Okay, so I’ve been messing around with oolong tea lately, trying to get the brewing just right. It’s been a bit of a journey, let me tell you!

Heating the Water

First off, I started by heating up some water. Now, I read somewhere that for oolong, you don’t want it boiling hot. So I grabbed my kettle and got the water going. I didn’t use a thermometer at first, just kind of eyeballed it. Big mistake! The first few times, I think I made the water way too hot. The tea ended up tasting kind of bitter, not pleasant at all.

Trying with My Gaiwan

Then, I got this neat little gaiwan – it’s like a traditional Chinese tea brewing cup thingy. I warmed it up with some hot water, poured that out, and then tossed in some oolong tea leaves. I’d say I used maybe around 5 grams? I filled up the gaiwan with my heated water, poured out that first bit – I heard that’s to like, wake up the leaves or something – and then filled it up again. I put the lid on and waited. My instructions said to wait for 30 seconds.

Adjusting the Temperature

After screwing up a few times with the water temperature, I decided to get a bit more scientific about it. I used a kitchen thermometer this time. I aimed for something between 88 and 93 degrees Celsius, like some folks online suggested. It’s a bit of a hassle, but honestly, it made a huge difference.

Brewing Time Experiments

• First try: I let it brew for about 30 seconds. The tea was okay, a bit light for my taste.
• Second try: I went for 45 seconds. This was better! The flavor was definitely stronger, more of what I was looking for.
• Later experiments: I even tried a full minute a couple of times. It got a bit too strong for me, but hey, maybe some people like it that way.

Final Thoughts

So, after all this trial and error, here’s what I’ve figured out: oolong tea is a bit fussy about temperature. It likes it hot, but not boiling. Get the water temperature between 88 and 93 degrees C, maybe even a bit on the lower end. And brew time is also important, I liked 45 seconds. It is something to play around with. If you’re new to oolong, definitely use a thermometer at first. Trust me, it’ll save you from some nasty-tasting tea!

That’s my oolong tea adventure for now. It’s been fun, and I’m finally getting some decent cups of tea out of it. I’ll probably keep messing around with it, because why not? It is a tasty kind of experiment!