In search of Korean oolongs

I stopped by Korea on my way to Taiwan to attend a wedding. . . and for tea.  I emailed a few of the blog authors on my roll who have written about Korean tea and they recommended that I visit the cultural district of Insadong in Seoul to find some unique stuff.

I had a hard time finding a shop that (1) offered Korean Oolong (2) had staff that spoke enough English to communicate with me (3) offered tastings of their product.  But Insadong itself is a neat experience, close to museums, several palaces from past dynasties, old shops and restaurants.

                       

It's rather fitting that the shop I ended up spending the most time in was one that specialized in Chinese and Taiwanese oolongs.  Their shelves were full of puerh tongs, high mountain teas, and various metal and earthenware jars of aged oolongs.  Here, I finally got to taste Korean oolong and some good green tea.

A view of the teahouse's selection of pots and Korean greens - notice the model of Taipei 101 on the counter!

The oolong I tasted was very light, with some grain-like flavor notes.  Several of the Korean oolongs that I came across had the Chinese characters for Yellow Tea on the label, but none of the shopkeepers I spoke with could explain to me if all Korean oolongs were called Yellow Tea.  This particular tea reminded me of a mix between four seasons and barley tea; pleasant but no body or hui gan.  I didn't get deep enough into the conversation to ask what varietal the leaf was - I was just happy that this shopkeeper could speak enough English to accommodate me.  I eventually bought a box of her best green tea that came from a farm that she and her parents supervised the production for during the spring.  She brewed roughly 2-3 grams in a small Korean-style handled pot, using water that was probably around 160-170 degrees.  The tea was a pale yellow with a mellow mouth feel.  Only slight astringency, but I think it would turn out smoother in a gaiwan.  A very light floral fragrance unlike any Chinese or Taiwanese tea, but more vegetal in taste than floral.  In some ways, it reminded me of a mellow Longjing, but without the body or aftertaste, although this tea did have a smooth finish.

  Nice Korean green tea

I was told that while Insadong would be a convenient place for me to find some tea samples, it would be more expensive than other places.  I ended up picking up various other Korean oolongs from other shops along the way, but I have yet to try any of them since they didn't do sampling.

 

Good tea dust may make an interesting blend

       a selection of tea bags 

I'm not talking about the fancy tea bags made of high-quality cotton or silk which contain quality leaf.  I'm talking about regular tea bags that contain tea "dust" or broken up teas. 

I've spent the last several months collecting various types of tea bits and dust from processed oolongs of various types:  Alishan, Lishan, Baozhong, Jinxuan, Oriental Beauty, Dong Ding....  I've even collected the dust from several puerh cakes and quality black teas as well.  Using unbleached fiber tea bags, I've tasted teas from a single type of oolong, like just a Lishan teabag, and I've tasted blends of several teas.  My conclusion is generally the same:

No matter how good the tea is, its dust and bits aren't representative of the taste to the actual product

You may be saying, "well, duh!"  However, I found the leftovers from these high quality teas to be quite pleasant.

Tea dust can be found at the bottom of the bags/cans/boxes that teas are sold in, or they are found at the bottom of the pan or floor of a roasting machine.  Much of the dust is the result of the processing of the tea and has a distinctly different taste and aroma than the tea that is to be used for brewing. 

which teas are in here?

The tea bits that I used were broken pieces of product.  Baozhong, for example, is fairly brittle and long in shape, so it's easy to crush and break into pieces. 

broken-up Baozhong

Many people can appreciate the convenience of a tea bag.  Because dust from several different teas may all be mixed together to produce a tea bag, it's not always easy to discern exactly what type of tea one is having when drinking from a generic green/oolong/black tea bag.

The next time you buy a big bag of tea, save the dust and put it into a cloth filter (even a coffee filter will work).  It's not the same as the tea itself, but it may be an interesting blend and will probably taste better than what you get at the restaurants. 

A fine Winter brew

         A frozen palm tree in Seattle

It's cold up here and we're getting lots of snow dumped on us; there hasn't been a winter storm like this for over 10 years.

Stuck at home, but glad I've got a lot of nice teas to drink.  I received some tea samples from a tea friend in California and they reminded me that something dark and malty would feel nice on a cold day, as I watch the snow fall and I get more anxious about how I'll get to work tomorrow.

                          

Another tea friend left some factory floor puerh of unknown age to try.  I'm not a big drinker of puerh - it's nice once in a while - but I don't crave it like I do a good roasted oolong.  On a chilly day when you can feel the cold seep through the windows and into your bones, like today, it's a welcomed brew.  Creamy and rich, with the full-body and smoothness that only age can produce.  A depth of flavors that's not quite perfect like a famous, aged cake, but a variety of flavors that blend well together, like a smoothie blended with different earthy flavors of mushroom, dried herbs, bark and some citrus flavor notes too.

Winter continues to roll in.  With my cup and brew in hand, the cold world seems farther away.

Life is good.  Drink good tea and enrich your life.

Mid-Season's Greetings

...and Happy Holidays!

What better way to symbolize the wonder of the season than with this tea wreath. 

After a particularly long session of sampling various good oolongs, I was left with a giant pile of leaves to play with.  I thought it'd be fitting to create a nice holiday wreath with it, which is punctuated by the mellow green leaves of infused green tea.

                        

Take care of yourselves and stay warm this winter.

What is wrong with Taiwan's tea this season?

I've had some Baozhong (1st, 2nd and Honorable mention - one crop of winners among many) and some Alishan from this season.  The award-winning Baozhongs taste light and clean - like the winners from past seasons - but not quite as full-bodied and round.  The Alishans I've tried lack the body, fragrance and aroma that I've had from the same producer in the past.  It tasted more like a Four Seasons varietal - flatter and greener than I expected.

                                

I spoke with some producers of Four Seasons, Lishan and Tieguanyin in Taiwan and they all told me that the weather has been too warm and a bit too wet to produce outstanding tea.  In one of the emails I received from a tea farmer friend in Muzha, she described the season as typical of "暖冬" or warm winter.  I haven't gotten all of the details about what the particular characteristics of a warm winter are, but I'll write more about it in a few weeks when I sit down with the producers.

So for now, all I can say is that the teas I've had fall short of my hope for an outstanding taste like I've had several seasons ago, but I've got hope that there could be some great stuff out there. A friend whose family produces award-winning Lishan tea had them express-mail some samples that should arrive shortly.  I'm crossing my fingers that this may be something good!

Does the color of your porcelain tea cup matter?

Porcelain tea cups come in a variety of colors and glazes. Some are bright shades of the primary colors, some are subdued earth tones. Others have patterns and texture as well.

I personally like a thin celadon pottery that is light green in color. I like delicate cups that have wide lips, helping the tea to cool before I sip it. 

     

When at a tasting, though, it's nice to have a cup with a white interior. This allows for better viewing of the tea's color. A quality, fresh and lightly-oxidized oolong tea shouldn't be muddy looking, and a fresh Longjing should be a soft green. Color is just one measure of a particular tea's quality, but it can tell you something about the tea before it even touches your mouth.

Drink good tea and enrich your life.