Tips on Oolong #8

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


User avatar
Apr 29th, '08, 16:04
Posts: 262
Joined: Oct 18th, '07, 20:45
Location: Massachusetts
Contact: Katrina

Tips on Oolong #8

by Katrina » Apr 29th, '08, 16:04

I just tried Oolong #8 for the first time. I've been struggling a bit with getting it "right". I brewed it in a teapot the first time using the 5 minute/boiling water recommendation from Adagio. I used 1 1/2 tsp per 6 oz as a start. I've heard great things about it but it just wasn't as flavorful as I'd hoped. (I had slightly better luck using the gaiwan about 1/3 full of leaf and doing short infusions.)

Since I've never had it before I'm just trying to figure out if I'm getting the most out of this tea. Any tips? (Do other people use boiling water? I would have expected a lower brewing temp for oolong, but who am I to say? I'm new!)

And yes, I know there are no hard and fast rules and everyone's tastes are different, etc. etc. Just want to hear how others do it!
Visit my website and blog at http://www.teapages.net and http://teapages.blogspot.com

User avatar
Apr 29th, '08, 16:56
Posts: 1051
Joined: Jul 7th, '07, 01:37
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Portland, OR
Contact: ABx

by ABx » Apr 29th, '08, 16:56

This is a bai hao, which many of us aren't particularly impressed with. Some bai hao can be good, but it tends to depend. If you approach it like a black tea then I think you're more likely to appreciate the milder character and more pronounced fruity and floral aspects of the tea. If you're not that enamored with black tea, however, then this may simply not be your cup.

Most oolongs do actually benefit from fully boiling water. Darker oolongs especially, but really any oolong. If you have any thicker teaware capable of holding in the heat better (better than a gaiwan) then you might give that a try. It might pull out the deeper flavors.

+ Post Reply