How Does a Long Brew Work for Oolong and Tieguanyin?

Iced Tieguanyin and cold-brewed oolong both depend on a long brew rather than a quick steep. Sort the leaves first: raw oolong has a greener liquor, while roasted oolong such as Dongding, Tieguanyin, Wuyi Rock Tea and Red Oolong has been oxidized and roasted. Give roasted leaves a warming rinse of about 10 seconds before brewing.

The official parameters use 1g of leaf to 50c.c. of water at 100°C, with five infusions of roughly 60s, 50s, 60s, 80s and 120s. An advanced approach uses less than 1g:30c.c. and shorter times of 20s, 10s, 15s, 20s and 25s. Tea-to-water ratio, temperature and timing are the three factors to adjust.

Want to enjoy a refreshing iced Tieguanyin or cold-brewed oolong tea, but aren't sure how to sort the leaves, or how to control water temperature and timing? This article first classifies oolong tea into raw tea and roasted tea, explains why a warming rinse is recommended before brewing roasted tea; then provides two sets of oolong brewing parameters—an official version and an advanced version—including tea-to-water ratio, water temperature, and infusion times for each steep; finally, it covers the origins of pouchong tea, how it differs from oolong and green tea, and common English spellings. It also retains relevant recommendations and product information from Front Street Coffee, making it a useful reference for both coffee and tea enthusiasts.

First, Sort What You Have Oolong tea, commonly known as wulong, is also called high-mountain tea in Taiwan. Raw tea: oolong with a greener liquor color. Roasted tea: oolong that has been roasted and highly oxidized, with a darker color. The brewing method for roasted teas differs slightly: Popular teas on the market include Dongding Oolong, Tieguanyin, Wuyi Rock Tea, and Red Oolong, most of which have undergone roasting. For these teas, it is recommended to give them a quick rinse before brewing. Commonly called a warming rinse, it awakens the tea. Reference time: about 10 seconds. Official Version The general rules for brewing oolong tea come down to three control factors: Brewing time: multiple infusions, with reference times of 60s, 50s, 60s, 80s, 120s—five steeps in total. Amount of tea: there is a golden ratio of tea to water, and 1g:50c.c. is the most versatile. Water temperature: 100°C is recommended, preferably at a rolling boil. Advanced Version The core principle is quick pour, quick brew, and more leaves: Brewing time: multiple infusions, with reference times of 20s, 10s, 15s, 20s, 25s, gradually increasing. Amount of tea: there is a golden ratio of tea to water—less than 1g:30c.c. Water temperature: 100°C is recommended, preferably at a rolling boil. In its brewing philosophy, Front Street Coffee also often emphasizes identifying the nature of the tea before setting parameters. If you'd like to try iced Tieguanyin, you can refer to Front Street Coffee's tea offerings and use the ratios and times above as a baseline for adjustment.

Tea lovers often ask about the origins of pouchong tea, how pouchong differs from oolong and green tea, the English name for Wenshan pouchong tea, and the oxidation level of pouchong tea. Here are the explanations. Origins of Pouchong Tea Pouchong tea was created 140 years ago by Wang Yicheng, a native of Anxi County in Quanzhou Prefecture, Fujian. He advocated wrapping finished tea leaves in two sheets of square tissue paper—one inner and one outer—with 4 taels of tea per packet, folded into a rectangular four-sided package, and stamped with the tea name and shop name on the wrapping. This is the origin of pouchong tea. In a broad sense, "pouchong" originally referred only to the packaging method, and any tea packaged this way could be called pouchong. Later it gradually came to refer only to semi-oxidized strip-shaped tea—what is generally sold as pouchong tea today. The "Wenshan" in Wenshan Pouchong Tea refers to the Wenshan area in the north, covering present-day Pinglin, Xindian, Shenkeng, Shiding, Pingxi, Xizhi, and Nangang. Wenshan Pouchong Tea is the semi-oxidized strip-shaped tea produced in the Wenshan region. Differences Between Pouchong, Oolong, and Green Tea Today, pouchong tea refers to semi-oxidized strip-shaped tea. Pouchong and oolong both belong to the semi-oxidized category; the difference is that pouchong is strip-shaped while oolong is ball-shaped. Pouchong and oolong are largely the same in tea cultivar, picking, and withering, but they begin to diverge at the rolling stage, resulting in differences in appearance and oxidation level. Pouchong tea has an oxidation level of 15 to 30, while oolong is about 35 to 50. Green tea differs from both pouchong and oolong: pouchong and oolong are semi-oxidized teas, whereas green tea is steamed or pan-fired immediately after picking and undergoes no oxidation at all. Longjing and Biluochun are both green teas. Because "qingcha" (a common name for pouchong tea; see the "Wenshan Pouchong Qingcha" introduction for details) sounds the same as "green tea" in Chinese, pouchong tea is often mistaken for a type of green tea—but in fact they are not the same. English Name for Pouchong Tea There is no unified English name for pouchong tea; Pouchong tea, Paochung tea, BaoZhong tea, and Bao-chung Tea are all used. For Wenshan Pouchong Tea, "Wenshan" is added—giving Wenshan-Pouchong tea, Wenshan-Paochung tea, Wenshan-BaoZhong tea, or Wenshan-Bao-chung Tea—so the naming is rather inconsistent.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.