Another of my favorite oolongs is Coconut Oolong from The London Tea Room in St Louis so this is the tea we will be enjoying this morning. Oolongs can vary in color from light gold to deep brown and orange depending on the level of oxidation. This oxidation level, along with the shape of the leaves can affect the steeping time and the way the tea is brewed. (See yesterday’s post on processing oolong teas).
There are two different ways to brew an oolong, the Asian or the Western style. The Asian- style uses a small, under 10 oz, unglazed teapot or a fully glazed Gaiwan (a lidded bowl without handles and a saucer). The biggest difference however, is the greater amount of tea leaf used to a smaller amount of water. Brewing time is shorter, but multiple steepings are made with the same leaves, changing the character of the tea each time.
For the Western-style of brewing, it is recommended to use 2 teaspoons of half balled- style tea per 6 oz of water or 1-2 Tablespoons of strip-style or leaf-style tea. (See yesterday’s post for a picture of balled or strip-style leaves).
The water temperature should be 180 to 200 degrees F. Since there are both light and dark oolongs, a general rule is, the darker the leaf, the hotter the water. Filtered or spring water is recommended
Rinse the tea: traditionally, oolong teas are rinsed first with hot water to begin opening up the leaves. To do this, add just enough water to cover the tea leaves and immediately discard the liquid. Then add additional hot water for the first steeping.
Steeping: Western-style steeping can be for 3-5 minutes depending on the leaf style. The tighter the leaf, the longer the steeping time. It is also a personal choice in taste. Start with a one minute steeping and taste every 30 seconds. However, do not let the leaves STEW in the hot water. You will not get a stronger tasting tea by steeping longer. The only way to get a stronger tea is to use more tea leaves. Western-style steeping may be able to get a second re-steeping but not the multiple times as with Asian-style preparation.
2 tsp leaf style oolong and volume after steeping 
1 tsp balled-style leaf and volume after steeping
If you are just starting out with on Oolong tea, try the Western-style of brewing first then venture on to the Asian-style.
Robin Bee Tea 