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oolong fairy brewing time?

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2018 7:16 am
by Olympia
I hope you don't mind this question, but I really am a beginner in this tea making adventure and I get easily confused.

I recently purchased a Fairy oolong by a well-known Danish tea shop. They write: The teaplant used for the production of this Oolong is the Gold Guanyin teaplant (which means little to me, as I know so little, but maybe it can be of help to you). They recommend brewing it with 100 °C water for 8 minutes.... This, to inexperienced me, seems to go against every other instruction about oolong I have bought. I used to buy from Whittard when I lived in the UK, and they recommended boiled water for 3-5 minutes, while I recently bought some from Teegschwendner and the instructions there were for 85°C water for 2 minutes.

I hope you can understand why I feel confused.... What water/time would you recommend for this type of tea? (I have followed Teegschwendner's instructions and the result was quite pleasant, but what if I'm doing it all wrong?)
(and again, apologies if this is a silly question).

Re: oolong fairy brewing time?

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2018 9:25 am
by pedant
i get what you're asking, but you are missing a key piece of info: the leaf to water ratio.
brewing times mean very little without this third parameter.
8 minutes with boiling water could be fine with a low leaf:water ratio (i.e. something more like western-style brewing).

vendor brewing guidelines are ok to try, but i think it's best to experiment beyond them. also, if they're like that, i usually just ignore them because i prefer brewing in a small teapot or gaiwan (60-200mL range) with more leaf (4-10g).

Re: oolong fairy brewing time?

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2018 2:57 pm
by Ethan Kurland
Olympia wrote:
Thu Mar 01, 2018 7:16 am

I recently purchased a Fairy oolong by a well-known Danish tea shop. They recommend brewing it with 100 °C water for 8 minutes....
That shop in Denmark may soon be well known for giving bad recommendations for brewing. You might take a sip of what you are brewing while you are preparing your tea, especially when it seems a terrible mistake has been made. I mostly use teapots but for new teas often use a wide glass gaiwan or a wide white porcelain bowl making it easy to watch the color of the brew, sniff it, or remove some w/ a spoon for a quick taste that does interrupt steeping much. If you use small vessels as pedant does, it allows for experimenting & play that does not use up too many leaves as you discover what works best for you.

Re: oolong fairy brewing time?

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2018 6:02 pm
by Victoria
Welcome to TeaForum.
Agree with previous posts. Since you use a gaiwan you can start with 3-10gr leaf/60-200ml/90-100C water/20-50sec depending on your personal preferences, and adjust accordingly. Higher percentage of leaf:water = less time steeping. Higher roasted oolongs, I start with hotter water, greener a bit cooler. With Japanese sencha, if no steeping parameters are given, I start with a 1:1 ratio of leaf grams : water ounces, but with oolong I usually start with 1.4: 1 ratio of leaf gr : water oz. With oolongs make sure your gaiwan has some sidewall thickness, so it can retain heat while you steep. Just a few general guidelines I’ve used.

Re: oolong fairy brewing time?

Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2018 12:03 pm
by Olympia
Ah, I see! Thank you so much!!

The Danish shop definitely did not give any information about leaf: water ratio. This was not the case with the other two. I will keep experimenting with the gaiwan and also use my glass teapot for checking colour etc. Thank you again for your advice!!

Re: oolong fairy brewing time?

Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2018 8:05 am
by ShuShu
Olympia wrote:
Fri Mar 02, 2018 12:03 pm
Ah, I see! Thank you so much!!

The Danish shop definitely did not give any information about leaf: water ratio. This was not the case with the other two. I will keep experimenting with the gaiwan and also use my glass teapot for checking colour etc. Thank you again for your advice!!
It really depends on the tea, of course, but I think that a good ratio to start exploring with is 1g/15-20ml. Use a ~100ml gaiwan, start with 5 seconds and work from there... you can make it stronger/weaker by steeping longer/removing leaf....water temp/quality can also make a lot of difference so be mindful about that.

Re: oolong fairy brewing time?

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2018 7:23 am
by Nis
It's this tea: https://www.perchs.dk/index.php?page=sp ... hp&ID=3250

The English description isn't all that good, so here's my translation of the Danish:
New Chinese Oolong Fairy. After 5 years of studies and experiments, it was finally possible to make a completely straight leaf for this exquisite Wuyi-like oolong. For this production only the Gold Guanyin plant is used (Guanyin means Goddess of Mercy), which grows at 800 meters in Weishan Tea Garden. This is a very small production of only 800-1000 kg per year. The tea has a smooth, unique and elegant taste.
Try these parameters: For a 100ml gaiwan use around 6 g of leaf, boiling water and very short infusions (~10 seconds).

Re: oolong fairy brewing time?

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2018 7:48 am
by Olympia
Dear Nis,

Thank you! I will try it with your brewing suggestions because, clearly what they told me at Perch's makes little sense!
(next time I go there I might even ask them if they give instructions that suit the Danish -- or not... the salespeople are so nice and they always offer candy when you buy something :))

Re: oolong fairy brewing time?

Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 4:07 am
by Nis
This article seems to be about the same tea: https://teajourney.pub/tasting-notes-ye ... olong-tea/

Perchs description makes a bit more sense after reading that.

Re: oolong fairy brewing time?

Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 4:30 am
by Bok
That tea is also known as Huang Guanyin, yellow iron goddess. So any parameter that works for Yancha in general can be a good starting point.

I’ve had Huang GY in the past, quite a drinkable tea. My personal preference is high leaf to water ratio and quicker steeps. So basically I fill whatever vessel I am using to the top. Better use small ones with this method ;)

60-80ml is ideal in my experience.

Re: oolong fairy brewing time?

Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 4:31 am
by Bok
Also for Yancha a good recommendation is to keep the wash/first brew aside and drink it last after the tea is spent!