First, an explanatory note: Oolong teas are “partially fermented”, in that they’re halfway between unfermented green tea and completely fermented black tea. Typically, Oolongs are produced in Taiwan and Southern China. Darjeeling, India, by contrast, has traditionally produced black teas. A while ago, the enterprising and globalizing Lochan growers decided to try preparing their darjeeling leaves using traditional Chinese methods to produce Oolongs.

The three samples I tasted were quite exciting. Definitely a fusion of tastes, different from both typical Darjeeling and typical Oolong, but maintaining enough qualities of each that you can tell that it’s a mix of the two.

I brewed all three of these by Lochan’s provided recommendations (1 cup water with 1 teaspoon dry leaves, brewed for 3-4 minutes, 3 brewings) rather than typical Chinese style (higher leaf:water ratio, shorter brewing time, more brewings). Once I have a bit more time I’d like to go back and try brewing again, but using the Gong Fu method. Just curious.

All three were brewed using Glacier Springs water (good water is a requisite when tasting tea, and I like the flavors that a high mineral content water brings out). The teas were rated on a scale of 1(worst) to 5 (best), with a focus on flavor/smell/huigan rather than leaf appearance.

Here are my tasting notes:

nutty oolong

• glacier springs water, 100 degrees, 240ml, 1 teaspoon nutty oolong
• first brew (4 minutes)
  • leaves broken
  • smell very sweet (over-ripe fruit) with a little grassiness.
  • definitely tell it’s darjeeling, though not as astringent smelling.
  • definitely not “oolong” tasting (or, not like the formosan oolongs I drink). I wouldn’t call it oolong. it’s like darjeeling with that same fruity/flowery overtone
  • it’s quite smooth, but much too light for my liking (love the full body of darjeeling). will try increasing steeping time, see if i get more body with teh same smoothness.
  • astringent huigan with a flavor that lingers for half a minute, but not more
  • dirty gold color
  • score 3
• second brew (5 minutes)
  • maintains color, but despite longer brewing, even less flavor than before.
  • astringency more pronounced
  • honestly, not really enjoyable.
  • score 1
• third brew (4 minutes, 120ml)
  • more vibrant flavor—a little more of the fruitiness has returned (should have only used 2/3 cup water all along perhaps), but you can still tell that the leaves are “used”. astringent.
  • score 2

moonlight oolong

• glacier springs water, 100 degrees, 240ml, 1.5 teaspoon nutty oolong
• (after the prior tasting, decided to increase the amount of leaves per water)
• first brew
  • (4 minutes)
  • very light aroma, not as overtly fruity/fragrant as the nutty oolong. more subdued, more of a “classic oolong” smell.
  • lighter amber color with a touch of green.
  • unfortunately, misses on both the full-body of the darjeeling and the complexity of oolongs.
  • aftertaste is pleasant, pure darjeeling with a little longer huigan than darjeeling. nice. fades quickly.
  • like last, very dry mouthfeel.
  • score 2
• second brew
  • (4 minutes)
  • the leaves have “woken up” now. sweeter, richer, fuller taste. Darjeeling, with a little bit of fruity/nuttiness above it. Still very straightforward, though (not as complex as I’d hope a good oolong to be). Pleasant astringency like a good oolong. The aftertaste is still short and has lots of “darjeeling” flavor.
  • score 3.75
• third brew
  • score 2
  • wish I knew what the difference was the second time, the leaves are back to the banality of the first brew.
  • little bit of sweetness in the taste at the onset, but fades to very astringent, lightly colored water. You can tell the leaves are used up.
  • not too much aftertaste/huigan.
• first and third brewings are disappointing, but the second one was so good, I’d like to try this again using “gong fu” style and see what happens.

snow oolong

• glacier springs water, 100 degrees, 240ml, 1.5 teaspoon nutty oolong
• flowery/nutty smell rather than fruity
• first brew (3 minutes 20 seconds)
  • this is by far the best of the 3. glad I saved it for last.
  • starts with a rich flowery/nutty taste and finishes with classic darjeeling taste. complex and sweet.
  • slight huigan, which is the only thing really lacking in this tea. will try brewing it for 4 minutes the next time to attempt to elicit more.
  • dries the mouth, but pleasantly.
  • score 4.5 . Really enjoyed this one.
• second brew (4 minutes)
  • the 4 minutes did its work, the tea is dark.
  • floral taste still very strong at the onset, but the nuttiness and oolong tastes are faded quite a bit. mediocre finish.
  • likewise still a mediocre huigan (a bit richer than before, with the lingering sweetness from the beginning plus a bit of darjeeling flavor, but ddefinitely not as much aftertaste as I’d hope from a formosan oolong brewed for this long)
  • score 3 (still decent)
• third brew (3.5 minutes)
  • moderate floral taste, tea is obviously faded (perhaps the longer brewings took a toll on the leaves?). still smooth, not bitter. but very toned down compared to the first brewing. The aftertaste is a little better this time, a little more pleasantly permanent compared to the prior two brewings.
  • tea is ok. better than “restaurant tea” but definitely faded quickly compared to the latter brewings of formosan oolongs. that seems to be a trend with these darjeeling oolongs.
  • score 2.5

Ingredients:

• 2 or 3 6.5 oz cans of clams, with juice
• 4 or 5 bacon slices, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1.5 potatoes, diced
• 2 tomatoes, cubed
• 1 bunch spinach, cut.
• 1 28oz can of peeled tomatoes, cubed, with juice
• 1 cup celery
• 1 cup carrots (i don’t like it, you might)
• 5-6 cups water
• basil (less),
• parseley (2T),
• thyme (more),
• bay (2 leaves),
• pepper, salt (to taste)

In a big pot:

1. saute bacon until crisp, remove from their fat and set aside.
2. add onion and potatoes to bacon fat (if you want to be more health-conscious at the expense of taste, you can discard the bacon grease and use olive oil).
3. saute onion and potatoes for 7 minutes.
4. Add celery, carrots, and half the thyme to the onion and potato.
5. Saute for 5 minutes more.
6. Add in water, tomatoes, tomato juices, and clam juices.
7. Bring to a boil.
8. Add the bay, basil, pepper, salt, rest of the thyme, and most of the parseley
9. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes (or however long it takes to tenderize vegetables), stirring as you will.
10. Add spinach and clams, and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes more.

Upon serving:

• sprinkle with the bacon and the leftover parseley (don’t cook the chowder with the bacon inside, or the bacony flavor goodness will disappear).

Serves 5-6.

All of my TactLang-related studies came to nothing, though, as I didn’t dare utter a “shukran” or “marhaba” as I talked to the waiter–why am I comfortable talking in Spanish or Chinese, but not Arabic? I need to be more daring.

Oh, and Bassam emails me out of the blue tonight, too (even before he heard about our dinner last night), recommending we try Mandaloun in Glendale.

Life feels fractal. Why all this middle-eastern food and culture and friends all of a sudden in this past half-year? Was it really around me all this much in the past, or am I just more aware of it now that I’m researching Arabic language pedagogy? Strange…

About 10 minutes south of UCLA on westwood. Atmosphere semi-casual; dinner entrees ~10-12; awesome desserts; very authentic.

Ramayani Westwood
310-477-3315
1777 Westwood Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90024-5607

Time:

• 10 minutes with blender or food processor, 40 minutes without.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cups ground fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup pistaccio
• 4 cloves garlic (yes, I like garlic)
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (this would have been perfect, if only i had had any).

Preparation:

1. grind basil leaves and pistaccio nuts (if you have a food processor…if not, then finely finely chop them and waste half an hour doing so like i had to do).
2. add garlic, well crushed by a garlic press
3. add salt, pepper, cheese
4. add olive oil little by little, mixing, until the pesto is the desired consistency (may not use all the olive oil. it depends on the cheese and nuts)
5. chill

• It’s supposedly “breakfast” time here, but my stomach is still on Italian time and i’m hungry enough for dinner…
• Nothing in the house but nonperishables, i’ve been gone for 3 weeks and my apartmentmate has an aversion to shopping…
• Craving Chinese food–haven’t had any quality chinese food in ages, due to my time in Europe…

Solution:
a hacked-up attempt at 麻醬麵 (noodles with sesame sauce)

• sesame paste (spoonfull)
• hot water (spoonfull)
• vinegar (spoonfull–add more to taste later as needed)
• soy sauce (a little less than a spoonfull)
• sugar (one teaspoon)
• minced garlic & ginger
• a bit of salt, if not salty enough
• cool vegetables (like carrots, if i have any, or cucumbers, which i know i don’t…) thinly thinly sliced
• mix it all together, trying to preserve an optimal balance of {salty, savoury, sour, sweet, and nutty}, using the hot water to dilute if it gets too strong

–update:
Very tasty, but the flavor balance is not as easy to acheive as i remember. very thirsty-making.
for next time:

• add a little chili oil or paste for some spiciness (just not this time, not for breakfast)
• add a little thyme (and the nation of Taiwan colletively shudders at the suggestion…but i think it could be tasty…)

• Merkato Restaurant
  1036 1/2 S. Fairfax Ave.
  Los Angeles, CA 90019
  Phone: 323-935-1775
  Hours: 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily
• Papa Christo
  (323) 737-2970- Fax 737-3571
  2771 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, Ca. 90006
• Palms Thai
  Excellent Thai food, and Thai Elvis impersonators, too… what more could one ask for?
  5273 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles,CA 90027
  Tel.(323) 462-5073 Fax.(323) 469-9777
• Mr. Coffee
  Fake Rene Magritte paintings on the walls, and the most comfortable chairs in the world!
  537 S. Western Ave., No. G,
  213-389-6767
• Havana House Cigars and Lounge
  $2 martinis on Tuesday nights
  133 W. Main St. (626) 576-0547
• L.A. Weekly’s K-Town Top 40
  Everything on this list is excellent