Exploring oolongs

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


Sep 17th, '12, 21:24
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Exploring oolongs

by toolong » Sep 17th, '12, 21:24

Hey all,
I am kind of a noob to ordering oolongs online. I am looking to explore a few different types and the list of vendors is a long one. I am looking for a site that is reliable, with a decent range of teas, and good quality. So far I have the list narrowed down to: Redblossom, yunnan sourcing, and hou de. Also considering floating leaves.

Any comments on which people prefer? Can I go wrong ordering from any of these three? I was just kind of overwhelmed by everything so I wanted to settle on one site to start ordering from to begin with. Thanks

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Sep 17th, '12, 21:35
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Re: Exploring oolongs

by AdamMY » Sep 17th, '12, 21:35

Welcome to the forum. From my personal experience I would go with Red Blossom or Hou De for an introductory to oolongs. Hou de is slightly better quality but far less variety. Though I have not tried Floating Leaves, or Yunnan sourcing for their oolongs, but I will say yunnan sourcing is known primarily for Puerh, and not oolongs.

Sep 17th, '12, 21:49
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Re: Exploring oolongs

by toolong » Sep 17th, '12, 21:49

Great thanks for the reply. To follow up if anyone would like to answer...
A friend of mine brought me back a greener tung ting from taiwan and it had a real buttery taste. I liked it a lot but another tung ting I tasted did not have this quality. Is this typical of all green oolongs? Is buttery a quality that is lost in more expensive oolongs ( I guess I'm asking is if it is seen as quality of lower quality teas?)

Sep 17th, '12, 22:18
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Re: Exploring oolongs

by edkrueger » Sep 17th, '12, 22:18

Well, in general the higher elevation and lighter oxidization green oolongs loose some of that butteryness.

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Sep 18th, '12, 07:15
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Re: Exploring oolongs

by jayinhk » Sep 18th, '12, 07:15

I'm drinking some deeply roasted TGY right now and buttered toast definitely fits as a description for it! I think roast levels can also affect the 'butter' level.

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Sep 18th, '12, 10:17
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Re: Exploring oolongs

by JRS22 » Sep 18th, '12, 10:17

If you're interested in wuyi yancha look at the Essence of Tea website. Teas are available by the gram for as little as 5 grams for handmade and 10 grams for half-handmade so you can sample a variety.

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Sep 18th, '12, 21:46
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Re: Exploring oolongs

by debunix » Sep 18th, '12, 21:46

I've enjoyed a wide variety of oolongs from Norbu. I've had oolongs from Greg ranging from quite decent to really marvelous. I've particularly enjoyed some of the more unusual Taiwanese oolongs he's found these past couple of years, and the spring TGYs he carried a couple of years ago did well for me in head-to-head tastings with several other vendor's best. I find the Wuyi's solid stuff, and while his Dan Congs are not on the same level as the really fine stuff from TeaHabitat, they're quite nice and a whole lot more affordable for everyday drinking and sharing.

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Sep 29th, '12, 16:37
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Re: Exploring oolongs

by mageta » Sep 29th, '12, 16:37

Where does adagio fall into place in the grand scheme of things? That's the site I was introduced to for loose leaf tea and the only place I've bought tea. I notice a lot of these other sites are much more expensive so could I expect a big difference in quality?

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Sep 29th, '12, 23:50
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Re: Exploring oolongs

by MarshalN » Sep 29th, '12, 23:50

Adagio is reliable, but you won't find home runs here. If you are unfamiliar, it's not a terrible place to start.

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Nov 11th, '12, 04:16
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Re: Exploring oolongs

by blairswhitaker » Nov 11th, '12, 04:16

toolong wrote:Great thanks for the reply. To follow up if anyone would like to answer...
A friend of mine brought me back a greener tung ting from taiwan and it had a real buttery taste. I liked it a lot but another tung ting I tasted did not have this quality. Is this typical of all green oolongs? Is buttery a quality that is lost in more expensive oolongs ( I guess I'm asking is if it is seen as quality of lower quality teas?)

one thing I have noticed with this is that the Jin Xuan varietal is frequently used for making "dong ding" as with many other "green oolongs" from Taiwan. This varietal has a rather milky and creamy presence with notes of stone fruit and lychee. It is even called "milk Oolong". Another popular varietal for "dong ding" is Qing-Xin, this however is an older variety and tends to be lighter and silkier with a very floral, and to me, more intense stone fruit flavor. Both have great qualities and flavors but will come across as very different even though they can both be considered "dong ding".

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Nov 11th, '12, 04:28
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Re: Exploring oolongs

by Tead Off » Nov 11th, '12, 04:28

blairswhitaker wrote:
toolong wrote:Great thanks for the reply. To follow up if anyone would like to answer...
A friend of mine brought me back a greener tung ting from taiwan and it had a real buttery taste. I liked it a lot but another tung ting I tasted did not have this quality. Is this typical of all green oolongs? Is buttery a quality that is lost in more expensive oolongs ( I guess I'm asking is if it is seen as quality of lower quality teas?)

one thing I have noticed with this is that the Jin Xuan varietal is frequently used for making "dong ding" as with many other "green oolongs" from Taiwan. This varietal has a rather milky and creamy presence with notes of stone fruit and lychee. It is even called "milk Oolong". Another popular varietal for "dong ding" is Qing-Xin, this however is an older variety and tends to be lighter and silkier with a very floral, and to me, more intense stone fruit flavor. Both have great qualities and flavors but will come across as very different even though they can both be considered "dong ding".
I find it increasingly difficult to find Dong Ding that has that lychee flavor. I used to find it in Hong Kong but none of the vendors I use now seem to have DD with this wonderful quality. I've never had a milk oolong that tasted like lychee to me. Where do you find this?

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Nov 11th, '12, 05:00
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Re: Exploring oolongs

by blairswhitaker » Nov 11th, '12, 05:00

Tead Off wrote:
blairswhitaker wrote:
toolong wrote:Great thanks for the reply. To follow up if anyone would like to answer...
A friend of mine brought me back a greener tung ting from taiwan and it had a real buttery taste. I liked it a lot but another tung ting I tasted did not have this quality. Is this typical of all green oolongs? Is buttery a quality that is lost in more expensive oolongs ( I guess I'm asking is if it is seen as quality of lower quality teas?)

one thing I have noticed with this is that the Jin Xuan varietal is frequently used for making "dong ding" as with many other "green oolongs" from Taiwan. This varietal has a rather milky and creamy presence with notes of stone fruit and lychee. It is even called "milk Oolong". Another popular varietal for "dong ding" is Qing-Xin, this however is an older variety and tends to be lighter and silkier with a very floral, and to me, more intense stone fruit flavor. Both have great qualities and flavors but will come across as very different even though they can both be considered "dong ding".
I find it increasingly difficult to find Dong Ding that has that lychee flavor. I used to find it in Hong Kong but none of the vendors I use now seem to have DD with this wonderful quality. I've never had a milk oolong that tasted like lychee to me. Where do you find this?
Mad Monk tea, San Diego CA, sourced by the owner who visits directly to a small farm in taiwan.

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