Opinions on Formosa?

Owes its flavors to oxidation levels between green & black tea.
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Jun 20th, '09, 18:21
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Opinions on Formosa?

by jennytea » Jun 20th, '09, 18:21

I just got a formosa oolong. It tasts kinda woodsy to me, is it supposed to?? Is Formosa a decent tea in general?
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Jun 20th, '09, 21:36
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by ABx » Jun 20th, '09, 21:36

Formosa is actually a country: Taiwan. Taiwan produces a lot of oolong, though what's usually called "Formosa Oolong" is Bai Hao. It's not really my cup, as it's closer to a black tea, but there are some that are better than others. All of the tea they produce can come in the full range of quality - from the cheap teabag stuff to the very high quality loose leaf tea.
Jun 22nd, '09, 07:33
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by jennytea » Jun 22nd, '09, 07:33

Ok I was confused about that. I got some Formosa Ooolog and it's not exactly my cup of tea either..haha, there was a mushroomy earthy undertone. Ah well.
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Jun 22nd, '09, 08:19
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by sriracha » Jun 22nd, '09, 08:19

Try having it as an accompaniment to food before writing it off is my suggestion. =)
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Jun 22nd, '09, 14:13
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by ABx » Jun 22nd, '09, 14:13

jennytea wrote:Ok I was confused about that. I got some Formosa Ooolog and it's not exactly my cup of tea either..haha, there was a mushroomy earthy undertone. Ah well.
Yup, sounds like a particularly bad bai hao :) Don't let that one tea sway you from Taiwanese oolong in general; Taiwan produces some great oolong.
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Jun 24th, '09, 15:56
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by Beidao » Jun 24th, '09, 15:56

My experience is that Formosa Oolong is not all Bai Hao. It would like to be, but it is way to low quality. They don't even use to resemble each other. Formosa Oolong is just a generic name to give to tea from Taiwan that doesn't qualify for any proper name :evil:
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Jun 24th, '09, 16:42
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by MarshalN » Jun 24th, '09, 16:42

Unfortunately Formosa oolong is one of those names that are completely useless.... lots of vendors use it for all kinds of tea. I've seen them range from bai hao to cheap green oolongs to roasted oolongs.... they're usually not the greatest in quality, but....

To answer the OP's question -- it could be woodsy, it could not. Without more info it's hard to say.
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