In November the Helsinki Tea Tasting Meetup tasted some great sheng pu’ers . This month it was round to my place, where we tasted some oolongs. I’d stocked up before leaving China, and was looking forward to tasting them with some newly found tea enthusiasts.
Along with black tea, oolong is my favourite as it gives such a wide breadth of flavour. Oolong is a semi-oxidised tea. There are two main types – green oolongs and dark oolongs. Green oolongs, such as Tie Guan Yin, are lightly oxidised, between 10% & 40%. These have a fresh flavour profile. Dark oolongs are left to oxidise for longer, up to 70%. Many dark oolongs are also roasted or baked which again changes the flavour profile.
dark oolong and green oolong
It was the first time most of us had met each other, so there was lots of interesting chat around the table. It seems that tea is not the only thing people had in common. In between sipping, conversations circled around yoga, spiritual journeys and healing, baking, musicianship, and an appreciation of Sigur Ros!
TIE GUAN YIN
So, to the tea. We tasted four oolongs, two green oolongs and two dark. First up was Tie Guan Yin (Iron Goddess of Mercy), one of the most widespread and popular teas drunk on an everyday basis in China. It’s from Anxi in Fujian province, which is where I picked up this particular autumn harvested one.
Tie Guan Yin is a lightly oxidised oolong. It’s rolled into small round balls that slowly unfurl when brewed, giving off a fresh floral aroma. It brews up into a nice light green-yellow liquor. Though this wasn’t the best Tie Guan Yin I’ve tasted, it still had fresh floral notes with the characteristic smooth buttery flavour.
Tie Guan Yin brewing
DA HONG PAO
Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe) is considered to be the best of the Yancha or rock teas found growing on Wuyi Mountain in Fujian, China. There are only six of what are considered to be the mother tea bushes, which have been growing on the mountain for over 350 years. They are specially protected and yield only around 100g of dry leaves per year, fetching hefty prices. 20g sold for 156,800rmb (21,900 euros) in 1998…. So I can guarantee this particular Da Hong Pao is not from a mother bush!
da hong pao
Da Hong Pao is a dark oolong that has been baked. It has dark slightly curled tea leaves which produce a yellow-orange liquor. The brew gives off a really pleasant roasted, slightly sweet aroma. This is a lovely warming oolong, perfect for a cold winter’s day. Beautiful toasted notes, with a long lasting sweet floral fragrance.
Da Hong Pao brewed up
DONG DING
Dong Ding (Frozen Summit) is named after the mountain that it’s grown on in Nantou, Taiwan. It originally came from the tea plants of Wuyi around 150 years ago. Dong Ding is rolled into small tight balls, and is traditionally charcoal baked, though it’s also possible to find Dong Ding as a green oolong. Dong Ding usually has a medium oxidation and baking can vary from light to heavy.
Dong Ding
From the look and taste of ours, it was definitely a dark oolong, probably with a medium roast. The little tea balls were more on the brown side than green indicating a higher oxidisation. It brewed up into a beautiful golden liquor with a wonderful fruity aroma. On tasting, it was the peach notes that came to the fore, leaving a smooth lingering after taste.
Pouring out the Dong Ding
ALISHAN HIGH MOUNTAIN
We finished off with Alishan High Mountain from Alishan in Taiwan, the most widely known of the high mountain teas. This tea producing area can range from 1,000 to 2,300 meters above sea level. It’s often shrouded in fog with low temperatures, perfect for growing tea.
Alishan High Mountain
Alishan High Mountain is a green oolong, so is lightly oxidised. The tea leaves are rolled into small jade coloured balls that produce a pale yellow liquor. The aroma was wonderfully fresh and floral, with a smooth creamy taste. A really beautiful and refreshing oolong.
Alishan High Mountain
What a perfect way to spend a snowy sub-zero Sunday afternoon!
Helsinki Tea Tasters