Tan Bei oolong
Taiwanese rolled oolong finished over charcoal in repeated sessions separated by weeks of rest, rather than in an electric oven. The rest intervals let the roast migrate inward and integrate; a single long roast at the same total energy tastes harsh by comparison.
Character
Deeply roasted without being charred, which is the whole difficulty of the technique. Poor examples taste of nothing but burnt sugar.
- Flavour
- Roasted, Sweet, Nutty
- Aroma
- Toasted, Caramelised
- Mouthfeel
- Full bodied, Rich, Smooth, Complex
- Complexity
- Layered
- Notes
- roasted chestnut, caramel, dried longan, warm wood
- Aftertaste
- Deep, sweet and very long.
Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- Taiwan
- Region
- Nantou
- Cultivar
- Qing Xin
- Oxidation
- Partially oxidised
- Roast
- Heavy
- Harvest
- Winter
- Processing
- Withering → Bruising (shaking) → Oxidation → Kill-green (fixation) → Cloth-ball rolling → Drying → Charcoal roasting
Brewing
Gongfu brewing (gaiwan)
5–7 g/100 ml · 90–95 °C · 6 authored infusions
Western brewing (teapot or mug)
1.5–2.5 g/100 ml · 90–95 °C · 2 authored infusions
No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.
If you like this
Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.
Editorially linked
Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.
- Hong Shui Dong Ding
Both roasted Taiwanese oolongs, one moderate and one taken to the edge. The step up is in roast depth rather than in oxidation.
- Chen Xiang Tie Guan Yin
Two heavily charcoal-roasted rolled oolongs from different islands, both tasting more of the roast than of the leaf.
- Nong Xiang Tie Guan Yin (roasted)
Two heavily charcoal-roasted rolled oolongs from Taiwan and Anxi. Both taste more of roast than of leaf and are frequently mistaken for each other.
Similar sensory profile
Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.
- Dong Ding
Shares 8 descriptors with Tan Bei oolong: roasted, nutty, sweet, full bodied, smooth, rich, toasted and caramelised.
- Huoshan Huang Da Cha
Shares 7 descriptors with Tan Bei oolong: roasted, nutty, sweet, full bodied, smooth, toasted and caramelised.
- Ba Xian
Shares 6 descriptors with Tan Bei oolong: roasted, full bodied, rich, complex, toasted and caramelised.
- Da Hong Pao
Shares 6 descriptors with Tan Bei oolong: roasted, full bodied, rich, smooth, caramelised and toasted.
- GABA oolong
Shares 6 descriptors with Tan Bei oolong: sweet, roasted, full bodied, smooth, rich and caramelised.
Journeys featuring this tea
- Understanding roast — Someone who likes oolong and cannot tell whether they are tasting the leaf or the fire.
- I like coffee — A coffee drinker who finds most tea thin and wants something with body and roast.
- I want stronger tea — Someone who finds most tea watery and wants something that arrives with force.
- Exploring Taiwanese tea — Someone who has had one high-mountain oolong and wants the rest of the island.
- Understanding oxidation — Someone who has read that oxidation defines tea categories and cannot taste what it does.