ed

Do oolongs generally have the flavor of Chinese restaurant tea? The
two that I have tried are both pleasant, but that is what they remind
me of.

Thanks-
Ed

dominic t.

I find that oolongs break down into the more roasted/darker restaurant
tea style and the greener/floral ones. There are others to be sure,
but this is a general breakdown. The greener oolongs will often be
"fisted" which means they look like round pearl-shaped spheres, again
just generalizing because there are green oolongs available in the
longer leaf form too. Tie Guan Yin (Tie Kuan Yin, TGY/TKY, Iron
Goddess of Mercy) are greener and might be a good contrast to compare
with.

The greener oolongs start to approach the darker ones as the roasting
increases and the first few steeps will be less floral but eventually
it normally gives way to a slight floral note. The darker oolongs
continue on to darker roasts which become more rasiny/tobacco/
chocolate.

There are some oolongs that exhibit citrusy notes and some that are
very fruity, the classification covers a wide array. There has been a
trend toward much greener oolongs being produced and less of the
really heavy roasted ones, I prefer the darker heavy roasted non-
floral ones myself. Oh, and many Chinese restaurants serve some form
of oolong as their house tea so that would be why it tastes like it

- Dominic

will yardley

To me, oolong is one of the broadest categories of tea. The
possibilities are endless, since the degree and type of roasting can
vary greatly, and the degree of oxidation can be pretty much anything
from near-zero (like the style that's currently in vogue for gaoshan
oolongs and mainland Tieguanyin) to almost completely oxidized (like
Oriental Beauty).

Some Chinese restaurants serve oolong teas of various sorts (though in
my experience, these days it's more often scented tea in teabags). So
it's not surprising that some oolongs you've tried taste similar, but I
guess it depends what you mean by that. Certainly there are oolongs out
there that are much *better* than what you will typically find in any
restaurant, even if you're lucky enough to go to a restaurant which
serves loose-leaf tea at all.

Also, the *way* that you brew them matters; if you brew them western
style, in a large pot with a small amount of tea leaf, the taste will
often become more and more generic, though also less unpleasant if the
tea isn't great quality.

I would suggest first finding some representative examples of different
genres of oolong (some US vendors I would recommend... Tea Habitat
[disclaimer, the owner is a friend] here in LA (for exellent Dancong),
Floating Leaves in Seattle (for greener and medium Taiwanese oolongs),
Hou De in Houston (for Taiwanese oolongs as well as for Wuyi yancha when
he has them in stock), Tea Gallery in NYC (for mainland oolongs with
more traditional processing and heavier fire). Then try brewing them in
a small gaiwan or teapot, using a lot of leaf, and boiling or
just-off-boil water. Then see if you still think that they taste like
"Chinese restaurant tea", whatever that means.

--
Multi-lingual forum for Chinese and Japanese tea and teaware:
http://teadrunk.org/

kludge

Generic Chinese restaurants usually serve the lowest possible grade of
oolong tea, often the Foojoy stuff that comes in the 25 lb bags. A good
oolong will have more of that and less of the dishwater flavour that comes
with it.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

ed

"Chinese restaurant tea" was not meant to be an insult, just a general
way to describe the flavor based on my limited knowledge. I
appreciate the suggestions and will hunt down some oolongs to try.

Ed