Description

“Dongfang Zi Ye” (Oriental Night) Magnolia Oolong

“Dongfang Zhi Ye” Magnolia Oolong is a rare tea specialty from China, created by scenting processed oolong tea leaves with magnolia blossoms. The result is a unique aromatic and gustatory composition that opens the door to a previously unknown world of sweet and floral scents and flavors for the connoisseur. This piece of tea craftsmanship uses only natural ingredients: leaves of an oolong tea from the Taiwanese “Jin Xuan” cultivar, cultivated in Fujian naturally and processed with slight oxidation, and blossoms of the Chinese Magnolia native to Guanxi, also known as “Oriental Night” or “Dongfang Ye Yulan”.

Processing (1) – The Basis Oolong Tea

While green tea and black tea mark the oxidation spectrum’s ends, oolong tea processing covers the entire range between. This ranges from slightly oxidized “pouchong” oolongs to highly oxidized “red” oolongs. Oolong tea processing of any degree of oxidation is highly sensitive, requiring particularly high producing skills.

The first step in producing oolong tea is a withering phase, alternating rest phases with manually swirling the tea leaves on the withering tray or trough. The leaf surfaces are initially broken open by rubbing the tea leaves against each other. As a result, tea juices emerge at the break points, where they induce significant and highly flavor-relevant oxidation processes already during withering.

Next is rolling the tea leaves. This process shapes the tea leaves and destroys the cell walls inside the leaf while maintaining its structural integrity. This allows the cell juices to distribute evenly throughout the leaf, supporting the development of a uniform taste. In addition to curled and elongated shapes, the “ball-type” oolong is one of the typical rolling types of oolong tea. The firm, rugged ball ensures particularly good properties for preserving aromas and flavors, which is why the “ball-type” is preferred for our Magnolia Oolong.

The final step is drying the rolled tea leaves. During this phase, many oolong teas, especially higher oxidized ones, typically undergo one or more roasting stages. However, to preserve the natural aromas of the tea leaves and the magnolia blossoms, this is omitted for our Magnolia Oolong.

Processing (2) – The Magnolia Blossoms

The “Chinese Magnolia”, “Magnolia Liliiflora“, or “Oriental Night Magnolia” is a type of magnolia native to China, characterized by its two-colored flowers – purple on the outside and white on the inside. The magnolia flowers used to scent our “Oriental Night” Magnolia Oolong grow in the Chinese province of Guangxi.

Unlike jasmine flowers, the aroma release from magnolia flowers occurs slowly and over a long period of time. In fact, it even intensifies as the magnolia flowers ferment.

Processsing (3) – The Scenting

The scenting of the oolong tea leaves with magnolia blossoms takes place in the producer’s processing facility in Hunan. After mixing the oolong tea leaves with the magnolia blossoms, both components remain together for around two weeks. Then, the magnolia blossoms are sorted out, although some small parts may be left behind for visual enhancement.

Preparation

Pour 3-5g of tea leaves per 100ml into a suitable container (teapot, gaiwan, shiboridashi) with water at around 90°C. This temperature is roughly equivalent to boiling water after it has settled. After less than a minute of steeping, pour into prepared tea bowls or an intermediate container for a delicious first infusion. The tea leaves will then produce a number of equally tasty infusions at the same infusion temperature and steeping time. The number of these depends on the initial dosage and the exact steeping time of the individual infusions.

As with all types of tea – especially with oolong teas – it’s worth experimenting. We recommend playing with the parameters of dosage and brewing time to determine your personal preparation preference.

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