Oriental Beauty, Bai Hao Oolong

 東方美人茶

"Oriental beauty tea" is a Taiwanese medium-dark roasted oolong (about 50% oxidation), and is also known as Bai Hao Oolong (White tips oolong) because of its white tips, or Wu Se Cha (Five colours tea) due to the appearance of its dry leaves. 

Unlike almost all styles of tea produced around the world, this style does not originate from mainland China, but is a genuine Taiwanese innovation. Apart from the suitable climate -- permanently humid and temperate highlands -- and terroir, Taiwan's island boasts one other important feature; Cicadellidae Jacobiasca formosana, a leafhopper. The bite of the insect starts a process which -- if the leaves are picked soon after -- adds a pleasant, characteristic sweet-and-sour note to the tea.

This tea type is one of my absolute favourites. Its flavours remind me of good highland whiskey; honey, malt, nuts, flowers, some oak and a little smoke (tobacco). Alcohol is replaced by a sourness. If you like Clynelish, Highland Park, or Japanese whiskies, you are likely to enjoy this tea! An illustration of what Oriental Beauty tea is supposed to taste like:

Today, I'm brewing the Oriental Beauty from teaspring.com, and reminiscing about better ones I've drunk. When smelling the dry leaves, one gets a fair picture of how the brew will be. These leaves are strawy, dry-smelling, with something of a sweet-and-sour background. It is not as nutty, honeyed and fragrant as one would hope. It smells as though it has been stored too airily and lost intensity (though I believe it is actually merely a quality issue).

http://www.teaspring.com/Bai-Hao-Oolong.asp

Today's set-up, from the left: a fern; slop basin; decanter (cha hai);
 cups; teapot; utensils (cha dao); Kaikado copper cannister; tetsubin. 

I use ca 3g leaves in a 18cl YiXing teapot which I bought in Beijing, along with flower-shaped cups of similarly textured clay. As temperature is very important to fragrant teas I pre-heat the pot, decanter and cups before the first infusion, and cups and decanter before all consecutive brews. I also "wash" the tea leaves before the first brew, pouring slightly cooled water over the leaves and then pouring the brew over the teapot to wet it and, long term, add to its lustre.

YiXing ZiSha teapot and cups

1st infusion

Straw colour and too weak. Not much flavour, and watery; needs higher temperature to develop.
Brewed from ca 85°C for ca 45s.

2nd infusion

Light amber. Nice smooth texture. No longer watery, yet still weak in fragrance.
Brewed from ca 95°C for ca 1min.

3rd infusion

Light amber; slightly more opaque. More astringent without having gained much flavour with the added brewing time. Perhaps a little more honey, but the astringency overshadows any gain.
Brewed from 100°C for ca 2min.

4th infusion 

Amber. The best result. Still astringent, but now more balanced; to honey has been added nuts and malt, and a touch of tobacco. Pleasant, straightforward and without nose.
Brewed from 100°C for ca 3min.

After the fourth brew the tea lost intensity, and I was full, so I sipped the fifth and poured it over the teapot, letting the session come full circle.

Now, this tea is less expensive than others of its kind, and understandably so; it is less good. If above was an illustration of the promised profile, this is what I tasted today:

In truth, I exaggerate. My problem with this tea is that I really, really, like these flavours, and so I mainly sense what it ought to be; not the quite pleasant brew it actually is, drinkable in most situations, and -- I imagine -- functioning well with a variety of foods.

However, the question might ought not be "how does this tea compare to more expensive Bai Hao Oolong?", but "how does it compare to other types of tea in the same price range?" There are better medium-roast oolong for similar price, and I would recommend this Light roast Da Hong Pao.
http://www.yunnansourcing.com/store/product.php?id_product=851
It is not a replacement as such, since the flavour profile is quite different (greener, fresher), yet it is of similar oxidation level, with nice complexity for the price. I would rather buy something like this for everyday use and invest in a more expensive Oriental Beauty for select occasions. However, I am still looking for the optimal Oriental Beauty, and for now I refrain from promoting any specific item.