yssah - Love is Tea (LIT) said 2013-01-04 05:58:46 -0500

yay, i made my first successful oolong!

at first i was like…weird scent…weird taste. but that was coz i didn’t know i had to “rinse” it first.

and then after letting it steep in boiling for a few, and in my cup for another few, i noticed the color…ooooh, the color! golden liquid all :D

10 Replies

darky said 2013-01-04 06:44:26 -0500

what oolong did you try?

yssah - Love is Tea (LIT) said 2013-01-04 21:11:59 -0500

http://steepster.com/teas/abc-tea/28824-formosa-oolong – havent finalized my feelings for it yet so havent written a note.

Stevie Knicks said 2013-01-05 09:24:57 -0500

Me too! I brewed one “ehhhh” oolong last week that I bought loose at my local grocery store (a very nice grocery store, but still not the place to buy loose leaf teas.) My gaiwan from www.yunnansourcing.us came last night, with a sample of an Anxi Autumn 2012 Tieguanyin — it was amazing! As soon as the water hit the leaves I could smell flowers in my kitchen! Excited to try more when my samples from Teavivre come in a week or so.

Lynxiegrl said 2013-01-05 12:52:47 -0500

It depends on the brand…I suspect that in coming years as tea becomes more popular, grocery stores will start carrying better quality tea, loose leaf and bagged. That’s what happened with coffee when Starbucks was opening a store on practically every corner….

yssah - Love is Tea (LIT) said 2013-01-05 20:48:59 -0500

have you tried rinsing the first one Stevie?

Cavocorax said 2013-01-05 21:14:23 -0500

Are you supposed to rinse all oolong? I’ve been brewing them western style and resteeping them, and enjoy the taste that way. Does it make a huge difference?

Kittenna said 2013-01-07 23:50:05 -0500

I don’t rinse my oolongs. For them, I’m fairly sure it’s just to “wake up” the leaves. For pu’erh, I think it’s a dual purpose to literally rinse the tea (of dust and such to some extent, I’ve gathered?) and “awaken” the leaves.

Cavocorax said 2013-01-08 00:01:59 -0500

Thanks! I’ll keep that in mind! I have a pu’erh to try, but I’ve kinda held off because of all the ‘fishiness’ complaints. I guess a good rinse would help that out!

Azzrian said 2013-01-05 21:51:38 -0500

I never rinse my oolong but to each their own. If you find you enjoy yours more rinsed then go for it. :)

yssah - Love is Tea (LIT) said 2013-01-07 00:55:37 -0500

i tried to rinse mine but i left it boiling too long and it would have been a waste to compost such a dark brew so i tasted it…it was fine :) nutty but just the tiniest bit bitter. not bad ^^