Oolong tea
All posts in the Oolong tea category
Categories: Oolong tea, Tea reviews
Tags: First flush 2010, Hawaii tea, Hawaiian tea, Mauna Kea Tea
Post date: June 9, 2010
Comments: no comments
From Mauna Kea Tea comes this 2010 first flush oolong tea, a Hawaiian-grown, organic tea. This oolong reminds me of a cross between a bai hao oolong and a traditional green-style ti kuan yin, like Chicago Tea Garden’s competition-grade ti kuan yin. It has a markedly faint dry aroma which blossoms with plum-like notes upon infusion.
Categories: Oolong tea, Tea reviews
Tags: Bai Hao Oolong, Life in Teacup, Oriental Beauty, Taiwanese oolong, Taiwanese teas
Post date: April 9, 2010
Comments: no comments
From Xinzhu County in Taiwan comes this bai hao oolong, sent to me by Gingko from Life in Teacup.
What a tea. It isn’t as aromatic as some Taiwanese oolongs, but the real treat is in the mouth. One sip and I was amazed at how the tea’s honeyed sweetness coated the mouth. I’ve had bai hao oolongs before (reviewed one here), but this one is, without a doubt, the best I’ve ever had.
Categories: Oolong tea
Tags: gaiwan, how to make oolong tea, how to make tea, Yixing Teapot
Post date: March 11, 2010
Comments: 3 comments
As last week’s focus on Ti Kuan Yin made clear, I’m focusing quite heavily on oolong tea this year. Along the way, I’ve improved my brewing technique through trial and error, so I thought I would share some of the lessons I’ve learned.
Categories: Oolong tea, Tea reviews
Tags: Chicago Tea Garden, ti kuan yin
Post date: March 4, 2010
Comments: 1 comment
This review, the final one in my series of ti kuan yin reviews, comes at an opportune time: Chicago Tea Garden, the suppliers of this final ti kuan yin, officially launched yesterday. Congratulations to Tony and his partner Erin ? all the best of luck to you both!
Now, the tea.
Categories: Oolong tea, Tea reviews
Tags: Orange Tea Co, ti kuan yin
Post date: March 3, 2010
Comments: no comments
A line from Little Yellow Teapot’s review of Chicago Tea Garden’s Golden Bi Luo has stuck with me this week:
The sign of a great tea is when the leaves look great before and after steeping.
Categories: Oolong tea, Tea reviews
Tags: Tea Trekker, ti kuan yin
Post date: March 2, 2010
Comments: 1 comment
It is remarkable just how markedly different two teas of the same style can be. Yesterday’s ti kuan yin, a Taiwanese one, had a sharp nutty character and a wonderful dry aroma. Today, we’re drinking a ti kuan yin produced in Fujian Province, China, and there’s not a hint of nuttiness. But it still smells lovely, as its name suggests: Clear and Fragrant Style Ti Kuan Yin from Tea Trekker.
Categories: Oolong tea, Tea reviews
Tags: Serenity Teahouse, ti kuan yin
Post date: March 1, 2010
Comments: no comments
The first in my series of ti kuan yin teas is the only one from Taiwan.
Highly aromatic teas seem to be the hallmark of Taiwanese tea producers. This ti kuan yin might not be as aromatic as some of the other Taiwanese oolongs I’ve tried, but it still bears a lovely nose of sweet, almond-like nuttiness. One of the best things you can do with a tea like this is to warm the gaiwan or whatever teapot you’re using first, place the tea leaves in there, and then just suck in the aroma. You’ll be amazed at how much you can smell.
Categories: Oolong tea
Tags: Chicago Tea Garden, Orange Tea Co, Serenity Teahouse, Tea Trekker, ti kuan yin
Post date:
Comments: 5 comments
It’s going to be a week of ti kuan yin here on Tea Finely Brewed. Over the past few months I’ve accumulated a nice little collection of ti kuan yin teas from different merchants, so I thought it would be interesting to review them all in the same week.
Categories: Oolong tea, Tea reviews
Tags: Formosa oolong, Taiwanese oolong, Taiwanese teas
Post date: January 19, 2010
Comments: 1 comment
Serenity Teahouse is a small tea shop in Box Hill, a suburb of Melbourne. A tiny sign dangles above the sidewalk. Downstairs, there’s an Asian bakery that sells the tea; but the real fun begins upstairs, where Candy, the owner, will treat you to free tea tastings. Her family runs a tea farm (or several?) in Taiwan, so her specialty is in Taiwanese teas.
Among those is this formosa oolong, which I liked so much I decided to dedicate my first yixing tea set to it.
Categories: Black tea, Fair Trade tea, Green tea, Oolong tea, Organic tea, Pu-erh tea, Tisanes, White tea
Tags: Art of Tea, buying tea online, Numi Organic Tea, Rishi Tea, The Tea Spot
Post date: December 10, 2009
Comments: 5 comments
Fair trade is a tricky thing. I’ve written before about why I believe fair trade is important, but there’s a flipside: too often, fair trade tea is of lower quality to similarly-priced, non-fair trade tea. Which leaves a tea lover to decide between sacrificing quality or sacrificing an ethical stance.
Over the past year I have bought primarily non-fair trade tea, for one big reason: there are very few fair trade tea options around here in Melbourne, and the ones that I can find tend to be in teabag form. But one goal I’ve set for myself over the next few months is to explore some of the fair trade tea options available online. Here are five online tea stores that sell fair trade tea.