LIES AND TRUTH about Milk Oolong

[@bristolrovers27]

I’ve tried two milk oolongs, the first was at the start of my tea journey and it was love at first sight or first taste. The second which I bought from a chain tea specialist was not of the same standard, I just assumed that the initial honeymoon was over. I’ve just checked up and the chain admit to adding flavourings. Looks like I’ll have to give it another go

[@AjniraBloom]

Don tasting tea with you is like going on a sensoral adventure in a magic bus with a, shaman tour guide as we wind through vast uncharted lands& territories of visuals & a virtual smorgasbourg of tasting notes. You are a master. Loved it!

[@gammazzz3894]

I totally agree!! We appreciate you so much Don!!

[@DixyaBhattarai]

One of my favorites and discovered them only recently. Thank you for such a comprehensive review! I have learned so much from your videos and finally got my 1st gaiwan!

[@JohnnyLightningYoutube]

my experience with Milk Oolong is a good one! In July of 2019 when I began my true tea journey, I tasted a artificially scented MIlk Oolong and my mom, dad and I enjoyed it however, after discovering Mei leaf I started to learn and up my tea knowledge about this amazing tea type and cultivar. A few months later in October I placed my my first revolutionizing tea order, and my mom dad and I got to taste Alishan Cream and Midnight Sun! It was love at first sniff!

[@TitleDS]

Here in Thailand we usually see very lightly roasted TRES#12, they are labeled as "Oolong No.12". The tastes are somewhat shallower than Taiwanese Gao Shan things but at least they are malty, milky, a little biscuity, very calm and comforting Cha Qi.

[@connormatthews522]

Trying these at the moment, mind blown. instant favourite

[@ExtraCrispy357]

Hi Don, great video. Thanks for explaining in detail (even about the 'lactones') - very interesting. Also, thanks for the tips to avoid the fakes. Man, you're really a pro at tasting! I'm a big tea fan and I just subscribed to your channel.

[@lardycake]

Thank you for the amazing content. Really high quality channel. My current favorite oolong is roasted Shui Xian. I will have to pop in to your store some time to discover more amazing teas!

[@casimsalabim]

Tasted ALISHAN CREAM for the first time today. In fact it was the first time I had a real Oolong. (Not the aromatized stuff from the supermarket) Didn't get it on the first brew. Second and third brew had a very lovely peach aroma. Not as sweet and exaggerated as in artificially aromatized ice cream for example. Just a subtle flowery, but well defined peachy undertone. I am absolutely amazed!

[@albertocrescini2076]

I once smelled “High Mountain Jin Xuan” from Damman Freres store here in Milan and it had an incredible strong smell of butter. They ensured me it was not artificially flavored and also it was really pricy (about 440€/kg). I’ve never found another Milk Oolong with such a strong smell. Still don’t know if the seller was honest with me about the artificial flavoring.

[@kookiekommenter]

That definitely sounds like artificially flavored milk oolong. It's possible that the seller wasn't being honest, but they also could have been victim to a lie that they were fed, especially if they aren't personally familiar with the tea production process.

[@Laura-je2uw]

Damman freres usually habe heavily flavoured teas. I bought a milky oolong from them and it contained artificial cream flavour - had to throw it away!

[@jasonpaulring]

I have one from Harney and Sons. The aroma reminds me of sweetened condensed milk once brewed, but has a very smooth tea with milk flavor.

[@UncleMikeDrop]

I can only imagine that tea steamed over milk would taste rather disgusting so I don't even know why people would try to go with that story.

[@celticlass8573]

Yeah it makes me think of sour milk. Not yummy-sounding at all.

[@JoRosieQueen68]

Just make a malty oolong and add a bit of creamer if you wanna go that route, at least that would make more sense, closer to how regular oolong varieties + milk are served, some do work with dark candied sugar but you can go that route without the creamer or condensed cap of milk as well, either way, I did find a strange case of a milky oolong that was a mix of milky oolong + ceylon green tea, I could pick up the milky oolong taste and mouth feel and the Ceylon green tea notes, but the flavoring was more like some sort of fungi flavor like in the case of stinky French cheese, I love tha cheese quite a lot so it surprised me more then I've expected, I might buy more of that since it's quite like a refreshing slightly malty cookie or malt milk with green tea notes + that fungal note that somehow works here for some reason, I drank it without adding sugar then added a bit too much brown sugar, conclusion of the story, interesting twist, don't waste your time with starbucks brown sugar, it's lower quality then I like, but the tea was interesting and quite lovely in it's own unique way, though I am mostly more into black tea and dark oolongs with milk or earl greys, but I do enjoy different green teas once in a while too. ^^

[@adriannealvord9023]

I love the way you describe the teas! I ordered the Alishan creme from your website and I can’t wait to try it once it arrives to me here in California ❤️

[@laurataylor6423]

This is soooo up my alley. Love the whole breakdown of everything! I've had milk oolong and it's unique and amazing. I've notice when I brew it, there is a light oil floating on top. Maybe that's what gives it the buttery mouth feel? Can't say for sure though.

[@codysmith4513]

Do your other teas have that oily film? It could be your water is too hard if so (living in the US, I've seen that happen with tap water in the Midwest states)

[@SDArgo_FoC]

@@codysmith4513 That happened too me when experimented by adding chocolate to a tieguanyin, it looked like crap with oily bubbles on the top.It’s probably something added.

[@GeorgeFhore]

The buttery taste in your mouth is that “oil” it’s from the tea leaves. Don’t worry.

[@bananananana6205]

i had a bad experience with milk oolong, well it was my fault for getting a cheap one with my limited student budget. it smelled like those white rabbit milk candies(red flag). I tried it but the acidity was too much, so i tried roasting it which kind of improved to the point that it was almost drinkable.

[@ThomasL.116]

Thanks for the insight again, I am always happy when there is a new video! :-) I love Midnight Sun, these two would be great to try... How long does it take in your opinion and experience, Don, for a medium to strong roast to settle down and become utterly one with the whole? Already after one month? I woul have thought at least half a year.

[@rainbowdeathblow]

Crème brûlée without the crust. Great comparison! 👍

[@Mscrystalcatz]

Finally a video on milk oolongs! Don, would you be able to do a video on ginseng oolongs as well? Thank you! I love everything oolong

[@AoiCheshire]

Seconding the ginseng oolongs! 😁

[@mimithefifi894]

My friend bought some milk oolong from whittard and I literally fell in love with the aroma and the taste. Wanted to know if I can make some myself at home 😂

[@Addielp]

Loved the review! Can someone explain the ritual of wetting the tea pet? ☺️ I would love to know!!

[@codysmith4513]

When you rinse the teas, you pour the rinse over them. It originally comes from ritual sacrifice in China (a pig symbolizes wealth and prosperity for example). They're from the process of using the scraps of clay and sacrificing the first "brew" was to welcome the animal's attributes into your life. And it also ensures that the first brew isn't wasted by just pouring it down the drain. I could probably go into more but I know this is already a long reply 😅. Hope this helps!

[@Addielp]

@@codysmith4513 wow! What a beautiful meaning! Of course it helps😊 Now I’m going to wet it with a purpose, when I finally get one😅. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain :)

[@codysmith4513]

@@Addielp Never a problem amongst us Teaheads! 🙏😊 Hope you have a lovely tea session (or fifty, who's counting? 😂)

[@Addielp]

@@codysmith4513 😂🙏🏼right? Thank you! You’re so nice! Enjoy 😊

[@birdieg3012]

Just found your videos. Thanks for very simple, easily followed, informative content.

[@mr.valinch]

I have both of these two teas, and they are under my all time favorites! Such a lovely sweet and fruity taste with a creamy mouthfeel.

[@mike2176]

LOVE a bit of milk oolong. 2nd try today. This vid helped! So easy to misjudge and use too much. Crazy expansion. Gonna make a TRES-12 t-shirt and wait for the tea-heads.

[@aiwendilciunio]

Well Scott Wilson on Yunnan Sourcing sells Jin Xuan milk oolong and he says in the description that the tea is steamed with milk. Scott knows his tea so I'm curious what do you think about that?

[@666aron]

You know how quick milk products go bad? That oolong would smell more like a rotten cow and less like oolong while it arrived from the source to the buyer. Not to mention the flavors which give milk it's milkiness are not so volatile that they could be transferred by steam. Maybe by steeping, but that is just as nasty if not more. The Jin Xuan has natural milk flavor, which becomes more intense/creamier with subsequent roasts. I don't know where do people see this practice, but so far when I was in Taiwan I did not see a single supplier who steams or steeps the tea in milk. Then again, people are free to believe what they want.

[@aminboumerdassi2334]

Given that milk cannot even be boiled without it curdling, it seems impossible that the tea leaves are actually being steamed with milk.

[@osteogenesisdev5268]

@@aminboumerdassi2334 Things already start steaming at 40C or so. You don't need to boil things to steam them.

[@osteogenesisdev5268]

​@@666aron Depends on the milk product. Cheeses last (and is often ripened for) years and is an easy example of a fairly long lasting milk product. But you might not consider that because it has a lot of other things added to it. Dried/powdered milk (which you would kinda end up with here) has an effectively indefinite shelf life if kept dry. Manufacturers might put a date (of like 2 years or so) on the package, but that's for legal reasons mostly (It probably will make it to 2 years even if kept in pretty bad conditions). Edit: missed some words.

[@flooreijkelboom1693]

Thank you for making this video!

[@alextanell7770]

i have the "Supreme Organic Taiwan Jinxuan Milk Oolong" and i love it. the dried leaf does have an intense sweet smell. i once had a scentet milk oolong from a "premium" supermarket and threw it away. it also had a strong smell but unlike the Jinxuan it was stronger and not pleasant so i can definately tell them apart. but you got me sceptical there because my Jinxuan does smell intense in the jar so im confused

[@FighterHayabusa-NES]

Ship to the US? I really want one of those trays.

[@truffleknight1303]

They do ship to the US but the shipping is about 20$

[@nicholas389]

Its kind of expensive. So I suggest curating yourself one Large Order. When I make another order, I will most certainly make it worth the money. The teas & other products come packaged very well. Im sure if you purchase teaware or tea trays it will all arrive very safe. Its all very high quality. His tea is awesome. Also if you haven't already found them, @yunnansourcing @yunnansourcingUS @farmer_leaf

[@tegarlinggau474]

@@truffleknight1303 òji

[@celticlass8573]

Natural Milk Oolong is one of my two favourite teas--the other being Silver Needle. Neither of which I'm able to get at the moment, but hopefully that will change soon.

[@berika6]

Celtic Lass Our favorites are the same. We don’t have much choices for good loose leaf teas in my country so I’ll always try to go for those two when I find them

[@smokeytaboo1756]

I just tried Milk Oolong today and fell in love! Yesterday I drank Silver Needle White Pu-erh (from Yunnan Sourcing) which is my favorite tea to drink outside lately(: Good luck finding the teas you love

[@celticlass8573]

@@smokeytaboo1756 I accidentally bought silver needle jasmine TWICE recently (LOL) and am quite enjoying it, though I did want just Silver Needle lol. My tea cupboard is full now however, so I'm going to have to wait. I've also tried Pear Pu-erh (YUM), and Divine Temple White recently (also YUM). I don't like every tea I try (for instance I don't care for the woody/smoky kind, at least not as a drink). But there's so much to choose from, how can I not keep exploring LOL.

[@smokeytaboo1756]

@@celticlass8573 ooo I shall have to try those ones! I'm the same... I don't like the smokey flavor. The first hei cha I tried tasted exactly like my dad's cigars hahaha. Milk oolong has my heart tho ❤

[@celticlass8573]

@@smokeytaboo1756 Ew cigar juice tea lol. Firm pass on that one! Natural milk oolong is definitely my fave. :)

[@jochumkoot779]

hey guys/girls, just recenlty found the channel but I am a long time tea drinker and have come across a great deal of the teas shown on this channel and his tea webshop (besides Souchong liquor wich i'm probably going to order, sounds amazing). And wanted to say love the content and commitment put into his shop and video's, not many tea sellers do what he does and love the transparacy when it womes to his product reviews. But i have a question: I recently bought 2 kinds of black tea one called "Encre de chine by Mister Chen" and a whole different tea called " Small Holder Malawi tea" both have big leaves but are full wih flavor the first one being complex in flavor but sweet and the second one more eathry but with hints of roasted nuts and sweet as well. Now have any of you ever heared of these teas ? As i can not find much about them but found pages conferming they are real teas and producers. I ask this becouse i have no idea wich type of tea it is nor wath the recomended infusing time or temprature is. Sorry for the longer post but wanted to say again: love the content and commitment, cheers J.

[@Geeoorrgeee]

Hey there, I was interested so i had a look. I googled “encre de chine mister Chen” and the tea came up immediately (www.brandercoffee.be/black-tea-china-encre-de-chine.html). Also googled Malawi tea and couldn’t find the one you’re talking about but an interesting read about Malawi tea for you here. (topictea.com/blogs/tea-blog/teas-of-malawi-history-culture-types-and-production). Google is your friend do not be scared of it!

[@jochumkoot779]

@@Geeoorrgeee thank you for the anser and links. The "encre de chine" website i did not find yet and the info on how to infuse is indeed there so thank you for that, wans't far of on the brewing conditions so good to know. The second website i already came across but somehow overread the "black tea" part, so thank you for resending the link. The malawi tea origin is indeed a bit more difficult to find but i assume it is from the smallholder initiative (fairtrade organisation i think) but got the general origin from it now thru that website. So thank you again for taking the time to help me on my search. I'll enjoy the tea even more now, knowing more about them. Cheers

[@gunnarthegumbootguy7909]

Those scented milky oolongs, i think they often smell more like piña colada than milk or cream, which is kind of nice but maybe not what one would expect from the "steamed with milk" stories. As for Jin xuan being more "milky" than other oolong i've never really noticed, I drink pretty much of it, i tend to buy it for my mother who likes light greenish, light to mid oxidised oolongs, but i also buy light oolongs made from other varieties and often it's very hard to tell the difference if they're made with the same process. Some of them with a middle roast has some oat-meal like flavor like roasted oats... i had very strong such flavor from a middle roasted jin xuan that was actually grown in Sumatra, indonesia and processed by very skilled tea master who learned the trade in taiwan, one of my favorite greenish oolongs but i haven't seen it on the market for a few years now.

[@ValeriaVincentSancisi]

since oolong is part of my own daily blend.. this is eyeopening

[@mountainbeekombucha2079]

Milk Oolong teas make one of the best kombucha ever. Do try it whenever you can!

[@khellendross3573]

The one that is available here locally I do believe is legit. The aroma while unmistakable is not the concentrated punch you get from essential oils or other artificial flavorings. As for what the tea broker is saying, their literature calls out the unique cultivar but also states that the unusual aromatic and flavors are due in part to a sudden shift in temperature during the harvesting process. I have no way of knowing if this is true or not. What I can say is that its a delicious taiwanese style oolong. Its not usually my preference, I gravitate more towards anything in the vein of a Wuyi mountain oolong. The other noteable thing about this milk oolong is that while it is expensive, the quality of the leaf seems to match the asking price. Profile wise, while I do get the milky elements in both the nose and flavor, I find the dominant aromatic is a floral aromatic I typically associate with very high quality taiwanese oolongs. As well a distinctive stone fruit aroma and flavor. Either way, even if you tend towards the darker side of oolongs as I do, I highly recommend trying a good milk oolong. Its quite unlike your typical "green oolong".

[@thegreatballplayer1]

You got yourself a new subscriber

[@nmk8475]

Oof no new Shifu's Pudding this year, now im gonna be super hesitant to brew what i have left of it hahahahaha

[@ItsMisterEp]

They had a small small batch this year. I missed out too :p

[@nicholas389]

I must say... Taiwanese Oolongs taste great & smell amazing and all that... BUT... It doesn't make me feel the same as pu er! I love the feeling tea gives me, I must be extra sensitive because I get super woozy with some pu er tea. Most of the pu er I have currently makes me feel amazing! I just never get the same feeling from oolong teas, strip or ball oolong! I forget how to spell it but Mei Long Shan (Peach Aroma Oolong) ugh I Love it so much. I wish I had ordered more than a sample but Ya never know if it will be a tea for You : ))

[@paintchipmuncher]

I feel like we got a little deeper view into Don’s childhood than any of us bargained for...

[@Tifsa123]

Damn. I bought some milky oolong from a vendor I really really trust and came to learn more. Now I read they “steam over milk”. Quite upset actually I don’t know who to trust now we don’t have many in London

[@MeiLeaf]

It is a commonly told myth and perhaps the vendor has been fooled byvaomeone further up the chain of supply. You are most welcome to visit us in Camden or check out meileaf.com

[@tobiasmuller6232]

Hey you... 😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘 Tobsen

[@Alondro77]

Hmm, milk oolong... *dumps milk all over his tea leaves* There we go!

[@Rice0987]

I just loved this tea.♥

[@mattildahubbardo]

to me it tastes so so buttery and a little sour.

[@nikita-fm7ij]

Damn, mine is artificially scented. Nz has no decent tea importers.

[@РусланДавлетханов-ч5к]

Jones Betty Hernandez Michael Lee Donna

[@guillermolledowolkowicz7085]

I've seen all the videos. For four years more or less. I should start getting more active on this channel

[@reubenk1615]

Same here. Been following from day one

[@bydoempire9746]

I thought this video was going to be about brewing Oolong tea with milk instead of water.

[@grimcze]

Love milk oolong ❤

[@JohnnyLightningYoutube]

double drop session!?!?!? haha.

[@basil9164]

Yeah I dont care

[@davideenricopozzitaubert5499]

Sorry if it has taken so oolong.... 😅

[@shittymcrvids3119]

Drinking Milk Oolong and watching a video about Milk Oolong lol

[@Apollo440]

...and does it contain milk? (he he he)

[@hoilafly]

How on Earth are you able to name so many scents and tastes 😅

[@tsoen-shinlam7621]

This commercial thing does not have real milk......

[@AhimSaah]

I'm drinking Oolong No. 12 which is a Jin Xuan cultivar grown in Thailand, from Choui Fong company that's located in the Chiang Rai area. This is among the milkiest of all Jin Xuans I've had. Thailand produces some stunning oolongs, most famously No. 12 and No. 17. It gives only 3 - 4 good infusions but it's 3-4 times cheaper than its Taiwanese cousins. So, if you're ever in Thailand visit some plantations or the Chiang Rai market and get some Thai oolong. Just one interesting thing about Thai plantations: usually in the bars at the plantations they only offer tea concoctions which all involve sugar and other kinds of sh*t, in the stores however they usually have like a small tea brewing station where they do gong-fu style. The girls at the plantations have no clue about how to brew tea, they put about 8 grams into a 100 ml clay pot and brew with boiling water for 1 minute which makes for a terribly bitter brew. The girl at the counter even told me she didn't like tea because it was bitter. So, don't be fooled by that, Thai oolongs are very good, some even fantastic.

[@nicholas389]

DON, I watched you make Milky Tea... I know ; )) I saw what you did : O Milky Tea with Sugar -_- Very Milky : O Hehehehehehehe

[@MrBOURBONKID2]

what

[@DeadTreeDropOff]

if he kept on tasting it, he will taste lobster flavor and spicy tuna sushi.

[@valorix3385]

First

[@KhelderB]

Wish I'd watched this before buying expensive fake oolong exported from mainland China 😅

[@Tyl-zy8nl]

It is also called this cuz it's roasted over pots or cauldrons of fresh milk

[@mr.valinch]

I have both of these two teas, and they are under my all time favorites! Such a lovely sweet and fruity taste with a creamy mouthfeel.