Written by our guest blogger t_del_te
Previously I was drinking tea my whole life long, but after moving to Spain, I almost forsook tea for years. Fortunately, during the pandemic, I found out the tea community on Instagram, and now I’ve been here sharing my passion for tea again.
Lastly, I received a sample of Pacific Black Oolong from @tea.wonderland, and I’d like to share it with all of you, my tea friends. This tea is grown in Taitung (Taiwan), next to the Pacific Ocean, was used to produce Assamica Black Tea. It was developed about 2008, combining the oxidation process of black tea with the Shaqing (de-enzyming) process of oolong production. You can hardly say it’s a black tea or oolong, the dry leaves are rolled into small balls like many Taiwanese oolongs. However, the brewed leaves conjure of images of black tea due to the deep oxidation. Oriental Beauty is often considered the most oxidized oolong (60% as its standard, in some cases 75%-85%). Yet, the oxidation of this tea is even more profound, going so far as to reach 80%-90%.
Tea Profile:
Origin: Mainly in Taitung county, Taiwan
Harvest time: 2019
Leave colour: Tones of dark brown, nearly black
Liquor colour: Aglow amber, bright and vibrant
Tea aroma: Full and round, ripe fruity and honey-like
Tea taste: Mellow and delicately sweet, no bitterness nor astringency. Closely resembles black tea but still oolong characters detected.
Steeping/brewing: 6g in 100ml gaiwan at 95°C, 15 seconds for the first infusion, from the second infusion 10 seconds, an additional 5 seconds for each subsequent infusion since the 4th infusion.
Shelf life: Available for long term storage under right condition. Appropriate for aging.