That fresh tea is too fresh!

Experimenting with tea is a great, fun way to learn while enjoying its pleasures. This week, during tea class, Teaparker made this even more obvious: he played an April Fool tea joke on us, his students.

Our lesson focused on how to taste a fresh Oolong, what characteristics it should have...

Teaparker opens a vacuum sealed plastic foil and gives me some leaves to brew in a porcelain competition set. Since we are in 'testing mode', I use few leaves and a long infusion. Then, I fill everybody's cup with the tea. We smell the tea spoon, look at the brew and then drink the tea. All Teaparker tells us is that this Oolong is from this spring's harvest.

We find the tea very pure, but the fragrances are muted and there's something a tad uncomfortable and bitter that lingers on the mouth before vanishing into sweetness. My second brew is shorter and sweeter. We prefer it to the first brew.

For the second sample, Teaparker took some Oolong leaves from a small celadon glazed jar. Again, it was up to me to brew the leaves in the competition set. I tried my best to use the same amount, pouring strength and time. This time, we were all thrilled. This Oolong tastes wonderful: it has the exuberance of spring and the stamina of the high mountain. The aftertaste seems never ending. The tip of the tongue keeps on releasing saliva and sweetness in the mouth. "It's like a flower that has opened up", I commented. "Exactly how I like my Oolong", said another student.

These two teas tasted so differently! The first was muted with a bitter touch, the second exhilarating and smooth. While we guessed correctly that both were High Mountain Oolongs from this spring, we were greatly astonished when Teaparker told us this: "These two samples are one and the same batch of High Mountain Oolong!"

The first sample came from a just opened sealed foil. It hadn't have time to 'balance its moisture' (Hui Chao) as it was still very dry from being processed just 10 days ago. That's why it would still taste dry and a little bit uncomfortable. The second sample had spent several hours in a small closed jar and had had more contact with air. This showed us that a fresh Oolong could be too fresh and that we should be very careful in judging it. A good length and some bitterness that turns into sweetness is a good sign. What is important is a long aftertaste where the sweetness wins and replaces the bitter.

Let the fresh Oolongs 'open up' before brewing!