oolong tea academy

Millennia old savoir-faire, terroirs, cepages... Chinese tea and French wine have a lot in common. Most importantly, both can be used for food pairing or for accompanying a meal, from the appetizers all the way to the desserts. My personal favourite for food pairing are oolong teas thanks to their sweet taste and very present umami notes.

Milky Oolong tea is probably the most exceptional and unusual teas in the world. It has an unexpected milky taste that is nothing like any other tea. The experience of drinking it is closer to that of drinking hot chocolate than to that of drinking tea.

When thinking of an Earl Grey tea, most of you probably have in mind a black tea infused directly in a mug from a tea bag. In this context an Earl Grey Oolong sounds a bit exotic to say the least.

However, as Earl Grey refers to a tea aroma and oolong is one of tea families, the two can absolutely go together.

Iron Goddess of Mercy tea, also known as Ti Kuan Yin and Tie Guan Yin is one of the most famous oolong teas. Like any oolong tea, it is credited with many health benefits.

Ever wondered what Christmas tastes like in France? To be honest, it often tastes like oysters or foie gras which are many people's no go zone but if you're looking for a less controversial treat, chocolate truffles are a great place to start.

It looks nicer. It smells nicer. It is more suitable for a gift or an Instagram post.

But...

Is loose leaf tea really better than tea in tea bags?

To understand that, we need to dive deep into the tea history.

Whereas all the teas are made from the leaves of the same plant, Camellia sinensis, they differ largely in colours and tastes thanks to different processing techniques.

Oolong tea has been known in China for three centuries and is best appreciated when using the traditional Chinese tea drinking techniques: using the gaiwan or the gongfu cha technique.