Freshly brewed Oolong Tea being poured. Photos: IC

By Shen Sijia

Drinking high mountain Oolong tea is a lifestyle in itself, and a luxury one at that. The famous Taiwan tea grows at elevations above 1,000 meters where the air is less polluted and where the calm yet energetic characteristics of Oolong tea can truly flourish.

So whether you're entertaining friends, or enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon alone at home, knowing how to prepare and drink Oolong Tea can become an absorbing pastime in itself.

Tea at 2,500 meters

Lishan Mountain is renowned as Taiwan's "secret garden" and is famous among tea lovers as producing the highest quality Oolong tea in China.

At an elevation of over 2,500 meters, the mountain tea grows slowly because of the big temperature difference between day and night (usually about 14 degrees). Lishan tea has a natural flowery fragrance. The color of the tea is a mixture of golden and light jade green. Because production of the tea is limited (between 50,000 and 60,000 kilos per year) and the demand is higher than the supply, the tea has recently become a much sought-after commodity. The public often confuse Lishan Tea with a combination of lesser quality brands that are marketed as "Lishan" Tea. And this is what makes it particularly hard to get real Lishan Tea on the open market. One of the true authentic hand-picked organic brands is "Sipphany" available in Shanghai at Bund 18.

Available at: 1F and 4F (Shanghai Lounge 18) of Bund 18

18 Zhongshan Road East Shanghai

Price: 6,888 yuan / 500 grams; 1,988 yuan / 125 grams

Dongding merrily on high

Dongding Mountain is constantly enveloped in cloud and fog and has an average temperature of 25 degrees. As a semi-fermented tea made from the Qingxing Oolong tea tree, Dongding re-tains many of the nutrients and natural healing properties contained in many unfermented green teas. But the grassy and harsh taste of unfermented tea is absent, and it contains none of the toxic compounds commonly found in fully fermented black teas.

A single serving can be used for up to six brews.

Available at: Tian Shen Tea Chain天ç"³èŒ—茶上海市连é"åº—

69 Jiuxiaochang Road.

Huangpu (in Yu Garden area)

(about 40 chains in Shanghai, the national name is Tian Fu Tea Chain天福茗茶)

Price: 80 yuan / 50 grams

Mellow brew

Jin Shuan is one of new breeds of tea bushes being cultivated in Taiwan with the main picking and production site in Nantou and Chiayi. The leaves of Jin Shuan are thick, plump, and tender with a lustrous emerald green color, the sprout of which is very uniform, making it very suitable for machine picking. When it is half-fermented, its taste is sweet, mellow, and rich with a special strong floral and milky aroma.

Jin Shuan Oolong tea is especially popular among women and younger tea drinkers.

Available at: Tian Shen Tea Chain天ç"³èŒ—茶上海市连é"åº—

(Address as above).

Price: 80 yuan / 50 grams

Prepare your own

Traditionally teas are steeped in hot water. The longer tea is steeped in water, the more bitter the taste will be.

When preparing high-mountain, good-quality Oolong, the tea can be steeped more than 6 times. For Lishan tea, it can even be steeped as often as 10 times. The best temperature is 80 degrees. Avoid using boiling water, as it can affect the quality of the tea's active ingredients.

Some growers also steep the tea in cold water, which is becoming something of a trend.