Tasting Notes: Smooth, milky, buttery finish

Ingredients: Oolong tea leaves

Origin: Taiwan

Region: Alishan

Water Temperature: 190 F / 88 C

Steep Time: 3-5 minutes

Suggested Serving: 1 tsp / 8oz

There is quite a bit of misunderstanding about what milk oolongs are, and sadly there are many low-quality examples of this fine tea dogging about, too. Milk oolong is really a buyer-beware situation, and as premium tea retailers we usually avoid walking right into the eye of the storm when it comes to tea controversy and confusion.

But real milk oolongs are so good that we wanted to shed some light on what milk oolong is and what it isn’t and introduce the real-deal to our customers.

Simply put, milk oolongs are lovely, sweet, lightly-roasted semiball-rolled style oolongs produced in different regions of Taiwan from a particular tea bush cultivar – Jin Xuan (Tai Cha #12 ). This cultivar is sometimes referred to as Golden Lily.

All of Taiwan’s great oolongs begin with specific tea bush cultivars that, in conjunction with the unique terroir of each location, influence the flavour of the tea. Although Jin Xuan is a relatively new cultivar (developed in the 1980’s) it is now one of Taiwan’s four main tea cultivars (dozens of cultivars and varietals are grown throughout Taiwan) and the cultivar behind the marketing of milk oolong tea.

It is the flavour of the fresh leaves from these tea bushes that is transformed into the soft, creamy, ‘milky’ flavour which makes this tea so desirable. Try our milk oolong and you will see that it has very little astringency and an abundance of natural sweetness. This tea has been given a very light roasting, which enhances the milk fragrance – nai xiang – of the tea.

Real milk oolong tea is very appealing and delicious, and very popular in Taiwan and abroad. However, it is important to understand that absolutely no milk is involved in the production of real Taiwan ‘milk’ tea.

Anyway, our customers can rest assured that our milk oolong is the real milk oolong, and should not be confused with Chinese imitations of milk oolongs or low-quality teas that have been artificially flavoured with a so-called ‘milk’ flavour. Real milk oolong is a natural Taiwan original, and has never seen the white-soul of the inside of a bottle of milk.

Its production requires special attention to time, temperature, altitude and soil conditions. This special growing region, and process is what gives this tea its natural creaminess, milk flavour and silky texture. Our Milk Jin Xuan Taiwanese oolong produces a pale yellow infusion, with the milky sweet fragrance and smooth, slightly sweet taste that lingers on and on, this is one tea you cannot forget.

Price:

$19.5 / 50g

$39 / 100g