I've tried a few but...

[GeeFreeman]

Hi Gee, welcome to TeaChat. And people here drink tea from virtually every tea company on the planet it seems. It is also OK to discuss any tea from any tea company, this is an open tea forum. Adagio is our kind and generous host, but leaves the talking to us. But many of us appreciate all that Adagio is doing to further tea.

There are hundreds and hundreds of oolongs out there, so please be a little patient. Tea discovery is a long long journey, best enjoyed slowly and with experimentation. I believe you will find many oolong that you like given time. Plus some of the ones you might not have liked initially, you might learn to appreciate them more as you learn different brewing methods.

Enjoy tea!

Thanks Chip - I am experiencing a change in my taste buds I believe! I purchased some ti kuan yin from a local coffee/tea house and first time I wasn't too keen on it, but today I brewed some up and - very weird - I really liked it - alot!

I guess never having drank anything other than my Ceylon Kenilworth or ann occasional herbal, I just was not "familiar" taste wise I guess. It is certainly an eye-opener....

I guess my preference for tea is more light than heavy, with a more "bright" taste in the mouth as opposed to smokey or "dry".... Does this click with anything, or are my choices of expression making for an impossible combination??

I will add that I tried the teas initially in a Zarafina tea maker, but found I enjoy tea so much (I include all the years of brewing loose black tea), that I invested in a yixing pot, a warmer, and a utiliTea boiler. And am using that for my oolong tea now... I think the Zarafina will languish.

Thanks again. Time for my second pot!

[GeeFreeman]

Using standard terms like floral, etc. is a little difficult at this time since my exposure to oolongs and whites is limited. I felt the best approach was providing the tea I have tried and liked as something to go off of.

If you describe what you like about it, maybe even describe your 'ideal tea', then the chances are very good that people can give you recommendations of teas that have the qualities that you like. They may not be exactly like your reference tea, but it will probably have prominent characteristics that are just what you like -- I can't recall any newcomers that have done this and been disappointed. Even if someone has experience with the reference tea you site, they can only assume that you like the same characteristics that they did or recommend something that's almost exactly like it, at which point you're just as well to get the same thing. The same teas can also taste considerably different when made differently.

....edit. ......

Based on what I suspect you're getting at, you might try Qi Zhong. It's a bit mild, dark, and very lightly smokey. As mentioned by someone else, you might also look into Shui Xian from the same shop, but really any in that category (Oolong > Wuyi Rock Tea). You might just look at the descriptions of those and other oolongs; like I say, oolong is such a widely varying category that you can have two different oolongs that are so vastly different that you would never guess they are in the same category.

ABx I do see your points and have seen in my few purchases so far that there are VAST differences in the oolong teas.

I'm still very new to the oolongs, but I think that less smokey is better for me... I may try those you suggested, as the description (at least) sounds intriguing!

[edkrueger]

Why should anyone on the site even know that Strand Choicest Oolong is? Its not in the least bit specific. There is more variance in oolong than in any other tea style.

On another note, Qi Zhong is usually pretty smoky. I would avoid any Qi Zhing from 2006. That year it was extremely bitter and smoky. One thing that might help us give you suggestions is to know whether you like black or green tea more. From there we can start you at the dark or light end of the oolong spectrum, depending on your answer.

[stanthegoomba]

I guess my preference for tea is more light than heavy, with a more "bright" taste in the mouth as opposed to smokey or "dry".... Does this click with anything, or are my choices of expression making for an impossible combination??

You bring to mind the greener Taiwanese oolongs. Adagio sample tins are a great way to get started with these:
-Ali shan
-Oolong #18

[ABx]

Yup, I agree with Ed that you should avoid the Qi Zhong if you don't like the smokey - that's why I say to lay out what you do like Don't worry about not being able to describe well enough; just tell us what qualities you do like, in your own words, and you'll get lots of good recommendations. Just compare the tastes with whatever you know. Don't try to use jargon, because honestly we don't use a lot of it here when describing taste or smell.

The other option is just to buy and buy, but you'll want to communicate at some point. I just bought teas that sounded good to me at first and I did okay, but I still would have saved myself a lot of time and money if I had come here and sought out recommendations for the better stuff. I did have the benefit of a good local teashop, though.

I guess my preference for tea is more light than heavy, with a more "bright" taste in the mouth as opposed to smokey or "dry".... Does this click with anything, or are my choices of expression making for an impossible combination??

Thinner, as opposed to viscous or oily?

Was the Tie Guan Yin you had green, or was it more roasted, or something in between?

Tea that tastes dry and papery is usually actually stale. Most teabag tea is stale, but people don't know this and think that it's either what it's supposed to taste like or that they're tasting the paper tea bag (which leads to silly things like expensive "non-bleached" teabags that are brown instead of white and then filled with tea that's not stale). So to me it just kind of sounds like you got fresh loose leaf

So what was it like? Was it kind of green and flowery, or roasted and fruity? Was it noticeably and obviously viscous? Sweet or sour? Did it have a strong taste or aroma, or was it more subtle?

I can tell you that I started off with jade oolongs and dancong. The jade oolongs are thick (viscous), sweet, sort of buttery/milky, with a delicate aroma of flowers - like smelling actual flowers, not like flavored tea. The dancong I got was lightly roasted and very fragrant - smells like peaches, mandarin oranges, and maybe a little hint of flowers. It's really noticeable, but much more natural than flavored tea.

Now I also like roasted teas. They can be chocolatey, fruity, woody, and so on. The lighter roast ones have something almost like carmel or molassas with plenty of flowers. Some have an almost grapey muscat with a little wood and/or musk.. it's really hard to explain.

Hopefully that will help you a little

[Oni]

There is a tea for everybody, you just need to learn how to make it, and you must buy it from good vendor that sells real tea, it is as if you have tried a few badly prepared tea or bad leaf, you need the spark of trying a remarkable tea that will charm you, keep on trying you will be hooked soon.

[GeeFreeman]

Why should anyone on the site even know that Strand Choicest Oolong is? Its not in the least bit specific. There is more variance in oolong than in any other tea style.
.....

Well, people buy from different on-line sources, and the "Strand Tea Company" sells a tea which it calls "Choicest Formosa Oolong". Perhaps the company stinks - I don't know - I'm new! In my short time I have perused several sites with their own names for teas... I think saying, "Gee I've never tried tea from Strand Tea Company before, but...." is a little friendlier.

If anyone has tried that tea, then I could understand them providing input, but to dismiss my question out of hand seems a bit harsh. My intentions were actually quite humble, not having any experience with oolongs, I was trying to be a little self deprecating by allowing that my tastes are what they are, and may not be as refined as those who have had a long association with vast world of tea that is out there.

Everyone's tastes are unique, but they may intersect in areas, and in my scientific approach - not trying to allow verbiage to describe something as ephemeral a particular taste, I chose to provide as a starting point, a tea I enjoyed, that is readily available. Chip did make a good point - asking what I like about it, but it is difficult. I've been thinking about it... Comparing to wine, I guess might be easier, there are dry reds, and more "fruity" reds. Now in wine, I lean more towards the dry, but with tea, I would prefer a less obvious tannin taste, though tannins themselves don't have a taste, they do play a large part in it, and they are responsible for the dry effect...

I am making some progress. Browsing threads, etc., hey its only tea, I'm just looking to find those I like. I really enjoy a good cup.

And I do find just about every white i have tried to be quite enjoyable!

[geeber1]

Why should anyone on the site even know that Strand Choicest Oolong is? Its not in the least bit specific. There is more variance in oolong than in any other tea style.

I bet you could email Strand and they might be able to give you more information.

Adagio isn't really any more specific on their descriptions than Strand is. I've ordered from Strand and their tea is good. TeaSource also has excellent tea.

If you Google 'choicest oolong' you will find that is a grade of oolong, in the same way that OP, BOP, etc. apply to black teas.

[Omni]

I was in the opening posters boat too, my love for tea started at a china house. After hours and hours of research and tastings I've come to the realization that chinese restaurant tea is generally one of two kinds:

Most commonly: Ti Guan Yin/Ti Kwan Yin/Iron Goddess (all are the same)
Second Most Commonly: Da Hung Pao/Big Red Robe (all are the same)

These are also 2 teas commonly found on the 10 famous chinese tea lists. So I'd simply recommend to buy any of those and most folks here pimp out the TGY but I like both.

Personally I live by TeaSource so I get all my stuff from there. They have 1 DHP and 4 TGY. And for some reason my favorite is a neither of those but a Indian Oolong called Assam Kopili Estate...so logic sometimes goes out the window with tea

[edkrueger]

Why should anyone on the site even know that Strand Choicest Oolong is? Its not in the least bit specific. There is more variance in oolong than in any other tea style.

I bet you could email Strand and they might be able to give you more information.

Adagio isn't really any more specific on their descriptions than Strand is. I've ordered from Strand and their tea is good. TeaSource also has excellent tea.

If you Google 'choicest oolong' you will find that is a grade of oolong, in the same way that OP, BOP, etc. apply to black teas.

I'm not interested in ordering from Strand, that why I am not emailing them. I don't buy unidentified teas. Adagio is more specific and has pictures. As for choicest oolong being a grade, this proves my point that it doesn't tell me anything about the tea. The important part of my post was

There is more variance in oolong than in any other tea style.

[Herb_Master]

I was in the opening posters boat too, my love for tea started at a china house. After hours and hours of research and tastings I've come to the realization that chinese restaurant tea is generally one of two kinds:

Most commonly: Ti Guan Yin/Ti Kwan Yin/Iron Goddess (all are the same)
Second Most Commonly: Da Hung Pao/Big Red Robe (all are the same)

These are also 2 teas commonly found on the 10 famous chinese tea lists. So I'd simply recommend to buy any of those and most folks here pimp out the TGY but I like both.

Personally I live by TeaSource so I get all my stuff from there. They have 1 DHP and 4 TGY. And for some reason my favorite is a neither of those but a Indian Oolong called Assam Kopili Estate...so logic sometimes goes out the window with tea

When I was researching Shui Xian (hsien) I found literally dozens and dozens of references to the fact that restaurant tea is usually made from Shui Xian.

They would like you to think that you are getting a more than decent cup of tea and would therefore like to use one of the 2 really big/famous names
Da Hong Pao
Ti Kuan Yin.

However the best Da Hong Pao from within Wuyi Shan carries quite a price (and from inside the central Scenic area it is even more expensive) The altitude and microclimate of Wuyishan is partly responsible for the teas from there being so good - but one Varietal - namely Shui Xian produces large crops of decent leaves on the edges of Wuyi Shan and throughout Min Bei - hence it is cheap enough and drinkable enough for Restaurants to give away with the food. Sometimes it is unfortunately labelled as Da Hong Pao simply because it is produced, oxidised, roasted etc in the Da Hong Pao manner which has about 6 steps less than the classic 18 step Ti Kuan Yin method.

The real Ti Kuan Yin comes from about a dozen villages in Anxi County in Min Nan and like the Scenic Area Yan Cha can be very expensive. But Ti Kuan Yin is also the name of a varietal which is grown all over Min Nan, if restaurants are serving Ti Kuan Yin it will not be top of the range stuff, it may be the same cultivar grown elsewhere in Min nan (unlikely to be Taiwan because their TKY's can be at least middle priced. It is likely to be a TKY cultivar from somewhere less fashionable in Min Nan or even a Se Zhong varietal which has had the full 18 step TKY treatment.
Even worse it may be a mis labelled Shui Xian (one of the 12 se Zhong varietals found in Anxi)

Perhaps restaurants in the US and Canada do serve decent Da Hong Pao and TKY - but I believe that in China, Hong Kong, Britain and parts of Europe it is most likely to be Shui Xian.

[geeber1]

I was replying to the OP saying what they saw on Strand's website.

And how is this:
A Teahouse tea from South China. Small curled and twisted leaves with occasional silver bud sets brew a medium-bodied, smooth, flavorful cup with flowery aromas in the classic Formosa style. This tea is excellent with or without food. (Strand)

More descriptive than this:
Oolong tea from Taiwan. Formosa, meaning 'beautiful' was what the Portuguese explorers called this island. The oolong tea grown here continues to be called as such. The intense pungency and exquisite bouquet of Formosa Oolong tea is regarded to be the finest in the world. However, only the finest of Formosa teas warrant the label of 'fancy' grade. This is such tea. Our 'Oolong Symphony no. 40' has dark, silver-tipped leaves and produces a mesmerizing cup of delicate peachy notes and warm, soothing flavor. Well deserving its nickname as the true champagne of teas. (Adagio)

Or this?
This tea possesses the classic oolong flavor: medium-bodied, smooth, a slighty fruity and toastiness in the finish. Delicious (TeaSource)

Adagio's description is more wordy, but doesn't give any more information than the fact that it's from Taiwan. Nothing about the variety of oolong. TeaSource doesn't have photos of their tea either, that doesn't mean they have bad tea. I'm not knocking Adagio, they are wonderful, but I was just pointing out that their description isn't any better than any of the other sites mentioned on this post as far as what the specific variety of oolong that 'choicest' might be.

I think the OP just wanted ideas of where to start, not to be put down for asking. If you have expertise, Ed, please share it, but don't be so negative about it. I think you were a beginner once too.

[ABx]

Guys, I really don't think Ed was trying to be rude. You can read his posts as negative, but you can also read them as inquisitive. Maybe Ed could have chosen words differently, but he makes very valid points.

Put simply, we're not going to be able to give good recommendations until GeeFreeman can just tell us what he's looking for in a tea - simple comparisons to everyday things and everyday terms, without trying to use jargon that we generally don't use.

GeeFreeman: As I mentioned before, don't try to use tea jargon. Just saying "bright, not dry, not tannic" describes just about all oolongs. Your best bet would just be to use everyday language and comparisons. Compare to common tastes and smells - the chances are that we will know what you're talking about and be able to guide you to something that you'll like. There's so many different oolongs that are so vastly different that right now all we can do is blindly throw things out there, and the chances are that you won't like half of them (at least at first).

I hope you can appreciate how much effort people here have put in to guessing what you're thinking. I for one am done until you can give a little feedback - remember that when it comes to comparing tastes and smells, we don't usually use much jargon. Sweet, sour, acidic, smooth, thick, oily, fruity (what fruit?), woody, earthy, strong, delicate, lots of aroma, lots of taste.. you can describe the color of the tea with simple colors like brown, yellow, green, like honey, yellowish green, etc etc etc...

Until then, the only recommendation I can give is to try out samples of a little of everything.

[ABx]

When I was researching Shui Xian (hsien) I found literally dozens and dozens of references to the fact that restaurant tea is usually made from Shui Xian.

They would like you to think that you are getting a more than decent cup of tea and would therefore like to use one of the 2 really big/famous names
Da Hong Pao
Ti Kuan Yin.

It just really depends on where you are. You can also add Qi Zhong and Jasmine Pearls to that list (I've heard of them serving jade TGY as well - which I'm guessing is different than what you're talking about). Unfortunately that just about covers the entire spectrum.

Of course there's also the fake DHP made from TGY leaves, but that's another story

[chrl42]

Perhaps restaurants in the US and Canada do serve decent Da Hong Pao and TKY - but I believe that in China, Hong Kong, Britain and parts of Europe it is most likely to be Shui Xian.

Just to notice you, in Beijing they don't serve teas. All they serve is just plain hot water. On a side note, ordering tea can be more expensive than dishes(let's say Kung Pao chicken) lol..and next store sells 2-dollar-canned Long Jing.

BTW I always thought your knowledge about Chinese Oolong sparkling, let us hear it more!