In the Taiwanese tea industry, there are currently two types of tea known as “Golden Oolong Tea”: one is ultra-high-elevation Winter Sprout Oolong, and the other is a mutated Sijichun tea tree variety cultivated in central Taiwan. This article focuses on the ultra-high-elevation Winter Sprout Oolong version of Golden Oolong Tea.
What is Golden Oolong Tea, and how did it get its name?
This product name was created around 2015 by tea merchants to promote high-elevation Winter Sprout Oolong. It generally refers to Winter Sprout Oolong harvested from ultra-high-elevation tea gardens around December. It is called Golden Oolong Tea because its brewed tea liquor presents a brilliant, beautiful golden color.
Characteristics of Golden Oolong Tea
The tea liquor is a bright golden color with a fresh flavor, a cool mineral note, and prominent floral and herbal aromas. It is noticeably less bitter and astringent than spring or winter teas.
Pros and Cons of Golden Oolong
Pros: It offers a very distinct cool mineral taste on the palate, with a rich grassy aroma in the liquor. Less prone to bitterness and astringency compared to traditional spring, autumn, and winter teas, Golden Oolong is a high-elevation tea well worth promoting.
Criticism: Some argue that Golden Oolong is just a gimmick. In high-elevation tea plantations after December, temperatures drop sharply, causing the tea leaves to age and fiberize rapidly. The resulting harvested leaves for Golden Oolong retain only a grassy aroma with a lack of depth. Others even claim that “Golden Oolong is undrinkable” and raise health concerns.
The Store Manager's Perspective on High-Elevation Golden Oolong Tea
In high-elevation tea regions, tea trees typically struggle to grow after November. Even if they do grow, most of the leaves age rapidly upon contact with cold air, making them difficult to roll and ferment after harvesting. The resulting oolong tea retains only a grassy aroma and lacks sufficient flavor compounds. Therefore, the “vast majority” of high-elevation Golden Oolong tea is not worth purchasing.
It is worth buying only when the tea leaves are relatively tender and harvested within 1 to 3 days of a cold snap. This way, the leaves don’t have time to age and will develop a Winter Sprout Oolong character due to the low temperatures. Only then is Golden Oolong considered top-grade, though such conditions are rare even during a warm winter.