Novice help please

[Jimtro]

Greetings!

As someone rather new to brewing oolongs I seem to be having some issues with consistency.

I've been experimenting with a 'formosa' oolong. The first time I tried it the flavor of peaches were almost overwhelming...in a good way... unfortunately I'm not sure what I did. The next couple of tries have all seemed to taste like wet grass.

Water/tea source is the same. I've been tying to replicate through some experimentation of time and temperature but can't seem to get close. I'm using a mesh basket in a glass mug with a heaping teaspoon of leaves. Roughly 4 minutes at 190-205.

I realize that time/temp/ratio of tea top h2o all matter, I just can't seem to figure out how.

Tia,
Jim

[Bok]

'formosa' oolong. The first time I tried it the flavor of peaches were almost overwhelming...in a good way... unfortunately I'm not sure what I did. The next couple of tries have all seemed to taste like wet grass.

Is that what the tea's label says? The appellation Formosa oolong, without any further indications is often used for low quality oolong, quite possibly not even purely Taiwanese.

The fact that there was flavour and then it is gone, makes me think the tea might have been artificially scented and that the scent after opening the seal just spirited away. Grassy is a further indication that it is low elevation tea and/or oolong from Vietnam or Thailand.

All in all, I suspect it is just bad tea. What is the brand?

[Baisao]

I've been experimenting with a 'formosa' oolong. The first time I tried it the flavor of peaches were almost overwhelming...in a good way... unfortunately I'm not sure what I did. The next couple of tries have all seemed to taste like wet grass.

Welcome to the forum, Jim. I agree with Bok and have emphasized a portion above that further indicates that it may have been artificially scented. In my experience fruit notes tend to not be overwhelming and are often imprecise. It’s not impossible that an oolong would taste like peaches but they are generally more imprecise. For example, we might describe the aroma as “stone fruit”, which could include everything from peaches to apricots but seldom a specific fruit. I once had a dancong oolong with strong notes of apricot jam, but it was an outlier by being so specific in the stone fruit area of aromas.

Bok is also correct that “Formosa oolong” is probably a low quality tea. “Formosa” refers to the old Portuguese name for Taiwan, but teas in Taiwan are immensely varied and named. “Formosa Oolong” is as nondescript as “American BBQ”, where there are so many cuts and styles for BBQ that calling something “American BBQ” is almost pointless. We couldn’t even tell what animal it was made from!

Imagining the best and that the aroma did not spirit away, I would suggest covering your mug during the steep, provided all other parameters were the same as that first magical steep that smelled of peaches. I feel like this conserves a lot of aroma.

Also, I don’t know how big your teaball is but it may be too small if the tea expands to be tight within the teaball. If so and the tea is whole leaf, you may forgo using a teaball all together and drink the tea with the leaves in the bottom of your mug. Otherwise, use a larger teaball.

HTH

[Jimtro]

'formosa' oolong. The first time I tried it the flavor of peaches were almost overwhelming...in a good way... unfortunately I'm not sure what I did. The next couple of tries have all seemed to taste like wet grass.

Is that what the tea's label says? The appellation Formosa oolong, without any further indications is often used for low quality oolong, quite possibly not even purely Taiwanese.

The fact that there was flavour and then it is gone, makes me think the tea might have been artificially scented and that the scent after opening the seal just spirited away. Grassy is a further indication that it is low elevation tea and/or oolong from Vietnam or Thailand.

All in all, I suspect it is just bad tea. What is the brand?

Thank you for the response.

The tea is from Harney & Sons in New York. They sell many oolongs and this is one of the less expensive. As stated I'm rather new to this whole leaf brewing but have found many of their teas to be of much better quality than what I find in my local whole foods;)

As to where to shop, I've since ordered and am awaiting shipments from both Yunnan sourcing and Taiwan Tea Crafts (fingers crossed with both but had excellent customer service).

[Jimtro]

I've been experimenting with a 'formosa' oolong. The first time I tried it the flavor of peaches were almost overwhelming...in a good way... unfortunately I'm not sure what I did. The next couple of tries have all seemed to taste like wet grass.

Welcome to the forum, Jim. I agree with Bok and have emphasized a portion above that further indicates that it may have been artificially scented. In my experience fruit notes tend to not be overwhelming and are often imprecise. It’s not impossible that an oolong would taste like peaches but they are generally more imprecise. For example, we might describe the aroma as “stone fruit”, which could include everything from peaches to apricots but seldom a specific fruit. I once had a dancong oolong with strong notes of apricot jam, but it was an outlier by being so specific in the stone fruit area of aromas.

Bok is also correct that “Formosa oolong” is probably a low quality tea. “Formosa” refers to the old Portuguese name for Taiwan, but teas in Taiwan are immensely varied and named. “Formosa Oolong” is as nondescript as “American BBQ”, where there are so many cuts and styles for BBQ that calling something “American BBQ” is almost pointless. We couldn’t even tell what animal it was made from!

Imagining the best and that the aroma did not spirit away, I would suggest covering your mug during the steep, provided all other parameters were the same as that first magical steep that smelled of peaches. I feel like this conserves a lot of aroma.

Also, I don’t know how big your teaball is but it may be too small if the tea expands to be tight within the teaball. If so and the tea is whole leaf, you may forgo using a teaball all together and drink the tea with the leaves in the bottom of your mug. Otherwise, use a larger teaball.

HTH

Thank you HTH, for the response and the welcome!

Firstly I should state that my use of peaches to describe the taste could be my lack of experience (with tea, not peaches) which led me to the use of the incorrect term as stonefruit may be a more suitable word? That said, I'll stand by grassy for what I've tasted since. I didn't notice the aroma as much as the taste--I've since been trying to pay better attention. In all honesty most of my prior tea experience has been with high quality(?) bag tea that was less aroma than taste.

I'll try using a saucer next time I brew and as stated be paying closer attention to the aroma.

I mentioned ordering from a couple new places and while the I also ordered a pot to give the gong-fu cha method a try. My current method involves a basket which in my mind had been a big improvement over a tea ball but I'm comparing as much for ease of use/cleanup as results.

I am now curious about the source. I should say that I've found with a few of their black teas that some of my brews were bad because successive attempts went better. Initially i wasn't using a timer...I do now and that has helped with my consistency.

I should mention that I also bought a dark pearl oolong from these same folks and have had more consistent results.

[plamarca000]

Get a cheap digital scale that can go to tenths of a gram. Like $10 on amazon. It will really help with your consistency.

[Jimtro]

Get a cheap digital scale that can go to tenths of a gram. Like $10 on amazon. It will really help with your consistency.

Thank you, I actually have a small one I use for baking bread. Results were so good with the bread that I'm disappointed I didn't think to use it for tea. Curious if you weigh the water as well?

[pizzapotamus]

I weigh the tea but do not weigh the water when brewing as I'm filling the pot to the same spot so the amount of water isn't going to really change. Although I do use a scale to initially measure how large pots and cups are. I've got a thermapen for the water temp too, but that's more for sencha you don't need a device to identify boiling water...

[Victoria]

Welcome to TeaForum. @Jimtro are you in NYC, can’t see your introduction? If you are near the city, I can recommend a few very good tea houses for oolong; Te Company and Tea Shop. A base line I use for Taiwan oolong is 6grams leaf/100ml water/just under boil water/45-1:13sec. Of course you can use more or less leaf/water/time steeped - to suit your palate.

[Bok]

If you don’t want to go through the trouble of measuring, use this simple method which works for most Taiwanese Oolongs, provided you use a small-ish pot from 60-200ml size: use as many leaves as necessary so it covers the bottom of the pot, then adjust to taste and tea.

[Jimtro]

Welcome to TeaForum. Jimtro are you in NYC, can’t see your introduction? If you are near the city, I can recommend a few very good tea houses for oolong; Te Company and Tea Shop. A base line I use for Taiwan oolong is 6grams leaf/100ml water/just under boil water/45-1:13sec. Of course you can use more or less leaf/water/time steeped - to suit your palate.

Thank you Victoria! And thank you for pointing me in the right direction for the introduction. I let my excitement get in front of my manners.

Unfortunately I'm not too near the city though I'll make it a point to make note of your recommendations for my next stop. I'll have to update my profile when i have a bit of time to explore. I currently live in Portland Maine though I've lived most of my life in the south. I actually live on a small sailboat so hot tea is a very pleasant experience for most of the year. I also imagine it'll be nice to make some sun tea this summer with something outstanding.

And thank you for the tip!

[Jimtro]

If you don’t want to go through the trouble of measuring, use this simple method which works for most Taiwanese Oolongs, provided you use a small-ish pot from 60-200ml size: use as many leaves as necessary so it covers the bottom of the pot, then adjust to taste and tea.

Thank you Bok! I was a bit thrown off by the sizes of pots but I ordered a 150ml and a 70ml. When my pots get here I'll try that as a starting point. I do think I'll probably weigh things initially but I'd love to be comfortable doing it visually.

[Jimtro]

I weigh the tea but do not weigh the water when brewing as I'm filling the pot to the same spot so the amount of water isn't going to really change. Although I do use a scale to initially measure how large pots and cups are. I've got a thermapen for the water temp too, but that's more for sencha you don't need a device to identify boiling water...

Thank you pizzapotomus! Thermapens are great tools to have in the kitchen.

[Baisao]

My current method involves a basket which in my mind had been a big improvement over a tea ball but I'm comparing as much for ease of use/cleanup as results.

Ah, yes! You did say basket earlier. I agree with you that baskets are an improvement over balls.

Using the brewing parameters mentioned by @Victoria you will be able to get multiple steeps in the GFC manner. Most of us don’t time our steeps but have develop the skill to know how long each steep lasts through trial and error. Nevertheless, it’s good to time your steeps when you start out.

Generally the first steep will be much longer than the second and only a bit longer than the third steep. The fourth on are usually longer than the first.

A progression might go like this:
1) 50 seconds
2) 20 seconds
3) 40 seconds
4) 60 seconds
5) 80 seconds

If you were to start with a lower temperature then subsequent steeping temperatures will generally get hotter.

Again, these are generalizations. The only hard and fast rules are, in my opinion: get the best quality teas you can afford (even if you are new), and use high quality water. Too many people skimp on their water which is like putting cheap tires on a sports car (false economy).

[Jimtro]

This is great information, thank you.

I believe I understand the logic of the first step being longer, but having numbers to reference will definitely help.

Working on improving my teas, unfortunately I decided that I'd place my first orders during Chinese New Year You do have me curious about the water; I've been using bottled spring water though I've not paid much attention to the source (tastes good to me for bottled water). I'm sure the are some good threads on the subject but I'm wondering if maybe a filter is in order?