So Long, Oolong??

Oolong tea, also known as Wulong, is one of the most complicated teas to produce. It requires the most human intervention. There are over seven steps required to make this wonderful tea. It is considered a work of art. Because of this, it is in limited production, and its prices are increasing. Could this be the end of oolong?

Oolong is a genuine tea, made from the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. As stated above, however, it is very uniquely processed. It varies between the green teas and black teas. It can be oxidized/processed as little as 10%, making is as light as a green tea, or as heavily oxidized/processed as much as 70%, making it closer to a black tea. 

Its appearance is not uniform, as you can imagine! It can be tightly rolled and green, or black and 'bakey' looking. (Yes, 'bakey' is actually a tea term! Who knew!)

Keating and Long state, "Many people have heard of oolong tea but few people can define it." 

Oolong originated in China and spread to Taiwan. Mastery of making oolong takes many years to perfect and requires the human touch. Because of this it may be a dying art form. Machines have yet to touch this form of tea making. 

Cheadle and Kilby outline how to make a perfect cup of Oolong Tea:

1. Start with freshly poured water, not water that has been sitting in the kettle. Freshly poured water includes more oxygen, which infuses more flavour into the tea. 

2. Stop heating at 80 - 85 degrees Celsius, or 176 degrees F. 

3. USE QUALITY TEA!! See lovely Oolongs here T By Daniel Oolong

4. Use the proper tea to water ratio. To do this, follow the directions on your particular tea's package, or use 1 tsp tea to 300 mL water. 

5. Steep only 3 minutes. 

6. DO NOT ADD MILK TO OOLONG TEA.

7. ENJOY!!

Sources:

Youtube Oolong Video
How to Make Tea (B. Keating, K. Long)
The Tea Book: All Things Tea  (L. Cheadle, N. Kilby)

Cyanide and Adulteration

"Blue tea, Darling?" your beloved would ask you in the 18th century. How romantic. 

Americans and Europeans expected better colour in their tea and started adding Prussian Blue to it. Prussian Blue is toxic iron ferrocyanide. Often they added other substances, too, including verdigris, a poisonous green compound that was used to paint OUTDOOR BRONZE STATUES!!! Yummmm!!

There were, at that point, no standards or checkpoints for tea. Tea smuggling was rampant, tea tax was unbearably high. So tea merchants were guilty of 'adulterating' their teas with substances that were not tea, essentially thinning them out. They included: dyes, second hand tea leaves (often smuggled out of aristocratic homes by the maids) sand and gypsum.

"The working classes were especially prone to being sold adulterated teas." (Chrystal)

Eventually the British turned away from green teas, thus decreasing the demand for the welcoming blue tinge. They started drinking black teas. In 1784 tax decreased from an enormous 119 to 12 percent, making tea available to even the working class. Standards came into play for teas being imported. "The 1875 Customs Act required that all imported tea be subject to inspection, thus effectively ending Chinese adulteration, but not British." Adulteration was still a problem within Britain's borders. 

The invention of the tea bag and the reduction of sales of loose leaf teas reduced adulteration tremendously! It's all about quality control!!

It makes you wonder, doesn't it, about all the dyes we add to our own food supply to make them look 'pretty'?? People will be blogging about how crazy we are in a hundred years. Hmmmm. 

Works cited: The True History Of Tea (Mair, Hoh)

Tea: A Very British Heritage (Chrystal)

Time and Temperature

We all want the perfect cup of tea. There is nothing more comforting...or stimulating...or soothing...than a perfect cup of tea. And do you know who makes you the perfect cup of tea? YOU do!

I think one reason I love tea so much is because I make myself my favourite cup. That's why I love loose leaf tea. I get to make the perfect cuppa every time. 

But I didn't always. In fact, particularly with green tea, I was burning my tea and didn't know it! (gasp!)

Since becoming much more immersed in tea-dom I have come to discover there are recommended times and temperatures for each type of tea. This means...wait for it...you shouldn't just drop your tea bag in your pot and leave it there until you drain the pot. (Turns out you shouldn't be using bagged tea anyway...but that's another post.)

So here are some recommendations. These are simply starting points. Adjust to your personal tastes and preferences. BUT STOP POURING BOILING WATER ON ALL YOUR TEAS AND LEAVING THEM SIT FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES!!! (all temperatures are in degrees Celsius)

White Tea 2-5 min,  80 - 85 degrees

Green Tea 2-4 min,  80 degrees

Oolong Tea 6.5 min, 85 degrees

Black Tea  2-5 min,  96 degrees

Pu' erh Tea 4-6 min, 96 degrees

Herbal Tisane 7 min, 96 degrees

Maté Tea 7 min, 90 degrees

Rooibos Tea 5 min, 96 degrees

How do you get the right temperature, you ask?? There are a couple ways. The easy method is to use a variable temperature control kettle. I use the KitchenAid ProSeries. I got it from Airmiles.ca and didn't pay a penny for it. I LOVE it. There are fancier versions, where you don't even have to 'think' about temperature, where you simply punch the button for the type of tea you want!

If you don't want to go that route, you can buy a kitchen thermometer and check on your water as it boils.

An old fashioned method is to allow your water to boil, then go about your business if you have to let it cool. For example, add honey to your cup. Measure out your tea. See to your guests. By the time you're done, your water will have cooled. The more you do, the more it cools. You will figure out what tastes good and what tastes burnt. 

As far as timing goes, it's very straightforward and easy to do. 

It's important to note, however, the teas to NOT overdo it on are: White, Green, Oolong, Black and Pu'erh. These are made from the actual tea plant, the Camellia Sinensis plant. They have tannic acids in them that are released upon steeping, and they become more bitter the longer they steep. However, herbals, matés, and rooibos teas are actually not 'teas' and can steep longer without becoming too astringent. 

So give these times and temps a try and see how delightful your various teas turn out.

HAPPY STEEPING!!

Sources: Mighty Timer App

Personal Experience