09 November 2008

NO bug eggs here: clarifying the source of Oriental Beauty's sweetness

Oriental Beauty/Bai Hao oolong comes primarily from Taiwan's Hsinchu area, about an hour south of Taipei.  It's unique among oolongs in that it has an especially sweet taste, often described as honey-like, and the leaves range in color from whitish to dark-brown.

A close-up of Oriental Beauty leaves from my collection
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I can't remember exactly when or from whom I first heard it from, but there was the rumor that Oriental Beauty derived its sweetness from the eggs of insects that laid them only on the leaves of this type of tea.  After having heard this seemingly-absurd statement several times and even seeing this statement pop up online, I went to the source to find out the truth.
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Hsinchu is the "Silicon Valley" of Taiwan.  You'll find many high-tech companies here, including some of the world's largest semicondutor manufacturing companies.  When it comes to edible products, the city is known primarily for two things:  rice noodles and Oriental Beauty tea.
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I first asked the tea wholesaler Mr. Hong in Taipei about Bai Hao.  He responded as most tea experts would:  Oriental Beauty's sweetness is the product of a chemical reaction resulting from the mix of the tea leaf's juices and the insect's saliva.  He had never heard of the story about bug eggs being rolled in with the leaves - he thought that sounded totally disgusting.
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Coincidentally, I made some new friends that were from Hsinchu when I was in Taipei, and they took me down to their city for a tour.  We stopped by a small teastore and I had the chance to ask the teamaker about the source of his Bai Hao's sweetness.  His explanation was similar to Mr. Hong's, but he added that while it was entirely possible that bugs laid eggs on tea plants, that was most definitely neither common nor the source of the tea's distinctive flavor.
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The word of two experts and a host of articles that corrobated their stories should have been enough to put the rumor to rest.  However, I decided to take a closer look at the tea and see if my naked eye could detect any sign of eggs (Yes, I know, they are most likely microscopic). 
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It may not be entirely clear from the pictures above, but none of the leaves showed any sign of insect parts/eggs.  On the above-left picture, I brewed the tea in a clear bowl and looked for any eggs or small objects that would detach from the leaves and either float to the top or sink to the bottom - no such things were found.  An examination of the tea leaves showed no eggs either.
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However, I did notice that the shape of the Bai Hao leaves are more rounded.  I believe that this is due to the insects nibbling on the edges of the leaf, producing the reaction that results in the tea's flavor.  Below is a picture comparing a Bai Hao leaf to a leaf from a high mountain tea.
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Notice how smooth the edges of the Bai Hao Leaf on the left looks compared to the jagged little edges of the high mountain leaf. 
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There's a saying that Cantonese people will eat everything that flies except airplanes, and everything with four legs except tables and chairs.  Although the old saying applies to me too - with some exceptions - I can DEFINITELY do without bug eggs in my tea.

4 comments:

  1. rich, i don't know if i believe your idea that the rounded edges are due to the insects knibbling on the edges... hmmm..
    maybe it's just a different species of tea leaf?

    by the way, i really like oriental beauty!

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  2. Well, the bugs have to bite somewhere! Although it's my theory that the biting creates the rounded edges, I'll check when I get back to Hsinchu in a month.

    Tuff says hi to Mochi. Please help potty train!

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  3. i bought some oolong from chinatown (here in SF) and hadn't touched the bag for about a year when i pulled it out of the cupoard and it had LOTS of pill sized bugs in it.. scary i know but it is a true story.

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  4. Hajitosan, that is really gross, but not uncommon! Around Xmas of last year, I opened a bag of loose puerh and brewed it and found a ton of small insects on the bottom of my Gaiwan - looked like tiny strawberry seeds - that were probably left over from their dirty processing methods.

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