Red Oolong tea

Semi-oxidized tea
Ethan Kurland
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Fri Dec 10, 2021 12:47 am

helotea wrote:
Thu Dec 09, 2021 7:15 pm
Red oolong tea....
Tea experts use Oolong tea leafs to make them into black tea taste ,so it looks red color as you can see.
Some tastes bitter inside the mouth. Some don't) .

This one ,it tastes smooth inside the mouth and it has strong after taste after drinking it which is the feature of Taiwan Tea.

Sweetness keeps lingering inside the mouth for a while.
Thank you for a post about red oolong, tea which does not get much attention. I am puzzled by your post a bit. I think it is simpler to say that red oolong is tea leaves that are oxidized more than green oolong & less than black tea. Tea producers allow leaves that could be green tea or green oolong (lightly oxidized) to oxidize for more time before the "Kill Green" step of the production process (application of heat) which stops oxidation. (Black tea is fully oxidized.) In Taiwan I often heard the word "fermentation" instead of oxidation; however, fermentation means something is added to leaves (such as bacteria). Pu-erh is a fermented tea.

It is difficult to find red oolong that is only oxidized. Most of the time what I found was also roasted which may have added desired flavor & character but buried red oolong's uniqueness. In Taiwan I did find one red oolong that is not roasted much which allows some of the original flavors (not from roasting) to remain.

cheers
miig
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Fri Dec 10, 2021 8:44 am

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Bok
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Fri Dec 10, 2021 9:47 am

miig wrote:
Fri Dec 10, 2021 8:44 am
See also this one: Tea Masters - What is Hong Shui Oolong?
Hongshui Oolong is not the same as Hong Oolong.
.m.
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Fri Dec 10, 2021 11:17 am

What is the processing and characteristics of red oolong? Is it essentially just a form of hongcha formed into a ball shape - this was my impression of the few i tasted. My understanding of the basic distinction between oolong and black tea is that oolong leaves are rolled/kneaded only after a shaqing (the same would be true about greens and puerh) while black tea is rolled/kneaded before shaqing (which is usually omitted) to promote the oxidation.
.m.
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Fri Dec 10, 2021 11:38 am

Does the production red oolong involve pan-frying?
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LeoFox
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Fri Dec 10, 2021 11:50 am

https://tillermantea.net/2020/05/seeing-red/
Hong oolong is, as I have noted, a highly oxidized tea. In order to achieve this high level of oxidation the leaf is rolled before undergoing oxidation.[3] Yet the defining characteristic of oolong teas is that the leaf is gently bruised prior to oxidation and only rolled once that procedure is complete.[4] Hong oolong, despite the name and despite the fact that some oolong techniques such as panning and roasting are utilized, really isn’t an oolong at all.
.m.
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Fri Dec 10, 2021 12:00 pm

@LeoFox Excellent! :)
miig
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Sat Dec 11, 2021 12:59 pm

Bok wrote:
Fri Dec 10, 2021 9:47 am
Hongshui Oolong is not the same as Hong Oolong.
Thanks Bok for the info. So basically, "Hong Oolong" is practically a Hongcha with some quirks. Fair enough - I mean, Oolong is probably one of the most diverse types of tea. Some are almost Green tea, others are almost Black tea, so one could draw a nice Venn diagram of what is Hongcha and what is Oolong.
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harrison1986
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Thu Dec 16, 2021 9:11 am

@helotea Thanks for creating this thread and showing us this tea. I recently discovered this type of tea, and even though it's "only" a black tea, this is one of my favorite types of tea so far.

However, when I went back to order the specific one recommended to me from Regalis foods, it was sold out after less then 10 minutes of being in stock! We are not the only ones who enjoy this type of tea apparently!

Can someone recommend a good source for Red Alishan "oolong"?
miig
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Thu Dec 16, 2021 4:51 pm

Red Alishan - no. But Taiwan Tea Crafts has some good Red Oolongs in general.
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harrison1986
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Thu Dec 16, 2021 8:08 pm

miig wrote:
Thu Dec 16, 2021 4:51 pm
Red Alishan - no. But Taiwan Tea Crafts has some good Red Oolongs in general.
Thanks for the recommendation. I found this there- "Lishan High Mountain Organic Red Oolong Tea". Um, yes please! Lol.
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debunix
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Thu Dec 16, 2021 10:39 pm

By whatever name, Red Alishan is fabulous stuff, and in my experience, differs fundamentally from black tea in being free of bitterness no matter how I infuse it. That’s something I associate with the best oolongs.

(Checking to be sure I am not followed, I make my way over to the tea chest, open the lid, remove the upper tray, and carefully and gently move things aside to be sure the precious packages of Red Alishan remain undisturbed, safe and intact. “My preciousssss……”. Is that webbing growing between my toes?)
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Bok
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Thu Dec 16, 2021 10:54 pm

debunix wrote:
Thu Dec 16, 2021 10:39 pm
differs fundamentally from black tea in being free of bitterness no matter how I infuse it.
Most better Hongcha from Taiwan has these qualities in my experience. Especially the ones made with high mountain leaves. difficult to mess up.
Ethan Kurland
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Thu Dec 16, 2021 11:43 pm

Bok wrote:
Thu Dec 16, 2021 10:54 pm
debunix wrote:
Thu Dec 16, 2021 10:39 pm
differs fundamentally from black tea in being free of bitterness no matter how I infuse it.
Most better Hongcha from Taiwan has these qualities in my experience. Especially the ones made with high mountain leaves. difficult to mess up.
+1

Red oolong from Thailand that I like also lacks bitterness. I wouid not be surprised that how high up leaves were grown at matters more than which mountain. Years back I had a pretty good Alishan red oolong but it was not as good as some others from less "pretigious" mountains.

I like such tea roasted also when roasting is not too heavy. (1 is part of my inventory.)
GaoShan
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Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:58 am

I second the recommendation of Ethan's red oolong from Thailand, which is never bitter and is quite fruity with short steeps. I'm not sure if it's technically a red oolong, but Red Buffalo from Hatvala has a similar profile and is also really good.
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