Formosa Oolong - Buddha Hand

Owes its flavors to oxidation levels between green & black tea.


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Jul 9th, '07, 02:47
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Formosa Oolong - Buddha Hand

by tenuki » Jul 9th, '07, 02:47

Man, I had this tea at Floating Leaves and can't say enough about how good it is. It's fairly complex to start with and changes with each brewing, by about the fourth brewing it starts tasting like an exotic green oolong with a delicious peachy aroma. Current favorite tea. Looks like Hou Du has something like it too...

http://www.floatingleaves.com/teashop/s ... asp?id=152

http://www.houdeasianart.com/index.php? ... cts_id=732

What a great tea! Anyone else like?
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Jul 9th, '07, 20:02
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by Proinsias » Jul 9th, '07, 20:02

Yeah, I'm quite impressed.

I just tried it for the first time the other day. Mine came from Teaspring and seems really good value for money. The size of the leaves surprised me, by far the largest leaf I've seen. I bought it as an everyday tea to drink when I'm not paying the tea much attention but it has immediately become demanding of my attention.

Nice fresh buttery taste, although mine does look far greener than the offering at Hou De.

I still prefer my Tie Guan Yin but I'm tempted to put some Buddah Hand into my Tie Guan Yin yixing pot and see if that improves it again as I've been brewing it in a gaiwan - life is fraught with tough decisions.

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Jul 9th, '07, 20:25
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by bearsbearsbears » Jul 9th, '07, 20:25

I love foshou/buddha hand oolongs, but I like them more heavily roasted.

Interestingly, this same varietal can be made into a Wuyi stripe oolong, as well. I like it better rolled, though...

I like that it's versatile: green to medium to dark roasting, ball or stripe, this tea does it all!

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Jul 9th, '07, 21:58
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by augie » Jul 9th, '07, 21:58

:shock: Dang! $46 bucks! It had better wash the dishes when you're done drinking . . . I'm guessing y'all are single folks with no other mouths to feed?

What exactly does .25 lb yield?
And what's up with the Hou De version at a $28.50 savings?

Jul 9th, '07, 22:39
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by Proinsias » Jul 9th, '07, 22:39

Mine didn't wash the dishes but it was nice and cost $8.70/100g, although the Hou De offering is always tempting.

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Jul 11th, '07, 16:32
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by Libertatis » Jul 11th, '07, 16:32

did you try this in the Floating Leaves store in Ballard? (Seattle) My brother hangs out there often and i am a big fan of their store. I have not tried the Buddha's hand, but i am tempted to order sum from Hou De (i have loved every oolong i have bought from them). I might be in Seattle in a couple weeks so perhaps i will just swing by the shop and try it there.

(and to answer the question about price, i do not mind paying a higher prices for excellent tea (though i am still a bargain shopper). I know people who routinely spend $50 on a bottle of wine at dinner, I for one would much rather spend that money on Tea! (and tea goes way further!))
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Jul 11th, '07, 23:14
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by augie » Jul 11th, '07, 23:14

Libertatis wrote: (and to answer the question about price, i do not mind paying a higher prices for excellent tea (though i am still a bargain shopper). I know people who routinely spend $50 on a bottle of wine at dinner, I for one would much rather spend that money on Tea! (and tea goes way further!))
Taste is very subjective and there is no guarantee. You might think the $46 tea is the absolute best and I may try it and gag. Then I'd be mad for throwing away $46 bucks on a gagger. I'm thinking .25 lb would barely last my husband & I a month with the rest of the stash (4-5 infusions?). I have only ordered Oolong from Adagio, Red Blossom & Rishi so maybe I need to broaden my tea stash.

I also bought soda for the first time in MONTHS last week. Got me thinking I probably used to spend as much on Diet Coke as I spend on tea now. Especially at work. I think I am also more alert on less caffeine.

Other problem is Pu Ehr is starting to grow on me and I am thinking about toddling out of the baby pool and jumping into the deep end and ordering a Pu Ehr cake on Friday. There's another whole set of choices to make.

$50 bucks on a bottle of wine makes me half crazy! If I had $50 extra bucks/month the high I would get from socking it away into my mutual fund would seriously surpass anything I'd get from the wine!

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Jul 12th, '07, 08:16
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by Mary R » Jul 12th, '07, 08:16

augie wrote:$50 bucks on a bottle of wine makes me half crazy! If I had $50 extra bucks/month the high I would get from socking it away into my mutual fund would seriously surpass anything I'd get from the wine!
Oh, I had to laugh when I read this--it's exactly what I'm doing! $50 a month is just about all I can scrape together ($14 a week, $2 a day...) and hold safe from myself in a special account. I call it my "Minnesota Cabin Fund," and when I hit a decent amount, I'm going to roll it over into my IRA, which is heavily based on mutual funds.

The high I get from seeing the growing account is certainly impressive. :)

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Jul 12th, '07, 18:06
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by Libertatis » Jul 12th, '07, 18:06

augie wrote: Taste is very subjective and there is no guarantee. You might think the $46 tea is the absolute best and I may try it and gag.
I agree with you on this point, but i must admit the high mt oolongs (especially Li Shan) command incredibly high prices and in my opinion they are absolutely fantastic. The price is a bit misleading too, because you can actually get more steepings out of a good high mt oolong. Ultimately i like having a variety of oolongs so you don't have to drink the expensive stuff all the time, you can keep it for special occasions!

On the other hand i personally feel pu erh can be way over priced (in terms of enjoyment for your money).

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Jul 12th, '07, 18:15
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by augie » Jul 12th, '07, 18:15

Mary R wrote:The high I get from seeing the growing account is certainly impressive. :)
My biggest regret in life is not starting sooner and not saving while I was a stay-at-home-mom. Have you read Smart Women Finish Rich by David Bach? Excellent book for women that anyone can read and implement. (no matter what Suzi Orman says!)
I love watching it grow, but I'm sick of the paper that comes in the mail!

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Jul 12th, '07, 22:45
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by Space Samurai » Jul 12th, '07, 22:45

Libertatis wrote:
augie wrote: Taste is very subjective and there is no guarantee. You might think the $46 tea is the absolute best and I may try it and gag.
I agree with you on this point, but i must admit the high mt oolongs (especially Li Shan) command incredibly high prices and in my opinion they are absolutely fantastic. The price is a bit misleading too, because you can actually get more steepings out of a good high mt oolong. Ultimately i like having a variety of oolongs so you don't have to drink the expensive stuff all the time, you can keep it for special occasions!
I agree with Libertatis. While more expensive, high mountain oolongs are fantastic. They're not every day teas, but they are worth it.

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Jul 13th, '07, 18:18
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by augie » Jul 13th, '07, 18:18

Alright, when y'all say that you get more infusions from the Li Shan or other more expensive tea, what are you comparing?

What I am asking is, for example, my husband and I will drink oolong tea and work off the same batch for 4-5 infusions and dump. Wuyi Oolong, specifically, from rishi is what we are working on now. Would Buddha Hand or Li Shan provide more uses (and better flavor) than that? We don't use Yixing, would that make a difference? I haven't bought one yet b/c I am still trying everything that I can get my hands on and don't want to buy 1 yixing and have to keep track of what I used it for until I find that one thing that I buy regularly. i either use my gaiwan (which I am no longer burning my fingers on) or ingenuitea.

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Jul 17th, '07, 04:47
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by tenuki » Jul 17th, '07, 04:47

Libertatis wrote:did you try this in the Floating Leaves store in Ballard? (Seattle) My brother hangs out there often and i am a big fan of their store. I have not tried the Buddha's hand, but i am tempted to order sum from Hou De (i have loved every oolong i have bought from them). I might be in Seattle in a couple weeks so perhaps i will just swing by the shop and try it there.
I tasted it first at Floating Leaves and it became my daily drinking tea until I ran out a week later. :( By then they were out of stock.

I received the Hou De Buddha hand for comparision yesterday. It's more heavily oxidized/roasted than the Floating Leaves version. I prefer the greener, but admit the darker does have it's charms. Definately hit FL when you are in and hope they aren't sold out of their second shipment. heh.

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Jul 31st, '07, 03:23
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by tenuki » Jul 31st, '07, 03:23

augie wrote:Alright, when y'all say that you get more infusions from the Li Shan or other more expensive tea, what are you comparing?
....my husband and I will drink oolong tea and work off the same batch for 4-5 infusions and dump.
One of the things I like is change in the Buddha Hand at the 3 infusion or so as the roasting taste dies down and some peachy notes show through, and it's still changing in an interesting way at infusion 5 I probably get 12 infusions or so a day from one batch.
Do something different, something different will happen. ( Gong Fu Garden )

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