Oolongs

I had a surprise in my last tea order. I ordered 2 oolong teas, and when I opened the packages, they looked the same. I mean, they looked EXACTLY the same. Did they make a mistake and fill both of my bags with the same tea?


I've had the Wuyi Shan Ti Kwan Yin before. I know what it is supposed to look like and smell like. That bag checks out. It's the correct tea. 

Wuyi Shan Ti Kwan Yin
Wuyi Shan Ti Kwan Yin

This oolong has kind of a fruity type scent and flavor. So I turned my attention to the milk oolong. I gave it a sniff. It smells different. It doesn't have the fruity notes in it. I brewed a cup, and it has a sweet, mellow flavor. Interesting, what is the difference?

Milk oolong

The description of milk oolong states that this is a semi-oxidized tea made from the leaves of tea plants growing between 1600 and 4000 feet above sea level. The plucking can only occur on mornings following a precipitous drop in temperature in comparison to the day before (this immediately reminds me of maple syrup production - the large variations in temperature are needed to get the sap moving). The leaves are then oxidized, steamed, and rolled. 


Milk oolong is from a hybrid cultivar developed by a tea research station in Thailand. They have a milky, creamy flavor/mouth feel. Many teas billed as milk oolong are artificially scented. Apparently  there are stories of milk being used in the production of the leaf, too, but that is obviously not true given the fact that this is a dry leaf. This video warns to be wary of milk oolongs produced outside of Taiwan or Thailand (mine says it is from Fujian province in China). Most Chinese milk oolongs are said to be scented, but he holds hope for Fujian producing some good milk oolongs. Hmm. Upon opening my bag of milk oolong, it does have a stronger scent. The flavor, however holds up to multiple brewings, and in my experience flavored and scented teas don't hold up to multiple brews well. Oh well, whatever the origin of my milk oolong, I still like it. Even though both teas look exactly the same, they do taste different. 

Now off to enjoy some fall weather (not really, it's raining here this morning). I was amused by this half changed tree several weeks ago. I'm not sure if it really changed color because of fall, or out of stress from derecho damage. It obviously lost some limbs down the middle, and you can see a pile of logs from trees that did not make it through the storm. Have a good Sunday regardless of the weather. 



Comments

  1. Poppy CrockerSeptember 29, 2020 at 7:48 AM

    That's a tree with a punk hairstyle.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lace makerSeptember 29, 2020 at 2:34 PM

      At least it still has branches and leaves. I guess you could say it's kind of a reverse mohawk.

      Delete

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