Oolong in October

Every year there is a week in October when green tea suddenly stops tasting right. Nothing has changed about the tea — it's the weather. The window is open less, the radiator ticks on, and I want something with a bit of fire in it.

That is when the roasted oolongs come out of the cupboard.

What's on the shelf

This year I have three: a medium-roast Tieguanyin, a heavier Wuyi rock tea (Shui Xian, bought last spring and finally rested enough), and a small bag of Dong Ding that a friend brought back from a trip.

The Shui Xian is the one I keep going back to. The first two infusions are all charcoal and stone; by the fourth it turns sweet, almost like baked plums. It forgives a lot — I've over-steeped it more than once while answering an email and it was still fine.

How I brew it

Nothing fancy. A 120 ml gaiwan, 6–7 grams of leaf, water just off the boil. A quick rinse, then short infusions: 10 seconds, 10, 15, 20, and longer from there. I usually stop around the seventh cup, not because the tea is finished but because I am.

Roasted teas want hot water. If it tastes flat, it's almost always the temperature, not the leaf.

Next week I'll write about the Dong Ding, which turned out to be much greener than I expected.

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