Yes I admit it, I am addicted to Oolong tea.
I have given up beer. All I long for now is a series of cups of fine Oolong.
I drink it through the day - I even have Oolong tea-bags for work situations when I can't brew up a special pot. And I drink at night - often getting to four or five cups before bed. I've trained my bladder to hold out through the night - mostly.
But let me start at the beginning.
There are six basic types of tea:
1. White tea
2. Green tea
3. Yellow tea
4. Oolong tea
5. Black tea
6. Pu-er tea
Tea all comes from the Camellia plant. The difference is essentially in the processing, although for each type of tea centuries have found certain strains of Camellia, or certain areas, mountains, even sides of mountains lend extra special qualities to each type. In China, the words that are used across the globe originated - Te and Cha. From different dialects.
The basic process is fermentation. If the leaves are left out in the air after picking, natural substances in the leaf initiate fermentation. Fermentation causes oxidation. Once the leaves are heated, fermentation stops.
Green tea is not fermented at all, thus it has a sweet grassy flavour. Black tea is the most fermented/oxidised. Oolong sits half way in oxidation, although there are big differences in types of Oolong.
Flush: this means the crop. The first crop - first flush - is the new young leaves picked in early Spring. Second flush is the second pick in late spring. Third flush, or Autumnal flush, is picked in Autumn. The first flush has the most delicate flavour, and the later flushes have a deeper stronger liqueur.
White tea is the finest - it is picked from leaves that are grown in shade - never having seen direct sunlight - and always the first flush.
Only Black tea is drunk with milk. Actually Black tea is a bit of a misnomer, as what we call Black tea in the West is what the Chinese call Red tea.
Oolong tea is the oldest and the most famous of the high quality teas. It has some of the complex flavours that oxidation brings, while still being a light mellow flavour. Oolong tea remains the most common favourite of tea connoisseurs. There is basically old style Oolong and Taiwanese Oolong. The Taiwanese discovered that by reducing the oxidation process by around half, they could produce a lighter highly aromatic tea, which became very popular about a century ago across China and the tea drinking world. Old style Oolong has a deeper liqueur and richer back-of-pallet after-taste.
Health: this is still somewhat controversial, as empirical tests are not entirely conclusive. What they do indicate is that all tea is basically healthy because it has so many good elements in it. It also increases metabolic rate by about 4%, so can help weight loss. But the main claim is that it has a lot of anti-oxidants. All tea has these, but White tea has the most - next Green, then Oolong. The difference between these is not significant. Pu-er is renowned for its health benefits, but I am not sure why. It can be extremely expensive for the best quality.
To experience Oolong fully, you need certain preparation techniques.
Most important is a single-cup pot (unless you have a house of Oolong lovers) with an infusion insert. This means that the tea is placed in the infuser - usually a cone of stainless steal netting that sits into the pot from the top. The idea is that once the tea is poured, the leaves remain out of the water. You would typically pour all or sufficient tea out to ensure the leaves are free above the water level. Because the leaves do not sit in the water, they do not exude any tannin flavours.
High quality Oolong can be infused up to ten times, but five or six is more common. Each infusion shouldn't be for more than three minutes. The first infusion has the airiest flavour, but the third infusion is generally considered the best.
Warm the pot first, and do not pour boiling water in. There is a different heat preference for each type of tea, but generally about 90 degrees where 100 = boiling. In practice you allow the water to just come off boiling before pouring into the pot. The Chinese have names for the different stages of boiling - like 'fish-eyes', which describes the small bubbles that begin to rise.
There are many famous types of Oolong. The most common everyday Oolong is quite cheap. $2-3 per 200 grams. It isn't too bad, and will give you the typical flavour idea of Oolong.
High quality Oolong is really a different animal altogether, and has the most wonderful complex flavours. You can pay thousands for the best quality, but in general, around $30 for a 100 grams is normal for fine quality. Remember, that one teaspoon will last you all afternoon, so per cup it doesn't come out that expensive.
A Li Shan is a famous Taiwanese Oolong, which should be available at Chinese grocery stores. It is a very good tea.
However I have discovered an online tea dealer, who sends me their tea, vacuum packed, from China's biggest Tea Trade Centre in Beijing itself.
http://www.tianhe.com.au/store/Click on the Oolong tea link on the side menu.
I have just received a package of:
Premium An Xi Tie Guan Yin, and
Premium Lishan Oolong Tea.
I can recommend both - absolutely beautiful teas!
I have tried numerous cheaper teas, but these good quality ones are truly sublime.
Oolong is the meditator's friend.
