Another favorite tea of mine—Bai Hao oolong

Been thrilled by the deliciousness of a Bai Hao oolong tea that Donna Fellman sent to me to test as part of our talk on oolongs at the World Tea Expo this June. As my friend, who sampled it with me, said: "It smells so beautiful! Heerlijk!" (That's Dutch for "Delicious"—my Dutch friend thought it was one of the best teas she has ever had!)

Bai Hao oolong shares several characteristics with that other favorite of mine, second flush Darjeeling. First, the plants have to be infested with an insect, which means that the leaves are harvested in summer. In the case of Darjeeling the insects are thrips, and in the case of Bai Hao, the tea green leafhopper. In both instances the infestation leads the leaves to produce defense chemicals. The defense chemical that gives both teas a muscatel flavor is 2,6-dimethyl-3,7-octadien-2,6-diol (DOD for short).

Bai Hao leaves, with arrows showing where the jassids bit.

From http://teamasters.blogspot.com/2007/09/hsin-chu-county-oriental-beauty.html

But that chemical isn’t the only reason for the intense aroma of these teas. Indeed, infestation, along with the treatment of the leaves to create the tea, leads to the release of a number of the “classic” tea chemicals, such as linalool, linalool oxides, and geraniol. These give the tea a cooler floral aroma, that complements the warmer aspects of DOD, as well as those of the compounds produced by greater oxidation, such as beta-damascenone.

Third, Darjeeling is processed like an oolong, as Don Mei (Director of Chinalife Tea in London) pointed out to me a while back.  Both kinds of leaf have a high moisture content, which means they need to have a long withering time. The longer the withering time, the longer the leaves have to produce these aromatic compounds.

Fourth, both teas are oxidized to the point of being almost like black teas. The insects start the oxidation process, the withering continues it, and the lowish temperature heat treatment allows the more gentle formation of still more aromatics, while further oxidation is halted.

Finally, to extract these exquisite aromatics while avoiding bitterness, both teas should be brewed at a lower, more green-tea-type temperature (80-85º C/175-180ºF), and for a somewhat longer time. I can tell when it’s time to drink from the aroma, but you may decide to time your steep, to 1 or 2 minutes.

[By the way, Bai Hao oolong is also known as Oriental Beauty tea, and dong fang mei ren (東方美人)]