Quanzhou Milk Oolong

A smooth, creamy oolong from China’s Fujian province, celebrated for its naturally sweet, buttery aroma and silky mouthfeel. This premium tea brews a golden cup with delicate floral notes and a lingering creamy finish—perfect for a luxurious everyday sip.

Brewing Instructions: 3gm of tea for 8oz of water brewed for 3minutes at 185F. (Briefly infuse with freshly boiled water and then pour off. Re-infuse the tea and pour after about 1 minute or longer to taste.)

We were recently reading the profile notes about this fabulous tea from our supplier and it was too good not to share...

Do we first tell you the legends of how it came into existence or how it is actually produced?  Obviously, the legend first...

The stories of this tea naturally centre on its wonderful milky flavor, which interestingly, is the result of a sudden shift in temperature during harvest - a rare occurence to say the least.  One of the many legends explains that the first time this shift occurred was centuries ago when the moon fell in love iwth a comet passing through the night sky.  The comet, as all comets are wont to do, passed by, burned out and vanished.  The moon, in her sorrow caused a great wind to blow through the hills and valleys bringing about a quick drop in temperature.  The next morning, local tea pluckers went out to collect their fresh leaf.  To their surprise, when the tea was processed it had developed an amazing milky character, which was attributed to the motherly character of the old moon.

And now, a little on how it is produced.  Milk Oolong, like all Oolongs, is considered a semi-oxidized tea meaning it is somewhere between a black and green tea.  Over the years, production methods have remained unchanged for the most part although some aspects like withering temperatures have been automated and regulated.  First the leaf is plucked from the gardens situated between 500 to 1,200 meters and is produced between March and December.  Next, the plucked leaf is withered in air-conditioned rooms until it has reached the desired level of oxidization.  The oxidized tea is rocked, or sifted to sort the prime leaf required, and steamed over hot fire.  Finally, the tea is dried then re-sorted to ensure leaf quality and packed.  The tea is produced in relatively small quantities from March to December; in fact, only 80,000 kg are produced with about 60,000 kg headed for the export market.