For most of us, the first encounter we had with ‘Formosa oolong tea’ was at our favorite Cantonese-style Chinese restaurant, either served continually into those half-size, handle-less, off-white cups from the once-ubiquitous large white teapot with the heavy-staining around the collar (or now due to the less-than-interesting teabag included with the fortune cookie and condiments packet).
Amazingly enough, this ‘freebie’ has not scared off generations of potential tea drinkers, but rather in many cases this food-friendly, simple oolong has encouraged many food enthusiasts to pursue tasting other teas, wondering what else there is to find in the wide world of tea. Since this tea is not ‘weird’ or challenging, it acts as a ‘door opener’ rather than being off-putting, and this is great, because simple oolongs are wonderful and do encourage branching out. Because many Sichuan restaurants now serve jasmine tea, (which is definitely NOT food-friendly) and for dim sum a Hong Kong-style restaurant will offer Pu-erh (can be food-friendly depending on the selection of dim sum) in that same large teapot, only much more darkly-stained!
Once past that initiation into the realm of oolong though, a veritable treasure chest of delicious oolongs from Taiwan await.
The most common and simple of teas, Formosa Oolong is a real joy, day-in and day-out. Releasing a delightful aroma that reminds of perfectly-ripe stone fruit, and with an incredibly smooth flavor that balances its honey-like body, Formosa Oolong rarely misses.
Formosa Oolong is quite possibly the best value in tea today. Whether trying a simple one such as this one is, or the highly-regarded and exquisite gao shan, oolong represent value and high-interest for both the novice and the experienced tea enthusiast.