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21st Century Afternoon Tea Loose Leaf Oolong Tea

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£15.99
£0.00 £15.99
£0.50 per cup
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An iconoclastic blend of old and new world oolong teas to make something truly delicious.

This loose leaf oolong blend combines Iron Goddess of Mercy from the ancient gardens of Anxi in China with the pristine new leaves of Waikato in New Zealand. The result is the perfect afternoon pick-me-up.

Tasting Notes

The flavour develops with each infusion of this clean but complex tea. The first infusions are rich with flavours of tart stewed apple and cookie dough. This leads into bright sencha greens and sherbert. Later infusions have a soft digestive biscuit note and a final mineral finish.

Cost Per Cup

£0.50 per cup based on 3g of tea per 150ml of water and 3 infusions.

Origin

Anxi, China
Waikato, New Zealand

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Recommended Infusion Guide

  • Quantity

    Use 3g of tea per 150ml of water.
    (We recommend giving the leaves a quick wash with hot water before infusing to help them open up.)

  • Temperature

    For the optimum infusion use 95°C water.

  • Time

    Infuse for 90 seconds, 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).

A gaiwan is the ultimate way to enjoy your oolong tea. 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.

Start with 4-6g of oolong tea and pop it in the gaiwan teapot. Boil a kettle to 100°C/212°F, then pour an inch of the water on the leaf for a few seconds, then discard this liquid. This "wash" softens the rolled leaf and allows the water to penetrate.

Next, fill the gaiwan with hot water to just below the rim, infuse 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 steeps. 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 see our full guide here:

How to Make Oolong with a Gaiwan

Here is a short video demonstrating how to get the most out of your precious oolong leaves with a gaiwan:

Imagine blending wines from Bordeaux and Napa Valley - the viniphiles would throw their hands up in horror. Ooh la la, sacre bleu, “@~!?$*#”.

Sometimes you have to break with tradition to innovate. Combining these beautifully crafted teas, both made with infinite care to be the best expression of their terroir, creates a tea that sings of the story of craftsmanship and healthy soil. A merging of two worlds - the old and the new, the history of tea and its fresh beginnings.

We’ve created a new loose leaf afternoon tea for new traditions.

What is the best afternoon tea?

In the past we have drunk a blend of black teas to go with Afternoon Tea, but this is a loose leaf tea blend for the 21st Century. We don’t all have time to sit around at 4 o’clock eating sandwiches and scones. Tea in the afternoon is more likely to be a pick-me-up in the midst of our busy days. Hopefully a time to stop for a moment or two to recharge and get through the last push of the day.

This is an oolong tea that goes delightfully with whatever your afternoon treat is, sweet or savoury: a cake, biscuit, a handful of nuts, the humble crumpet, peanut butter on toast, a banana, temaki or a taco.

The most important thing is you don’t have to be lounging on a sofa or in a fine hotel, you can be at your desk, making the kids supper or out on a stroll - wherever you are in the afternoon and whatever you’re doing you’re going to want tea. And this is the tea you want.

We really recommend using a gaiwan, the perfect teapot to make 6 short extractions and experience the flavour progressions of each infusion. This won’t take long, just 10 minutes, but its 10 minutes you won’t regret.

Shipping, delivery & more...

UK Shipping Information

FREE UK Tracked when you spend £30 or more

FREE UK Express - Next Day* when you spend £60 or more

UK Tracked - Two Day Tracked £3.99

UK Express - Next Day* Tracked £5.49

UK Express - Next Day* Courier from £8.49

*Subject to next day cutoff and postcode location. Availability of rates depends on location and order weight. For a complete overview of our shipping rates please see our delivery page.

All prices quoted in GBP and will be converted to your local currency if available.

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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