TeaChat

Hi all,

Let me preface by saying I'm very new to drinking loose-leaf tea (a recent coffee convert). As such, I pretty much don't know what I'm talking about when it comes to this subject.

I'm a big fan of the teas I drink at various Chinese restaurants. A little research tells me these teas are more than likely of the Oolong variety. So, I came to Adagio on a recommendation, and purchased the Oolong sampler.

Here's the crux - every tea (presumably, an Oolong) that I've really loved has an almost orange tint to it, and most definitely has peach or fruit overtones. The Oolongs in the Adagio sampler, however, all taste to me like more potent greens. This isn't bad, and I enjoy green tea, but it's not what I was hoping for in an Oolong.

Any recommendations for me would be most welcome. I'd love to know what it is I'm drinking that I like so much and bring some home. Yes, I could ask in the restaurants (and may well do so) but the expertise found here seems to lend itself to better and more recommendations.

Thanks in advance,

Jazztrumpet (aka Mike)

You might want to look for oolongs that are a little more oxidized (a tad closer to black teas) and/or a little more roasted.

I have never had Adagio's Wuyi Ensemble or Oolong #40, but they look like teas that are likely to be more on the fruity side than the lighter teas. From the description and photos, Oolong #40 (a terrible name) looks like a Taiwan Oriental Beauty (also called Bai Hao) which is one of the most oxidized of all the oolong teas. A special insect starts the process by biting the leaf while the plant is still growing. I find Oriental Beauty often has a little acidity (sourness) that I'm not crazy about, but a lot of people love.

Teas from the Wuyi mountains (and there are many kinds) are sometimes called rock tea or yan cha. Their degree of oxidation and roasting vary quite a bit, but they tend toward the fruity types. Shui Xian (sometimes spelled Shui Hsien) or Water Sprite is another tea that often (but not always) comes from the Wuyi mtns and is one of the most oxidized of teas. There are enormous variations in quality among Shui Xians, as I suppose is actually the case among all these teas now that I think of it.

Finally, the Dan Cong area teas (again, there are many of these) tend to be lighter teas often exhibiting more aroma than flavor, but they can be distinctly fruity, quite commonly showing peach or dried apricot.

So: I'd suggest the Adagio Oolong #40 and Wuyi Ensemble as a good starting point. Adagio's quality is reliable. You may try looking around among 1) other Oriental Beauty/Bai Hao, 2) any of the many Wuyi oolongs, 3) Shui Xian, and 4) some of the darker of the many Dan Cong oolongs.

Best of luck! With tea, I often find the search can actually be more fun than finding the one your looking for!

Ditto to everything Salsero said...dhp...da hong pao...really peachy.

I love the Oolong #40...it is definitly more like a chinese restaruant tea but the flavor is delicious....actually I just bought a can after exhausting my sample and I am drinking it in my pot this morning! I drank this crumby but recognizable fuijan oolong tea which came in a big yellow box of 100-200 tea bags for like 3.99 at the asian market....this tastes reminiscent of that but like waaaaaay better.

I got the oolong savant pack from here on my first order and I liked 40, liked the jasmine pearls and hated everything else though. Pouchong has actually grown on me a little but I don't think "oolong" when I taste it because it tastes very very very different.

Funny you should ask...

I read this yesterday and didn't have a clue, but last night I had some dan cong from Tea Spring, and damn, that was peachy.

Thank you everybody for the responses, and especially to you Salsero for all the great information and recommendations.

The first tea I tried out of my Adagio sampler was in fact the Wuyi Ensemble. I didn't brew it hardly strong enough for my liking, and haven't tried it again. Now that I have a better idea of the strength at which I like to brew my tea, I need to give it another try.

I'm also off to search for some of the tea recommendations made to me. I do agree that the search is most of the fun, and look forward to trying many more delicious teas along the way.

Thanks again!

Boy, Space, you are burning through that TeaSpring order! Which Dan Cong was it? There are enormous differences among some of the Dan Cong, some are more peach/dried apricot, some very aromatic and flowery, and some a more on the white fruit (lichees, loquat) side of things.

It was the dan cong classic.

I drank up my supply, and they are out, but man, floatingleaves tea had a greener formosa buddah hand that started out soupywarm, nutty and a bit roasty, but after about 2-3 brewings turned all light, sweet, complex, and peachy. wow, what a tea!

not very helpful I know, but hey, that's my kinda peach!