Imperial Pearls Oolong

2012 NATC - Dark Oolong Category - Judge's Choice Award for Exceptional Tea
2011 NATC - Black Tea Category - 2nd Place

This rare brandy oolong (what is brandy oolong?) is a must have in your tea chest.

The dry leaf recalls the fragrance of cinnamon, a splash of hot water and the nose transforms into something more savory. We only picked the tenderest leaves of our prized oolong plants to create this exceptional tea; in doing so, we created a tea that is deep amber in color and pointedly sweet in flavor, sans astringency or bitterness.  Notes included both fragrant pressed flowers in the nose, and plum-sweet aftertaste in the palate.

Hotter water and longer steeping times will brew a more complex and spicier tea.  Lower water temperature and shorter steeping times will brew a sweeter and simpler tea.  Imperial Pearl is also known as Red Oolong in the East.

Steeping Instructions:

Prepare 3 grams of tea leaf (slightly less than a teaspoon) per 100ml of water(about half a cup).

For the first two steeps, 96°c water for no longer than 60 seconds will provide plenty of flavor.  From the third steep onward it is fine to add up to thirty additional seconds per steep.  This should provide between four and six re-steeps depending on the quality of the tea.  For larger vessels (teapots of over 500ml) re-steep potential is usually lower.