Traditionally from China and Taiwan but thanks to the creativity of artisan tea producers, increasingly available from many other countries, oolong teas come in different styles and offer a huge variety of flavours.
Unlike fully oxidised black tea and unoxidised green tea, oolong teas are all partially oxidised – ranging from about 10% to 80% – making them the most complex type of tea to produce. In effect, this wonderful tea category builds a bridge between green tea and black tea and caters for every possible taste.
Tea connoisseurs particularly prize teas grown at high altitudes. The term for such teas is “high mountain oolong tea”, “gao shan oolong” or – for teas grown at very high altitudes – “frozen oolong”. To be designated as a high grown tea, the tea must have been grown at an altitude of above 1000 meters. The best high mountain teas come from small tea gardens and are produced in such small amounts that they rarely find their way to Europe.
Because tea plants that grow at high elevations develop more complex flavours, high mountain tea is ideal for multiple infusions and for preparing “gong fu cha” style.
An interesting difference between oolong and other types of tea is that the producers often use three leaves and a bud instead of just one or two leaves and a bud.
After picking and withering, comes the important step of controlling oxidisation. If the tea is a semi-ball, rolled style tea, the production process may spread over two days, during which time the leaves are repeatedly heated, stirred, rolled and compressed. In addition to the previous steps some oolongs are roasted and some are aged. The heating/stirring/rolling steps of production are very work intense and take great skill to carry out.
Our most popular oolongs come from Taiwan, a beautiful island that has the ideal conditions for growing tea. Of the open leaf “strip style” oolongs, one you must try if you get a chance is Dan Cong Honey Orchid from the Phoenix (Feng Huang) mountains in China’s eastern Guangdong province.
Undoubtedly the most well known oolong amongst visitors who come to our shop in Stuttgart is “milk / milky oolong”. Buyer beware! There are two different types of milk oolong and these are dramatically different in taste. Please read our article about milk oolong for more information.
Other popular oolongs:
Depending on the style of the leaf, premium quality oolong tea can be brewed 5-8 times.
There are two different preparation methods we recommend: We can either make the tea “western style, using a teapot with a sieve, water at 90°C and a volume of tea between 12-15g for 1 liter of water.
Alternatively, the tea can be made “Gong Fu Cha” style, in a small teapot or gaiwan (a lidded bowl). With this method, prior to brewing the first pot of tea, the leaves are rinsed and moistened by filling the pot with boiled water that is poured away a few seconds later. Then the fun starts!
For the first infusion the tea is allowed to steep for about fifty seconds. After that, add about 10-15 seconds for the second and third steeping, with subsequent steeping times of 2 minutes each. Most Taiwanese oolongs can be brewed this way five times, and often more.
Oolongs make delicious iced tea. This can either be prepared as a cold brew, or by making the tea hot and chilling it or – our favourite method: Instead of throwing used leaves away, by putting them into a jug, filling it up with cold water and letting the „spent” tea leaves continue to release their flavour over a few hours or overnight.
Call us during opening hours on + 49 (0) 711 518 74 006 or email us using the form below. We will get back to you as soon as we can.
