Oriental Beauty: The Honey Oolong Made by Insects

Oriental Beauty (Dongfang Meiren, 東方美人, also called Bai Hao oolong) is a Taiwanese oolong from Hsinchu and Miaoli counties, made from young leaves bitten by a tiny insect, the tea green leafhopper (Jacobiasca formosana). The plant responds to the bites by producing aromatic compounds, and after heavy oxidation, around 60–80%, the tea tastes naturally of honey, muscat grape and ripe stone fruit, with no bitterness. It sits on the border with red tea. Brew it at 80–90 °C with short steeps, or cold-brew it: it's one of the best teas there is for that.

The first time I cold-brewed Oriental Beauty, I didn't believe it was unflavoured. I'd left a bottle in the fridge overnight during a July heatwave, and in the morning it tasted like chilled muscat grape juice with honey. Just leaves, water and, somewhere back in Taiwan, a few thousand very small insects. I've been fond of it ever since, especially on hot Slovenian afternoons, and I still think it's the best argument I know for how much nature does in a good tea. More in the oolong guide.

How the insects make the tea#

In the warm months, roughly May to August, a small green leafhopper (Jacobiasca formosana, about 3 mm long) feeds on the young shoots of tea bushes. When it pierces the leaves, the plant reacts by producing defensive aromatic compounds, among them linalool, which smells of flowers, and geraniol, which smells of rose. Those compounds, transformed during heavy oxidation, become the famous honey and fruit aroma.

The bitten shoots look a little curled and yellowish, and tea makers pick them by hand. Because the whole tea depends on the insects, the gardens have to be left unsprayed. Yields are small, and a good harvest depends on the weather and on having enough leafhoppers.

The same principle makes Gui Fei ("Imperial Concubine") oolong, a rolled, roasted tea from central Taiwan that appeared after the 1999 earthquake, when abandoned farms were overrun by leafhoppers. It has a rounder, baked-honey character. More on both in Taiwanese oolong.

Names and legends#

Oriental Beauty has several names:

• Dongfang Meiren (東方美人): "Oriental Beauty".
• Bai Hao Oolong (白毫烏龍): "white tip oolong", after the downy buds.
• "Boaster's tea" (peng feng cha): according to local lore, a farmer sold his bug-bitten tea for a surprisingly high price, and neighbours thought he was bragging.

The popular story that a British queen gave the tea its English name is almost certainly apocryphal. It's charming, but I wouldn't repeat it as history.

How it's made#

Oriental Beauty is picked in summer, with buds and young leaves bitten by leafhoppers. It's withered, shaken and oxidized much further than most oolongs, roughly 60–80%, then fixed, lightly rolled rather than balled, and dried. The result is a colourful dry leaf: white and silver tips, gold, red, brown and dark leaves all mixed together. The traditional variety is Qing Xin Da Mao.

With that level of oxidation it sits right next to red tea. Compare it with the red teas in my Chinese red tea guide: Oriental Beauty is lighter, more floral and fruitier.

How Oriental Beauty tastes#

• Dry leaf: honey and dried fruit.
• On the lid: honey, muscat grape, ripe peach, sometimes a hint of cinnamon or rose.
• In the cup: orange-amber, sweet, smooth, completely without bitterness.
• Finish: long and honeyed, with a slight lively sparkle some describe as "champagne".

How to brew Oriental Beauty#

Gongfu#

The leaf is fluffy, so 4 g looks like a lot; weigh it. Too hot and the delicate tips can turn slightly sharp. Full chart: gongfu brewing chart.

Western#

About 3 g per 300 ml, water at 80–90 °C, 3 minutes.

Cold brew (my favourite way in summer)#

About 6–8 g per litre of cold water, 8–12 hours in the fridge. Sweet, fruity, honeyed, no bitterness at all. See cold brew tea.

My session: a summer Oriental Beauty#

5 g in a 100 ml gaiwan, water at 88 °C, no rinse.

Steep 1 (15 s). Orange-gold. Honey and ripe peach on the lid. Sweet and silky.

Steep 2 (20 s). Muscat grape arrives, strong and clear. A lively finish.

Steep 4 (35 s). Honey and dried apricot, a hint of rose, still no bitterness.

Steep 7 (90 s). Lighter, sweet, a gentle honey fade.

Final count: 8 good steeps.

How to choose good Oriental Beauty#

• Colourful leaf: white tips, gold, red and brown. A mostly dark, uniform leaf suggests lower grade.
• Lots of downy tips in the top grades.
• Natural honey smell, not perfume. Heavily scented "honey oolongs" may be flavoured.
• Origin: Hsinchu and Miaoli are the classic areas.
• Summer harvest is the traditional one.

How to store it#

Airtight, dark, away from smells, at room temperature. Because it's heavily oxidized, Oriental Beauty is more stable than light green oolongs and keeps well for a couple of years; some people age it deliberately.

Myths about Oriental Beauty#

"It's flavoured with honey." No. The honey aroma comes from the plant's reaction to leafhopper bites and from oxidation.

"Bug-bitten means damaged, low-quality tea." Here it's the opposite: the bites are what make the tea.

"A British queen named it." A nice story, almost certainly invented.

"It's a red (black) tea." It's an oolong, though a heavily oxidized one, close to red tea.

My honest take#

If you want one tea that shows a sceptic how much flavour can come from leaves alone, brew Oriental Beauty. Hot at 80–90 °C in winter, cold-brewed in summer. And if you've ever doubted that tea can taste of grapes and honey without help, this is where you stop doubting.

The bottom line#

Oriental Beauty is Taiwan's bug-bitten, heavily oxidized honey oolong: muscat grape, peach, honey, no bitterness. Look for colourful, downy leaf from Hsinchu or Miaoli, brew it at 80–90 °C, and try it as cold brew.

Read next: milk oolong and Tieguanyin.