That is interesting! I’ve always felt that oriental beauty is very similar to Darjeeling in flavour!mbanu wrote: ↑Fri Jul 26, 2019 10:45 pmAha! A bit of an update; "three-quarters-oxidized" oolong as described by William Ukers and others is identical to modern Oriental Beauty oolong! The reason why so much of it is bug-bitten is because it was developed as a direct competitor to Darjeeling tea. After the Russian Revolution, the market for Darjeeling and Ceylon teas went through a crisis, and British planters started looking for a replacement market. Industry groups started investing heavily into advertising campaigns in the United States, which until that time had been mainly drinkers of Japanese greens and Taiwanese oolong teas, and had a lot of success, leading to a decline in U.S. sales for oolong teas. In response, the Japanese started advertising campaigns of their own, and developed Oriental Beauty to compete with Darjeeling tea.
Heavily oxidised non-bug bitten oolong in Taiwan
@mbanu That is a really interesting hypothesis. My own research (and, I believe, that of Lawrence Zhang) indicates that what we now call Oriental Beauty was first produced in the mid-1930's (maybe '34) and then presented by the Japanese at the 1935 Taipei exhibition. At the time the tea was called pong fong cha or bai hao. It didn't receive the name "Oriental Beauty" until 1983 when the premier of the ROC conferred it while visiting Emei.
Although there are definite taste similarities between OB and 2nd Flush Darjeeling, I haven't come across any direct commercial link between the two. Would you please fill me in here.
I am curious as to your reference to Ukers - would you spell that out a bit more clearly. In my own reading of Ukers and of Davidson, I didn't latch onto something that might have been OB.
For my own thoughts on OB see my piece: https://tillermantea.net/2017/11/orientalbeauty/.
I look forward to your news.
Although there are definite taste similarities between OB and 2nd Flush Darjeeling, I haven't come across any direct commercial link between the two. Would you please fill me in here.
I am curious as to your reference to Ukers - would you spell that out a bit more clearly. In my own reading of Ukers and of Davidson, I didn't latch onto something that might have been OB.
For my own thoughts on OB see my piece: https://tillermantea.net/2017/11/orientalbeauty/.
I look forward to your news.
Ukers refers to it as "three quarters fermented" oolong or "improved Formosa oolong", and points to Mitsui as the developer:
Mitsui & Co., Ltd., manufacture and export still another variety of tea called "Improved Formosa Oolong." It is an Oolong tea that is given a longer period of fermentation, and is wholly machine made. The first samples were sent to America in 1923. Since then shipments have been kept steadily before the trade with increases from season to season.
Mentioned in passing in a 1928 article for the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal:In 1923, the first factory for the manufacture of the new-type, three-quarter-fermented Formosa Oolong was erected by Mitsui & Co., Ltd., and the first samples were sent to America, where they were well received. By the end of 1928, the firm had four new and modernly equipped factories devoted to the production of this tea, with another nearing completion.
Peak oolong export according to Ukers was before World War I:Mitsui & Company, Ltd. conducted an investigation to see if it were not possible to produce, in Formosa, a tea suited to the tastes of those preferring heavier cup quality. Several Japanese tea experts were sent to Ceylon and India to study the method of manufacturing fermented teas, and today similar methods are being used in Formosa for manufacturing heavier cup quality Formosa Oolong.
The reason for the decline was an increase in British advertising in America for their teas, lead by the collapse of the Russian market, which had previously bought up large quantities of Ceylon and Darjeeling tea.A peak of twenty-two million pounds [of Formosa oolong] was achieved in the biggest years, but the average was seventeen to eighteen million up to the post-war years. After the World War there was a decrease to the present average of about seven million pounds annually.
Things did not go back to normal in 1921, as dealing with the Soviets under their new nationalized tea buying scheme wasn't quite the same, especially after 1927 when it was discovered that the purchasing cooperatives were being used by the Soviets as a front for espionage.The Russian demand before and during the early years of the World War was the mainstay of the tea industry. At that time, Russia’s annual consumption was close to 190,000,000 pounds. After the Revolution of 1917, the Russian tea market collapsed, and it is only since 1921 that Russia has re-appeared as a buyer.
@mbanu Thanks for that information. The problem with the hypothesis is that "three-quarters fermented oolong" and Oriental Beauty are not the same thing. I refer you to Bruce Tan's book on pong fong cha for a different take. OB definitely is NOT wholly machine made.
It is true that the Japanese were trying to promote the production of black tea in Taiwan and this was intended as competition to the teas of India and Ceylon. They expanded production around Sun Moon Lake, established what is now the TRES and set up a branch at Yuchi specifically to do R&D on black teas. Many of the Assam cultivars now found in Taiwan date from this period. The Japanese also encouraged the planting of shoots from the native mountain teas. These are still known as shanca although they grow at relatively low levels around the lake.
It is true that the Japanese were trying to promote the production of black tea in Taiwan and this was intended as competition to the teas of India and Ceylon. They expanded production around Sun Moon Lake, established what is now the TRES and set up a branch at Yuchi specifically to do R&D on black teas. Many of the Assam cultivars now found in Taiwan date from this period. The Japanese also encouraged the planting of shoots from the native mountain teas. These are still known as shanca although they grow at relatively low levels around the lake.