One of our favorite Oolong Kombuchas is this Oriental Beauty Bärbucha Kombucha.
It is made with a top shelf Oolong called Oriental Beauty Oolong (also sometimes called Easter Beauty, or Dong Fang Mei Ren).
The tea itself, comes from Taiwan and it's an Oolong that belongs to a special category Bai Ho.
It means that it's a bug-bitten tea, and to be more precise, it's a tea which, when it is attacked by a specific leaf hopper predator, releases self-defense compounds that give this tea honey and muscatel aroma.
Tillerman Tea posted an excellent article about this tea's history.
Besides the very characteristic aroma, this tea has also a very specific look, with a color range from white hairy tips, through reddish parts to darker pieces.
It is a higher end Oolong, with a price over 300 Euros per kg.
And it's worth it, as it makes a very tasty tea (and equally tasty Kombucha).
Here is a shot from steeping:
And a closer look at the leaves after straining:
Whenever we make new Oolong Kombucha, we are always amazed by the complexity of flavors that come out through fermentation.
Below is a shot from bottling.
And finally the time to fully enjoy it!
Cheers! Prost! Na zdrowie!
Un Update!
Obviously Oriental Beauty Kombucha comes back once in a while, as our special.
Here's a shot form our recent (2022) run.
The bottle might look different, but its contents are equally delicious.
Ingredients: Filtered and Revitalized Water, Live Kombucha Cultures, Unrefined Brown Sugar, and Oriental Beauty Oolong