Does Milk Oolong Contain Milk?

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Sep 10th, '08, 21:14
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Does Milk Oolong Contain Milk?

by edkrueger » Sep 10th, '08, 21:14

Does Milk Oolong Contain Milk?

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Sep 10th, '08, 21:16
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by scruffmcgruff » Sep 10th, '08, 21:16

I think true milk oolong naturally produces the milky flavor, but the majority of it is flavored with milk, AFAIK.
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Sep 10th, '08, 21:18
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by edkrueger » Sep 10th, '08, 21:18

I'm allergic to milk, that is why I ask.

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Sep 10th, '08, 21:20
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by hop_goblin » Sep 10th, '08, 21:20

I am not 100% certain but I believe milk oolongs are those from the Jinxuan cultivar. It is a relatively new oolong cultivar which are said to have a creamy flavor and texture. Of course I could be mistaken.

Sep 10th, '08, 21:24
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by edkrueger » Sep 10th, '08, 21:24

I thinks its from the 80s. So milk oolong refers to that cultivar not to any milk. I often see "milk infused" advertised on web pages. Hop, how do you know all this stuff?

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Sep 10th, '08, 21:29
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by hop_goblin » Sep 10th, '08, 21:29

edkrueger wrote:I thinks its from the 80s. So milk oolong refers to that cultivar not to any milk. I often see "milk infused" advertised on web pages. Hop, how do you know all this stuff?
I have a knack for remembering what I read I guess. I really do study tea. :lol:

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Sep 10th, '08, 23:30
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by Victoria » Sep 10th, '08, 23:30

No milk. A sudden change in the weather (cold snap) accounts for the milky flavor.
Have no fear! Enjoy!

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Sep 10th, '08, 23:41
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by scruffmcgruff » Sep 10th, '08, 23:41

I believe these are all correct answers, BUT AFAIK only for the authentic non-scented nai xiang oolong. There are no guarantees when it comes to imitators.
Teaspring.com wrote:Nai Xiang Oolong is a scented tea from Taiwan. The name Nia Xiang means "Milk Fragrant", and as its name suggests, this tea is characterized by a distinct milk-like fragrance and taste. [Emphasis added. Source.]
I am worried by the adjective "scented." Generally speaking, this is another word for "flavored" (yes I know, not exactly, but whatever), so it may contain milk and I would be concerned if you are allergic enough for it to be an issue. It could just be a bad translation/ choice of words on their part, though.

You might try contacting vendors directly. Still, though the vendors would more than likely give honest answers, the tea biz is a shady one so I wouldn't necessarily trust their suppliers.

I admit the wording isn't entirely clear, but I don't think I'm being too alarmist about it. I guess it depends how strong an allergy you have.

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Sep 10th, '08, 23:56
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by Salsero » Sep 10th, '08, 23:56

This was all talked to death earlier this year at

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t= ... ilk+oolong

ABx even links to an older thread on the same topic. There is some debate, but most of the stuff out there is scented. I doubt if the scented stuff contains any actual milk, but who knows!
towerofdabble wrote: OK, I asked Daniel at TeaSpring about their Nai Xiang "milk oolong" and here is his reply:
Yes, the flavor (flavoring) is added after the tea is processed. It is not natural.
His tea looks very much like what I have, and I think confirms my suspicion that this taste/aroma is not naturally occurring.
Last edited by Salsero on Sep 11th, '08, 00:09, edited 1 time in total.

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Sep 11th, '08, 00:04
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by Victoria » Sep 11th, '08, 00:04


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