Yesterday, my buddy asked me if I could help him make some decent oolong tea. He said he’d tried a few times, but it always ended up tasting bitter or just plain weird. That got me thinking, maybe the water temperature was the culprit. So, I decided to do a little experiment myself to figure out the best way to brew this stuff.

First, I grabbed my trusty electric kettle and filled it up with some fresh, filtered water. I set it to heat up, but I didn’t just let it go all the way to a boil. I mean, who wants to scorch those delicate tea leaves, right?

While the water was heating up, I got my oolong tea leaves ready. I used about a teaspoon of leaves for every cup of water. I put the leaves in my favorite teapot, the one I got from that little shop downtown.

Now, here’s where it got interesting. I decided to try a few different temperatures to see how it affected the taste. I used a kitchen thermometer to keep things accurate. I started with a lower temperature, around 180°F (82°C).

• I poured the hot water over the leaves, making sure they were all submerged.
• Then, I let it steep for about 3 minutes. The first time the water was kind of light yellow.
• I took a sip, and it was pretty mild, maybe even a little too weak for my liking. But it had a nice, smooth taste, not bitter at all.

Next, I cranked up the heat a bit. I heated up a new batch of water to about 195°F (90°C).

• I poured it over a fresh batch of leaves and let it steep for the same amount of time, 3 minutes.
• This time, the tea had a darker color and the flavor was stronger, more robust. It still wasn’t bitter, but it had a bit more of that characteristic oolong taste. The liquid was a bit deeper in color than the last time.

Finally, I went all out and heated the water to just below boiling, around 205°F (96°C).

• I followed the same steps, pouring it over the leaves and steeping for 3 minutes.
• The color was even deeper. But the taste? Whoa, it was definitely more intense, almost too strong. There was a hint of bitterness creeping in.

Conclusion

So, what did I learn from my little tea experiment? Well, it seems like the sweet spot for oolong tea is somewhere in the middle. For me, around 195°F (90°C) is perfect. It gives you a good balance of flavor without getting too bitter. I shared all of this with my buddy. He tried it, and said it was the best tea he’s ever tasted! But hey, everyone’s taste is different, so feel free to play around with the temperature and find what works best for you. Happy brewing!