Reading the Tea Leaves

As I have noted in an earlier post on Milk Oolong, there is no milk in this tea.  No milk (actual or in the form of flavoring) is added during processing or after.  The tea is named for its pleasing aroma of cream, a feature distinctive to this varietal from Taiwan.

A Golden Lily Oolong whole leaf tea in pyramid bags; this is referred to as Tea "A" below.

That said, when one buys this varietal, known as Day Lily or Golden Lily (Jin Xuan), there ought to be this wonderful, surprising creamy note.  This quality is seductive because it is not a component we associate with plant material:  how is it that tea leaves can yield this aroma?  In some Milk Oolongs this feature is a mere flicker, prominent perhaps only because one expects it; in other teas, it barely registers.  But in good quality Milk Oolongs, it is unmistakably present.

More tea drinkers seem to be seeking out this tea, but perhaps few are aware of the name of this varietal.  Then there are those teas that are named Milk Oolong; here is expectation is clear, and yet often times, the tea disappoints.

My earlier post about Milk Oolong focused on one such lovely tea, not named as such, but I recognized the varietal.  So recently when I came across a “Golden Lily Oolong” at a tea store (elegantly laid out) that was much more modestly priced, I was eager to try it.

Golden Lily, Tea A: 2.5 g of tea in each pyramid bag

To get some numbers out of the way first: the Golden Lily Oolong (A) was packed in pyramid bags, as a full-leaf tea.  Each sachet contained 2.5 grams and there were 24 bags to a tin priced at $18.95.  The tea thus comes to $143.39/lb, but one needs to factor in the cost of the pyramid bags and the tin.  The other tea about which I’d written (B) previously (the post on Milk Oolong) was more than 1.5 times as expensive, at $236/lb.  You can see why I was ready to try something less expensive once I saw the varietal’s name on the the tin.

I tasted both teas in two infusions, the first at 2 minutes, the second at 3 minutes.  For the Golden Lily, I cut open the pyramid bag and brewed the leaves without using the bag.  (More on brewing below.)

This particular varietal from Taiwan, Day Lily or Golden Lily, is a fairly recent one – recent in tea terms – dating from the early 1980s, and given its relatively new development, it is easy to understand that the plant has a sturdy growth rate and good disease resistance.

The two teas side by side: Tea A on the left; leaves of Tea B are noticeably larger.

As the photos of the dry leaves show, both teas have been tightly rolled during processing.  The Golden Lily is a tad smaller, by millimeters, than the second tea, which was also a tad greener.

From the 1st infusion: Tea A is on the left, B on the right.

The first cups were delicate in color, both a pale gold tinged with some green, the second tea even lighter, reminding me of a Pouchong.  With Tea A, I could smell the delectable creamy aroma from the leaves after I had poured out the liquid, but oddly I could detect none of this in the drinking.  The brew was not very flavorful; it was a soft, gentle, mild tasting tea.  Tea B also gave a beautiful, inviting creamy fragrance, and in spite of the very lightly colored liquor, the first sips were fairly bursting with floral notes.

Leaves from Tea A after the 1st infusions (steeping time 2 minutes)

The biggest surprise was in the infused leaves: after two minutes, the leaves from Tea A had opened almost fully (see photo above), whereas the leaves from Tea B (photo below) were still mostly rolled up, making for a spindly appearance.  Little wonder the brew had so little color.  It was noteworthy that the tightly rolled leaves of the first tea – in the short span of two minutes – had unfurled almost completely, yet the cup was also unexpectedly light and most important in view of the open leaves, the flavor was light, almost negligible, as well.

Leaves from Tea B after the 1st infusion (steeping time 2 minutes)

In contrast, the wrinkly leaves of Tea B gave more flavor, even though to look at the pale colored brew, one would not have anticipated this.

The differences in the two batches of infused leaves were obvious, but it’s hard to know what to make of this unless one had some prior knowledge about the processing of these teas – namely, that the leaves attain their tight, spherical shape after a series of rolling steps, including the use of cloth to knead the leaves as  compactly as possible.  Done properly, this means that the leaves will open up gradually when doused with hot water, and that with each infusion, the leaves will unfurl a bit more, yielding not only more flavor but a dynamic in the taste as well, lasting through four or more infusions.

This closeup of Tea B's leaves shows how tightly the leaves were rolled, & is especially evident in view of the size of the opened leaves.

Done properly (and one pays for this expertise), such a tea can be described as one that gives several flavorful infusions (“nai pao”).

Leaves after the 2nd infusion: Tea A on the left - most of the leaves have opened; Tea B on the right - leaves are still partly folded.

Again, I would bring up fine Green teas as a contrasting example: minimal handling of the leaves in this category means that most Green teas give a tasty second cup, but usually not beyond that, and if the leaves do not “open” after the first infusion, it is probably because they were tips or buds to begin with.

Closeup - Tea A on left; Tea B on right, after the 2nd infusion.

I was disappointed in the Golden Lily I had purchased and wasn’t convinced by my first reaction, by the first set of results.  So I brewed another mug with a fresh bag, this time using the tea in its sachet.

A fresh mug made with a new bag of Tea A. Recall the photo at the beginning showing the dry leaves; note how the leaves have expanded inside the bag.

The directions on the tin called for 8 – 10 oz of water per bag; I used 6 oz to maximize the flavor.   The pyramid bag was pillowy in its fullness as the leaves expanded, and the brew had a deeper orange color, leading me to expect a fuller, richer flavor.

Tea A brewed from the new bag.

But the taste was still a bit insipid, and I could not detect much flavor, not to mention layers of flavor.

I compared this new, freshly brewed cup of Golden Lily with a third infusion of Tea B; that is, I poured water over the same few grams of leaves with which I had begun the tasting.

Leaves & brew from the 3rd infusion of Tea B.

The golden green color of Tea B had not deepened much; the leaves had opened more and the flavor was still excellent: an amalgam of cream and flowers.  It was hard to decide which tasted better — the second infusion or the third.  The creamy aroma was more easily detected in the early infusions (1st & 2nd), while this third highlighted the floral component from the leaves.

Returning to the Golden Lily, it tasted even blander.  (A reminder might be timely here:  I refer to Tea A as Golden Lily because that was the name on the tea tin; in fact, both teas came from the same varietal with this name.)

I rarely throw away any tea, but wondered what I would do with the remainder of this $18.95 tin I had gotten.  It will probably sit in my cabinet until I think of a blend to which the tea could be added.

So here were two teas from the same varietal, one remarkable for its milky fragrance, a feature that may seem curious, unsettling even at first, but which proves to be a winning quality.  One tea bore the name of the varietal, and the other a name that reflected neither the varietal or the common name “Milk Oolong.”  It would be easier for the consumer if different grades from this varietal were so marked (Special, 1st, 2nd, etc.) — which is done and in a standardized, consistent way for many other teas.  But not for this pair, and in this instance, the pairing provided a lesson in which the higher price of one was justified.  And if the dry teas are hard to tell apart, buy a small quantity and see how many flavorful infusions your purchase will yield, a good test.