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Beginner's Question: Oolong Regions/Type Confusion--Suggestions?

Hello, all. Floundering beginner here again!

I'm setting out on another tea-buying adventure this weekend and am hoping to expand my small collection of tea by adding greens and oolongs. My exprience with greens thus far over the last few years has been great and getting better, and I've got a short list of varieties to try and pick up that people on this list have suggested. (Am very excited about trying a bit of gyokuro!)

However, my experience with oolongs is limited to very "commercial" sorts and the sorts I've been served with Chinese food, etc. I know very little about the production regions or variations in oxidation, only what I've gleaned from conversations here and information elsewhere, and I couldn't tell the difference between "twisted" oolong and some other type of oolong if it they took me out to dinner and stayed for breakfast...

I plan on continuing to learn on my own, and I'm certainly not asking for even a beginner's explanation to the nuances of oolongs, but suggestions would be helpful.

So...if you were recommending three or four very specific varieties of oolong tea to someone who loves all sorts of teas (including very strongly-flavoured, oddly-flavoured, and delicately-flavoured teas), what would they be?

I'm hoping that all of you will help me narrow down my mind-boggling list of "oolong names I've encountered" to a short list of a few to try. Information on why you're suggesting them or what to watch for when trying them would be a huge bonus.

Thanks very much--you've all been very helpful, and I only hope that I'll be able to contribute a bit more someday upon further learning.

Tess

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Reply to
Tess
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Oolong is just a level of oxidation. Anything that isn't white,green,black is by definition oolong. The two Chinese styles twisted or fisted just refer to the outline shape of the processed leaf which has nothing to do with the taste. If you're talking about mainland Chinese oolong teas look for the keyword Wuyi or Anxi. Teas from Taiwan are light to moderate oxidation and usually refer to a particular mountain. A specific recommendation would be Phoenix wulong from Guangdong and ALiShan from Taiwan. One person's must have on a shelf is another's rainy day. The one that seems the most popular is a mainland greenish TieGuanYin. I'm partial to any tea from Taiwan. You couldn't go wrong with BaiHao or Oriental Beauty.

Jim

Tess wrote:

Reply to
Space Cowboy

Tess:

Below is a link to an article authored/edited by Guang of Hou De about the types of oolong cultivars generally found in Taiwan. This may be a little too specific for your general oolong inquiry...but it's a good info on Taiwanese oolongs.

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As to your question: "So...if you were recommending three or four very specific varieties of oolong tea to someone who loves all sorts of teas (including very strongly-flavoured, oddly-flavoured, and delicately-flavoured teas), what would they be?"

My suggestions for starters would be:

- Tie Guan Yin from Anxi (aka: Iron Goddess)

- Dan Cong from Feng Huang Mtn. (aka: Lone Bush)

- Da Hong Pao from Wuyi Mtn. (aka: Big Red / Scarlet Robe)

- Bai Hao from Taiwan (aka: Oriental Beauty)

Of course, each type above comes in different quality/grades, oxidation as well as roasting level...

My two cents...hope that helps.

- Phyll

Reply to
Phyll

It depends on how much you want to spend, as oolongs can be very expensive. I find less expensive "green/jade/light roast" oolongs to be the most forgiving. Conversely, if you buy cheap "high fire" oolongs, like Da Hong Pao, it's likely to turn you off to the genre altogether, as they taste like charcoal.

[echo Phyll] Anxi TKY Dancong Dahongpao Baozhong Dong Ding

I haven't bought an oolong without tasting or sampling it first, and I hope you get that opportunity!

~j

Tess wrote:

Reply to
Jason F in Los Angeles

I assume you don't mean *all* Da Hong Pao here, right? Just the cheap, badly made, possibly fake stuff?

/Lew

Reply to
Lewis Perin

Lewis snipped-for-privacy@panix1.panix.com8/30/06 10: snipped-for-privacy@panix.com

Not to doubt either of you, but just to add that those WuYi teas on the heavily roasted side are -- to my taste -- an acquired taste, and can seem "charcoal" before they begin to reveal their subtler flavors and aromas. I had to grow into them, but that doesn't necessarily generalize, I know. Michael

Reply to
Michael Plant

yes. didn't realize that was poorly written.

"...if you buy cheap "high fire" oolongs, like _cheap_ Da Hong Pao..."

I speak from experience. $6.00 for a 200g can of Da Hong Pao is a mistake! :)

~j

Lewis Per>

Reply to
Jason F in Los Angeles

Check out:

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Jas> yes. didn't realize that was poorly written.

Reply to
James

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