I did not understand oolong when I first encountered it.
It seemed unnecessarily complicated.
Green tea was green tea. Black tea was black tea. I understood where they stood.
Oolong seemed determined to remain somewhere in between.
Perhaps that was what initially kept me from appreciating it.
Over time, however, I began to realise that the space between things can be where the interesting things happen.
Oolong does not belong neatly to one category. Its range is remarkably wide. Some are light and floral, others dark and roasted. Some feel almost delicate, while others carry a depth that develops over several infusions.
There is no single oolong experience.
That is precisely what changed my mind.
I began returning to the same leaves, brewing them differently, paying attention to how they changed from one infusion to the next. What I had initially mistaken for inconsistency began to feel more like character.
Oolong does not always reveal itself immediately.
It asks you to stay.
I think tea lovers understand this instinctively. There is something satisfying about a tea that does not give everything away in the first cup. The aroma changes. The texture shifts. A sweetness appears where you did not notice it before.
Even the leaves themselves tell part of the story.
Tightly rolled leaves slowly unfurl in the pot, revealing more of themselves as they open. It is difficult not to find something quietly satisfying about watching that happen.
Perhaps this is why oolong eventually became one of the teas I return to most often.
Not because it is the best tea.
I no longer think there is such a thing.
But because it reminds me that tea does not need to fit neatly into a category to be worthwhile.
There is value in the middle.
In uncertainty.
In the things that take a little longer to understand.
Oolong changed the way I think about tea because it taught me that the space between two familiar ideas is not necessarily a compromise.
Sometimes, it is where the character lives.
With quiet regard,
N. P. Lim
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One of the things I love most about Singapore is that we never really chose between kopi and tea. We kept both. Walk into almost any hawker centre or coffee shop and you’ll see it immediately. One person orders kopi-o. Another asks for teh-c. Someone else is drinking Chinese tea from a flask they brought…
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The Tea We Keep Saving for Later
Many tea drinkers have a tea they are saving. A special oolong purchased during a memorable trip. A rare tea gifted by a friend. A tea that feels too valuable, too limited, or too meaningful to drink casually. So it waits. Days become weeks. Weeks become months. The tea remains carefully stored while more ordinary…
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Introduction Few teas are as instantly recognisable as Earl Grey tea. Even among people who do not regularly drink tea, the distinctive citrus aroma of Earl Grey often feels familiar. It appears in tea shops, cafés, afternoon tea menus, and kitchen cupboards around the world, yet many people still ask the same question: what is…
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Can You Call Yourself a Tea Lover If You Don’t Like Matcha?
I have a confession. I don’t think every tea lover needs to love every tea. That sounds obvious when written down, but spend enough time around tea enthusiasts and you may start to think otherwise. Someone discovers that you enjoy tea. The questions begin. Do you drink green tea? What about pu-erh? Have you tried…
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One of the most common questions among both new and experienced tea drinkers is surprisingly simple: is tea acidic? The answer is yes, but the reality is far more nuanced than a simple yes or no. Most teas fall on the mildly acidic side of the pH scale, yet they are generally far less acidic…
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The Best Tea Sessions Are Usually Unplanned
Some of the most memorable tea sessions begin without intention. No special occasion. No carefully selected tea ware. No plan to spend an afternoon appreciating tea. Someone simply puts water on to boil. A tea is chosen almost absentmindedly. Cups are found. The tea is poured. And somehow, those sessions often become the ones we…
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I still remember the morning of my older sister’s wedding day. We were packed into my parents’ flat, and the sticky humidity in the air was intense, even with the air conditioning running on full blast. Amidst the loud laughter and the fun of the morning gatecrash, everything suddenly slowed down. I watched her kneel…
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Why Tea Gifts Always Feel More Personal
There are easier gifts to buy than tea. Gift cards, flowers, candles. They require very little thought. Most people will appreciate them, and if they don’t, no real harm is done. Tea feels different. Giving someone tea involves a small act of interpretation. You are making a quiet guess about what they might enjoy. Something…
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Wabi Sabi Meaning: Discovering Beauty in Imperfection
Singapore is famous for its spotless streets, impressive glass towers, and a culture that constantly celebrates the new-be it design trends, the latest matcha drinks, or the next “perfect place” for brunch. For a long time, I bought into this idea of curated perfection. My home had to be pristine, my days measured for maximum…
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The Strange Pressure to Understand Every Tea Immediately
Tea drinkers do something interesting. When trying a new tea, many immediately begin searching for the “correct” tasting notes. Floral. Roasted. Fruity. Mineral. Someone takes a sip and suddenly feels pressure to identify every subtle characteristic as though there is a right answer hidden somewhere inside the cup. And if the tea feels confusing at…
