Oolong Tea: Buying and Brewing
The tea that can be as smooth as butter or as rich as chocolate
Warning to the tea haters:
I’m not sure how you ended up reading this to begin with, but it sounds like you don’t like tea. Maybe you’ve tried a tea bag or two or had one too many watered down cups at sushi restaurants. That was my experience — tea as an afterthought, as that cardboard-flavored thing to do with your hands while you make awkward smalltalk. Well you’re wrong, and so was I. Read on to have your mind blown.
Dark Roast vs. Light:
No, we’re not talking about a Starbucks menu, but the idea is similar. Oolongs can be roasted for varying amounts of time, leading to vastly different flavor profiles. It’s one of the amazing things about oolong, because both types are equally delicious yet so different that you can switch it up and never get sick of oolong.
Roasted — darker, heavier body, reminiscent of chocolate, coffee, toasted wood chips, etc.
Light — buttery, smooth, melt-in-your-mouth feel, sometimes floral.
My favorites for each of these varieties come from Floating Leaves Tea. They specialize in Taiwanese oolongs, and man they really know what they’re doing. They are also the nicest people so extra points for that. Scroll to the bottom for links to my favorites, or read on for how to brew once you have them.
How to brew:
As usual, the website will tell you only to brew for a very short period of time (~30 seconds), but I like to do things a little bolder. If you’re feeling daring, try it my way.
- Heat water to 175 degrees (I like to do 2 cups, but you can adjust as needed).
- Add 1 heaping tsp of tea per cup to strainer
- For darker House Oolong, steep for 5–7 minutes. For lighter high mountain oolong steep for 3 minutes.
- Enjoy!
The oolong you are looking for:
House Oolong (darker roast)
Alishan High Mountain Oolong (light roast)
