Hey everyone, it’s your boy back again with another one of my little experiments. Today, I’m diving into something I’ve been messing around with for a while now—brewing oolong tea. Yeah, I know, sounds simple, but trust me, there’s a bit more to it than just dunking a tea bag in hot water.

So, I started by grabbing some oolong tea leaves from my local tea shop. I decided to try some High Mountain Oolong Tea. I’ve heard that the water temperature is real important, but, man, the numbers online were all over the place! Some folks were saying almost boiling, others were like, “Nah, keep it cooler.” I was totally confused.

First thing I did was boil up some water. While it was heating up, I took out my tea pot and put some oolong tea in it. I followed some advice I saw online and filled the pot with the hot water to let it warm up. I guess it’s supposed to help the tea leaves open up or something.

Once the water hit the right temp—I aimed for around 195 degrees Fahrenheit ’cause that seemed to be a common suggestion—I poured out the hot water from the pot. Then I filled the pot with the 195-degree water and let the tea leaves hang out in there for a bit.

• First Try: I went with about 195 degrees and waited for about 3 minutes for the first brew.

The tea came out pretty good. It was light but had that nice oolong taste I like. But I thought I might try a little hotter the next time to see how it changed the flavor.

• Second Try: I bumped it up to like 200 degrees and did the same 3-minute wait.

Alright, this one was definitely stronger, but not really in a bad way. It had a bit more of a kick, and I could taste a little more of that earthy flavor that oolong’s known for.

After a few more tries, tweaking the temperature here and there, I think I’ve found my sweet spot. For me, something right around 197-198 degrees seems to be perfect. It gives me that balance of flavor without getting too bitter or anything.

So yeah, that’s been my little adventure with oolong tea brewing temperatures. It’s kind of cool how just a few degrees can totally change the taste of your tea. If you’re into tea, I definitely recommend playing around with the temps to see what you like best. Just grab a thermometer, some good quality oolong, and start experimenting!

Catch you guys in the next one!