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New Zealand Waikato Oolong Loose Leaf Oolong Tea

12 reviews
$44.00
$44.00
$0.88 per cup
Sale Sold out
Style

The Tea Masters in New Zealand work from a simple precept; tea is a science, but it is also an art. It’s this kind of attitude to tea making that we admire. The leaves are hand harvested and crafted to reveal extraordinary complexity of flavour; floral notes, succulent vegetal greens, tropical fruit and a creamy sweetness.

This Oolong Loose Leaf Tea from New Zealand has certain resemblances to our Iron Goddess of Mercy (tieguanyin) yet is unique and nuanced. Try them side by side and find out for yourself.

Tasting Notes

The fresh-tasting leaves are unroasted giving a green, slightly mineral note, with a long-lasting sweetness, reminiscent of crème anglaise.

Origin

Zealong Estate, Waikato, New Zealand

Cost Per Cup

$0.88 per cup based on 3g of tea per 150ml of water and 3 infusions.
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Recommended Infusion Guide

  • Quantity

    Use 3g of tea per 150ml of water.

  • Temperature

    For the optimum infusion use 100°C water.

  • Time

    Infuse for 1 - 2 minutes, tasting regularly.

  • Infusions

    You can infuse this tea at least three times. With each careful infusion, different subtleties of flavour are revealed.

1 3

More infusion tips

How to infuse your tea is very personal, and these are just our recommendations based on experience. Please experiment with these variables to your heart's delight. These are our recommendations, not hard and fast rules. The most delicious tea is the one you love.

Our guide uses a standard tea cup size (150ml/5.5 oz) as a measure, please adjust the quantity of leaf accordingly for less or more water. Our whole loose leaves are of such a high quality that you can infuse our teas at least twice, and the second infusion is often better than the first, with different flavours revealed as the leaf softens. If you prefer your tea stronger, add more leaf, don’t leave it for longer (this will just make it bitter).

Making oolong with a gaiwan

A gaiwan is the ultimate way to enjoy your oolong tea, using a high leaf-to-water ratio that extracts very quickly. Used in China since the Ming dynasty (over 900 years ago), gaiwans are unassuming but beautifully functional teapots that can be used to explore tea to its fullest – the following method can be used to make up to six infusions.

For small gaiwans (e.g. our Traditional Gaiwan) start with 2-4g of tea, for larger gaiwans (e.g. our Easy Pour Gaiwan) use 4-6g.

If you're using a rolled oolong (Tie Guan Yin, Waikato Oolong, 21st Century Breakfast or Golden Lily Milk Oolong) this next step will greatly improve your infusion. Using boiling water cover the leaf in your gaiwan and immediately strain and discard the liquid. This "wash" softens the surface of the rolled leaves and allows the water to better penetrate.

If you're using a traditional gaiwan and you don't want to burn your fingers, please fill the bowl just to where the sides begin to curve outwards towards the rim. If you're an experienced gaiwan handler you can fill the bowl higher – its just important to note that as the water level reaches close to the rim it gets very hot to handle.

With such a high leaf-to-water ratio the infusion is very quick; infuse you leaf for 5-10 seconds and strain completely into your cup or a jug. There's no need to reheat the water as you go, because the softened leaves will require lower temperatures to release their flavours - but you will need to extend the time to 10-20 seconds for later infusions. We recommend at least six infusions to allow the leaf to completely open out and reveal all its beauty.

For a more comprehensive guide to using a gaiwan (including a video), click here for our full guide.

Seedlings

Careful propagation

In 1996 the Zealong Estate imported rigorously-selected tea cuttings from the best tea growing regions across Asia.

Over 1,500 seedlings were imported yet only 130 survived the rigorous New Zealand quarantine regulations. Through careful propagation these now flourish in the fertile soil and clean air.

CLIMATE

Gentle sunshine, and abundant rainfall

This climate is the gift that keeps on giving; abundant rainfall, ideal temperatures with the right amount of sunshine and free-draining acidic soil.

Shipping, delivery & more...

Canada Shipping Information

🚨CANADA POST STRIKE UPDATE 22/10/2025 🚨

Canada Tracked Delivery and Canada Express Tracked Delivery (both free and paid versions) have been re-enabled following the move to rotating strikes by the CUPW. Please see our delivery page for more information

Canada Tracked Delivery from CAN$12

FREE Canada Tracked Delivery when you spend CAN$80 or more

Canada Express Tracked Delivery from CAN$14

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Availability of rates depends on location and order weight. For a complete overview of our shipping rates please see our delivery page. Prices displayed at the checkout are based on live currency exchange rates and may differ slightly from the listed price.

Returns

The Rare Tea Lady believes that our teas are some of the greatest in the world, and that our range and service are second to none.

In the isolated case that you are not completely satisfied with any product you purchase from our website, please get in contact with our customer services team to discuss returning your order.*

In most instances, we will give you a full refund of the item's cost, excluding postage. We may ask you to return the item to us.** Customers in the UK & European Union have statutory rights not affected by this guarantee, but any bags of tea must remained sealed for this to be in effect.

*We only accept returns/refunds for tea within 30 days of receipt, because it is impossible for us to know if the tea has been stored correctly.

**We will endeavour to ask for pictures where possible - but if you have changed your mind and are outside of any statutory rights time period, return postage is payable by you.

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