Have you ever felt eager to move out of your tea drinking comfort zone by trying something other than your daily dose of English Breakfast or Earl Gray? If so, an experience with Ti Kuan Yin Oolong may be just the steep you need! Our recent meetup presenter (and Tea Time Colorado meetup member) Cathy Qian presented informative knowledge about Ti Kuan Yin tea, the region of China the tea is harvested and presented proper serving and drinking techniques. She spoke about her own experiences while living in Fujian, China. In the cozy confines of Wystone's World Tea's we enjoyed appetizers and meals first to create the base for our Oolong tea. With its earthy, floral essences this tea was smooth and refreshing to the pallet through as many as six steepings. Often we are told when steeping our tea that the steep times range from 3-5 minutes depending on the type of tea we are preparing. However we were told that 30 seconds should be the length of time for the first steep of oolong then adding 10 seconds onto the steep time for each following steep meaning that the first steep would be 30 seconds, 2nd steep 40 seconds, 3rd steep 50 seconds and so on. 
Cathy described the sequence of steeps in respect to age and how we should be thinking about the tea as we consume it. The first steep is the birth of life, the first stages of experiencing the tea. The tea is young and new to the world. The second steep is ten years old with excitement, where strong essence are present, but not fully developed. The third steep is our twenties the age where we are ready to learn and explore. With each following steep the flavor matures and pulls out unique characteristics of the tea. Interesting facts we discovered about Ti Kuan Yin Oolong:
Ti Kuan Yin Oolong benfits includes properties for slimming and helping with weight control and is a healthy option for maintaining your gums.
Green Oolongs are processed with approximately 25% oxidization
Black Oolongs are processed with approximately 75-85% oxidization
Harvesting is typically done when it is sunny
A good, quality Ti Kuan Yin could sell anywhere from $800-$1000 per pound.
If you were to order a very high quality Ti Kuan Yin in Fujian, China the cost per pot ordered could be as much as $30 for the tea
The green oolong teas are typically grown and harvest on the coastal plantations while the black oolongs are typically grown and harvested at higher elevations and inland.
