Oolong Newbie

[ummaya]

I ordered the Oolong sampler from Adagio; this will be my first Oolong experience.

Since then I have been reading many of the Oolong threads of TeaChat and the more I read the more I am confused by the huge number of Oolong teas: Anxi , Dancong ,Wu Yiand , Taiwan Oolong, Wu Yi Mountains, Yunnan and more. Of course each one of these offers many different teas.

I feel quite lost and I really don't know where to start from! Are there certain vendors and types of Oolong that it is better to start with (apart the Adagio sampler that I have already ordered)? Which one to avoid?

Maybe a link to a good guide where I can learn about the properties of the different kind of Oolong teas.

[entropyembrace]

Since you´ve already ordered it wait for the Adagio sampler and try them all, since it has one oolong from each of Taiwan (also known as Formosa), An Xi and Wu Yi it´ll help give you an idea of which style oolong you´d like to explore more in depth

[ummaya]

wait for the Adagio sampler and try them all, ...it´ll help give you an idea of which style oolong you´d like to explore more in depth

Thank you for your reply.

The samples I ordered from Adagio (oolong savant sampler) are the following: jasmine #12/ oolong #18/ ooooh darjeeling/ pouchong. Should all these different Oolong teas be brewed the same way? (temp/steeping time/ water and tea leaves ratio)

[brian]

Maybe a link to a good guide where I can learn about the properties of the different kind of Oolong teas.

I found this guide at seven cups to be informative:
http://www.sevencups.com/about-tea/oolong-tea/
Looking at a map while reading it is interesting.

[ummaya]

http://www.sevencups.com/about-tea/oolong-tea/

Thank you very much for the link , brian

[teaisme]

zen8tea on ebay
floatingleavestea.com
teafromtaiwan.com
ishopo

I think these are good places to start exploring oolongs
I've personally had some bad experiences with adagio oolongs but you may find otherwise
Just don't be dissuaded if your sampler doesn't turn out to your liking
Give oolongs another chance with a different vendor if that is the case

[entropyembrace]

Also when you´re ready to explore more try www.jingteashop.com They have very good oolongs from Anxi, Wuyi and Dancong

[ummaya]

Please, what is the meaning of the A, AA and AAA grades given to the teas in Jing Tea shop

[entropyembrace]

I think the farm that the tea comes from divides their tea in several letter grades so if it´s AAA it´s the best tea from that farm, if it´s A it´s good tea but not their most expensive.

Don´t worry about it too much all of the tea from Jing Tea Shop is very good

[ummaya]

all of the tea from Jing Tea Shop is very good

I'll order several samples from Jing Tea once the Adagio savant arrives. Any suggestion or should I simply pick blindly from each of Jing's 3 main Oolong brands?

[iannon]

zen8tea on ebay
floatingleavestea.com
teafromtaiwan.com
ishopo

I think these are good places to start exploring oolongs
I've personally had some bad experiences with adagio oolongs but you may find otherwise
Just don't be dissuaded if your sampler doesn't turn out to your liking
Give oolongs another chance with a different vendor if that is the case

+1. For Taiwanese Oolongs check out IShopO they have everything in multiple smaller trial sizes as well which is nice if you want to explore

[Poohblah]

all of the tea from Jing Tea Shop is very good

I'll order several samples from Jing Tea once the Adagio savant arrives. Any suggestion or should I simply pick blindly from each of Jing's 3 main Oolong brands?

I suggest a tie guan yin from Anxi, a dan cong from Feng Huang, and rou gui and da hong pao from Wuyi. These are just personal suggestions, I haven't tried much else besides these (they seem to be the most popular and a couple are on the "10 famous Chinese Teas" list). There is (as far as I can tell) quite a bit of variety within the tie guan yin or dan cong categories, so whatever you get might not be representative of that group of teas as a whole. I haven't had more than two different dan congs, but I hear that the single bush AAA dan cong is the way to go.

Also I suggest you don't get any more teas until you've gone through most of the stuff you already have. In my (limited) experience, when you have dozens of open teas sitting around, some of them are going to end up just sitting on the shelf and never getting used until they get tossed or handed off to somebody else. Of course, if all you have are half a dozen sample sizes, then more tea is welcome

[entropyembrace]

Not really pick at random, read the descriptions and pick ones that seem interesting to you

[brad4419]

Not really pick at random, read the descriptions and pick ones that seem interesting to you

This is why jingteashop is in my top 5 vendors. They do such a great job describeing the aroma and taste of there teas and if you have any questions they are very helpful.

The one suggestion I would make is to buy the cheaper seasonal Da Hong Pao from jing and see if you like it before buying more expensive DHP. The reason I say this is because I have tried both the seasonal and Xiao hong pao and although I really liked the Xiao more, they arn't really that different tasteing. If you love the DHP then you will most likely love the Xiao or higher grades but if you buy them both and don't like one then most likely you wont like the other either.

[ummaya]

I have received the Oolong sampler from Adagio . On the tins of the Ali Shan , Ooooh Darjeeling and Oolong #40 the instructions are : 212F/ 5 min.
For the Jasmine # 12 : 180F/ 5 min

Do you know what the water/leaves ratio is ? I know that certain Oolong tea leaves should be rinsed first before being brewed. Is it the case with one or more from the Oolong of this sampler.

Thanks