realize how long it’s been since I’ve enjoyed some of the earlier oolongs of my experience. I think that may just be what I do today to experience what changes I’ve undergone so far as well!
I am still waiting for my 5 $ Oolong.
Is that like a $5 Foot Long from Subway? Because if so, you’ll want to talk to Jared. Hahaha
I hate to burst your bubble, but if you have to try to convince people that something you said isn’t racist, then it was racist.
It was just a joke. Sorry if it offended. You can see the inspiration in the first comment here… it’s a reference to a really bad, yet awesomely dumb movie.
What makes you think it’s okay to make racist jokes just because it’s a reference to something someone else said or did? Racism is wrong, period. It doesn’t matter whose mouth it came from first when you’re the one repeating it, and obviously know better. If you have to resort to racism in order to be clever, then you need to stop trying to be clever.
Let’s just be happy that Birth of a Nation was a silent film. Jeez.
Great post. Not racist. (I think the bit you put in brackets was unnecessary and maybe drew unwarranted attention).
Oolongs are fun. I think they can be the best and worst of teas at times. I think they are the most affected by how you feel and what else is gong on around you.
Sidebar: Is it just me or is it funny that you made a parenthetical remark about my parenthetical remark? The bit in brackets was really mostly me just poking fun at myself for enjoying bad puns too much. More part of my personal style (including parenthetical remarks that is) than anything else. I’m just a dork like that, I guess!
In any case, that’s an interesting comment and a way I hadn’t thought of oolong teas yet. I’ll have to think more on it before I can decide whether I agree with you or not.
Though I do agree that oolongs have a lot to do with where you’re at mentally at the time.
Maura -Having tried their standard botletd Oolongs and Senchas, I can say that there is a little bit of a difference in the taste; the flavor is a little bit more condensed in these, and I think there’s a slightly different tea-to-water ratio. I do agree that I think it’s a bit of a repackage of the Japanese versions (because I’ve tried the Japanese versions of these from Asian supermarkets in the area), but I’m still a supporter of the cause behind this effort competing against those nasty canned energy drinks by bringing a healthier tea-based alternative to the American market.While I’m fortunate enough to live in LA, where I can get the imported Japanese teas pretty easily, I know there are a lot of people who don’t have that luxury, and I think this is a good way for Ito En to get their products out into the US market. I’m sure Kirin is attempting to do the same!Also, Ito En has a new golden oolong in their Teas’ Teas line that I’m going to be trying out soon. I’ll try to get my hands on a Kirin golden oolong for comparison. (Any excuse to go to Little Tokyo!)
Oolong tea has a sweet taste that i always love. My wife and i really love the unique taste of oolong tea. ”’.”
Kindest regards
http://www.healthmedicinelab.com