Oolong Newbie

[Poohblah]

I suggest brewing oolongs in a gaiwan. In my experience you can coax better flavors out of oolong leaves than if you use the so-called "western style." Although, it might not make a difference with the flavored leaves.

[teaisme]

I would rinse the first 3 you mentioned , and maybe rinse the jasmine as well with 190ish water , just a flash rinse not too long

Thats just me though, some people don't rinse because they feel you lose some flavour, which I can kinda agree with, esp with the oolongs that are not balled.

If you brew for 5 mins I don't think leaf to water ratio is that important
just start off light, maybe 2-3 grams to 8-10 oz water and work up from there

[ummaya]

churng, thank you very much for the instructions.

[Herb_Master]

If you decide not to rinse, I would recommend that you pour the water for the first infusion from a greater height and to the brim - then with the lid skim all the bubbles and froth off the top to get rid of them.

[ummaya]

For the last two days I have been drinking (and enjoying) the four Oolong tea from the Adagio savant sampler. I tried different steeping time, leaves/water ratio, temperature, with rinsing and without rinsing. Fantastic experience!

I started with the Jasmine #12 and then the Alishan. I love both of them; each has a very unique taste and a fantastic smell. What a great aroma! I enjoy the smell of the wet tea leave in the gaiwan not less than the taste of the tea itself. After the intense and characteristic aroma and taste of the Jasmin and the Alishan, the first sip of Oolong #40 and ooooh Darjeeling felt quite "light" and a bit lacking in taste and aroma. Slowly infusion after infusion I stared to enjoy their subtlety as much as the Jasmin and the Alishan. Right now If I had to pick only one it would be the Alishan.


I am so enthusiastic that I ordered more samplers: the "Taiwanese Oolong Sampler" from Floating Leaves and from Jing Tea Shop I picked a sample from : Aged Tie Guan Yin , Feng Huang Milan Dancong, Wuyi Da Hong Pao and Wu Yi Rou Gui.

[debunix]

[another convert to the oolong side.....!]