1 day 1 tea: day 28, OB tradition

Day 28: Oriental Beauty Oolong tradition from Hsin Chu, summer 2023.

I'm brewing this tea with my iron cast tetsubin. (If you wish to know the benefits of this kind of kettle, watch my latest tea class on the subject! It is popular and educative.)

Last week, I tasted the imperial OB, which has finer and more perfume like scents (and costs much more!) But it's also possible to get exquisite, out-of-the-world scents with the OB tradition. For this, you have to be as smooth and as quick as a cat hunting a bird or a mouse.

First, be very gentle smooth and gentle. Preheat the gaiwan slowly. Make sure the lid is preheated as well. Pour the hot water to preheat the cups then. Without a sound. Be completely quite. If the water falls from too high, it will make noise and a splash. This would disturb your concentration and we need to be laser focused on getting the first brew right. You only have one shot to get the first aromas from the leaves right.

Put the leaves in the gaiwan evenly. Wait for the water in the kettle to calm down a bit. You don't want the water to rush out. It should flow slow and smooth on the leaves directly from a short height. Close the lid. Empty the cups filled with hot water. Observe the color of the water getting slightly darker. Now, go! Empty the gaiwan in the cups. The trick is not to wait too long, but to brew the leaves rather lightly for the first brew. And never EVER rinse these leaves!! The most fabulous scents are in this very first brew. So, were you agile like a cat? Did you catch the perfume? If you were too fast, you may have a second chance. 

The next brews are quite sweet and warming with nice fruity fragrances, but they don't have the 'Whaooh' factor of imperial OB or of the first brew. What I like is its balance between the scents and the taste. The traditional roast on this OB adds a refinement and harmony that is lacking in modern OBs that try too much to smell great, but don't have a smooth taste. With this tradition OB, the color and transparency are proof of high quality and purity. (I also help by selecting a single batch of OB instead of a mix of several days' harvests). 

These traditional OB leaves get better with time (especially if they are well preserved in a porcelain jar and in a clean, dry and cool place). They carry the summer heat of Taiwan and bring us warmth when we need it most.

On a cold Advent day, this is a great tea to pair with Christmas cookies! Its sweet taste works better than a tea that is too fragrant and whose