Buy Oriental Beauty (Bai Hao) Oolong Tea Online

Summary
More Info
Reviews12
Questions

This tea is special because it needs the bite of small green insect / leaf hoppers for its natural sweet aroma or honey aroma. The small green insect called leaf hoppers or tea jassid prefer to bite young leaves (buds). The leaf than reacts to defend and recover from the bite. This causes a partial oxidation and the very specific high pitched Oriental Beauty fragrance. So, organic leaves should also be more appetizing for tea insect / leaf hoppers. For more details see this article Oriental Beauty Oolong Tea Special Aroma cause by leap hoppers.

Brief Health Info

Oriental Beauty Oolong Tea contains plenty of polyphenols which can increase the function of enzyme for breakdown of fats, reduce the blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, anti-oxidize, have some help of anti-aging.

Production area

Tea garden is located in Xinzhu (新竹县). The altitude is about 1000m. Tea garden gets sun shine only in the morning whereas from the afternoon onwards, the entire tea garden is covered by a thick fog. Due to the fog and higher altitude, the taste and flavor of the tea is very thick and it gives a very smooth drinking feeling.

History and Legend

In the early 20th century when a British tea merchant presented a sample of this tea to Queen Elizabeth II. From there, the Queen named this tea as Oriental Beauty. This tea dates from the end of the 19th century, when Taiwan started exporting its Oolong teas overseas. John Dodd exported tea to the west, Formosa oolong. Some tea farmers proud what a high price they were able to sell this tea, therefore in Chinese/Taiwanese, named it "Ponghongday / Pong Fong Cha" or "Boast tea".

Another legend

Once upon a time, legend has it that a farmer left his tea garden as he was too busy to look after it. His tea garden was terribly attacked by a large number of green flies. All the bitten tea leaves changed into yellow in color. Nevertheless, he still processed the tea leaves as he could not afford to give up his tea. To his surprise, the tea processed from insect bitten leaves gave a very strong fruity flavor. Coincidentally, a European tea merchant noticed this tea. He loved its quality very much and named it as Formosa Tea. It is believed that this is the prototype of Oriental Beauty. However it is slightly different from the conventional Oriental Beauty. The processing method of Oriental Beauty is changes year after year. According to the older generation, during their young age, the method of making Oriental Beauty was quite different. In any case, there is no change in plucking of tea leaves. They only select the leaves that are attacked by green flies. Usually each twig consists of one bud and two leaves.

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By Alaina on 5/13/13

Rating :

I brewed this Western style at 1,2,3 minutes. I also brewed this gongfu. It is equally as good both methods.

It is sweet, a little bit fruity, with notes of butter and maltiness. There is a hint of vegetal in the background. This is really good.
By Jessica on 5/9/13

Rating :

No tea has ever made a stronger first impression than this one did. The scent upon opening the bag is very reminiscent of fresh, baking bread. I paused to smell it several times before I actually started making the tea.

The scent while brewing was a mixture of honey and berries. The flavor of the first steep was also very honey-like, with undertones like spice cake. The berry comes out more and more with subsequent steeping (as others have noted, this tea resteeps VERY well!). Overall, the natural sweetness of the tea was very pleasant, but it was certainly not an overwhelming or one-note flavor.

There is some astringency, especially after drinking a large quantity, but it isn't really unpleasant; in fact it is a bit refreshing.

Overall I highly recommend this tea to pretty much everyone: If you are used to sweetened or flavored teas, this would be a great "transition" to drinking it plain. If you are already into high-quality teas, the spectrum of different flavors during resteeping will certainly appeal to you.
By Joseph on 4/13/13

Rating :

While I cannot add to the descriptions provided by the other reviewers, I can say that I agree. This is a delicious full flavor tea that steeps well many times over.
By cat on 3/7/13

Rating :

Dried leaves smell very woodsy with a faint sweetness. The aroma of the wet leaf is very sweet and pleasant -- almost chocolatey. It tastes of malt and wood and a faint sweetness and spice. Very good.
By Uniquity on 2/24/13

Rating :

I don't tend to drink many oolongs, but when I do I prefer the darker ones. This one was very impressive to me, the flavour is bold but mild at the same time. Not necessarily assertive, but complex. At the very end of the sip (and in the aftertaste) I get a hint of natural sweetness, almost reminds me of apricots or apples. I’m loving the aftertaste. This is much richer than I typically think of oolongs being, and I’m quite enjoying it. It tastes more like a black tea, so I am assuming this is a roasted oolog? It certainly doesn’t seem very “green.” That aftertaste really is something special.
By Tommy on 2/15/13

Rating :

Very complex and interesting, As has been said, it resteeps especially well.
By sonny on 1/9/13

Rating :

Wow! I didn't know what to think when I opened the bag. For some reason I was expecting a Dan Cong--Well, duh me! This is a new thing entirely for me. Absolutely delicious and yes it steeps out forever. I am looking forward to spending lots of time with this tea.
By Riyad on 12/16/12

Rating :

I love the tea, and I got 12 steeps out of it! I tried it first in the oolong sample pack. The only reason I only gave it four stars is because I prefer the milk oolong and the iron goddess. Amazing tea, and the amount of steeps you can get from it should be taken into account when you look at the price.
By Tea_is_wisdom on 7/12/12

Rating :

Dry Leaf: I get more of a rich woody aroma.
Wet Leaf: I get a sweet malty or even a raisin aroma and just a slight touch of wood.
Liquor:I get a dark reddish color.
Taste: I get a malty or even a raisin flavor with a slight sweetness and I also get a slight astringency.I also get a faint wood flavor too. I think Dan Cong drinker would appreciate this tea. So, would recommend this tea to them.
By Tommy the Toad on 6/19/12

Rating :

This is a very nice tea, smooth and rich with notes of cocoa. I would drink this one anytime :-)