Someone gave me oolong and now…

Do you know the type of oolong? Does it have any names on it? This’ll help considerably with figuring out a steeping time.

As for milk and sugar… Most people would balk at the idea of adding milk to an oolong. Especially if it’s lighter—closer to a green tea. It’s your preference, of course, but most oolongs probably would not stand up/blend well with milk, I think (the darker the oolong, the better it would probably hold up to it).

As for sugar, if you’re partial to sweeteners, there’s no one stopping you (there’s no right or wrong way to take tea). They can bring out and highlight key flavours in many teas.

Basics to know are that most people steep oolongs at less than boiling-temperature water, and from anywhere from twenty seconds, to three minutes. There’s quite a range.

Milky Oolong is great. Enjoy it.

Milk oolongs are usually more toward the green spectrum, so I wouldn’t add any milk, but I add sugar to just about all my teas. I do try them straight first. I have added milk to darker oolongs, or some that I think are strong enough or where there is a flavour in it that might get enhanced by a dash of milk (like Carrot Cake from DAVIDs, though that is a darker one, so it holds up well to milk in my book).

180-190F rinse, steep in same water temp for 30 seconds in a Gainwan, slowly increase steep time with additional infusion.

Oolong is delicious by itself :)

This is depend on which Oolong tea you have at hand, because different Oolong teas need different temperatures. If you use a Gaiwan to brew Oolong teas, here are the short information about the temperature and steeping time for different types of Oolonng teas:

Taiwan Dong Ding (Tung Ting) Oolong Tea: 100℃, the first time (rinsing the tea) for 5 seconds, and the second time for 45 s, then with an additional 10-18 seconds is added to the steeping each time.

Taiwan Oriental Beauty (Bai Hao) Oolong Tea: 80-90℃, first time for 5 seconds to rinse tea. Second time for 15 seconds, third for 20 seconds. Fourth: 30 seconds, Fifth: 50 seconds, Six: for 60 seconds.

Taiwan Jin Xuan Milk Oolong Tea: 100℃, similar to the way of brewing Dong Ding Oolong.

Tie Guan Yin: 100℃, 5 seconds for first rinsing, Second time for 15 seconds, then add an additional 5 to 10 seconds to the each steeping time.

As for adding milk or sugar, this is also depend on your personal taste. For me, I just seldom add things to my cup. I’d like to enjoy it as it is!

I’d recommend almost always using off the boil, 205+ water for the first brew. Once the leaves have opened, you can use 180-200 water for the subsequent brews depending on preference.