note - nothing on this page is official medicinal advice.

i associate oolong tea with some strong memories. being a chinese tea, and one of the most inoffensive varities of a chinese tea, it's often served at chinese restaurants, and it reminds me of when i would stop with my family at chinese restaurants on the way up to visit my grandparents to get dinner. it was almost as natural as getting a fortune cookie at the end. before the meal started, they would bring out cups of oolong tea - usually only for the adults, but my father would let me have a few sips before my mother chastised him about giving me too much caffeine. to me, because of these memories, it tastes like safety.

anyways, i'm rambling like an old person. you just want to hear about the tea. oolong tea is a mix between black and green tea. it's incredibly unique and can have many flavour profiles depending on how it's prepared or what herbs it's mixed with. it literally means "dragon tea" because of the unique way the leaves unfurl when prepared resembling a dragon. additionally, there's a classical story about how it was invented - a tea farmer was distracted by a large black dragon while harvesting tea leaves, and he left them out too long, so they were oxidized, but not enough to turn them entirely into black tea.

it isn't difficult to find an oolong you love because it comes in many varities. for beginners, i recommend starting with a light oolong, such as tieguanyin, then expanding your taste depending on what you like or dislike about it. get it from the asian grocery store if you have access to one!

oolong should almost always be prepared using the gongfu tea method. the temperature can vary based on which type, so look it up, but otherwise it's better to keep the water colder if you are unsure.