We often use analogies to help new tea drinkers relate to unfamiliar teas. We find that It is easier to understand traditional teas in the modern context of third wave coffee, single origin chocolate, or even locally sourced vegetables. More than anything, though, wine makes an apt comparison, from the vast array of grape varieties to the aging potential of certain bottles. For wine lovers with developed palates, tea can offer a new (and nonalcoholic) world of taste and knowledge to explore. Here are five reasons people who appreciate wine will also love tea.

The advantages of drinking green tea are nothing to scoff at, but brewing the leaves in water only extracts a portion of the available nutrients and antioxidants. To get the most out of your green tea leaves, you can also eat them!

For the best flavor and maximum nutritional value, it’s best to seek out green teas made of the young buds of the tea plant that are picked in the springtime. These baby leaves are naturally sweet and tender, much like baby spinach or arugula. In Hangzhou, where high quality green teas are an integral part of local culture, some tea drinkers are even known to eat the leaves straight from their cup after brewing.

It’s been proven many times that color can dramatically influence our perceptions of flavor. For example, adding dye to a white wine causes tasters to describe the flavors of red wine. This psychological quirk makes sense in the context of ripening fruit or vegetables, but doesn’t apply equally to all foods and beverages in our modern world.

In the context of tea, the association between color and flavor seems logical enough at first. You may know, for instance, that steeping tea leaves in hotter water, or leaving them to brew for a longer amount of time, will generally increase the intensity of both color and flavor in the cup. But this logic breaks down as soon as we start to consider a broader selection of teas. While the varying levels of oxidation between tea categories does produce a wide range of flavors, the differences between them can hardly be compared on a linear scale, much less one based on color.

In fact, despite the fact that some of the finest green and white teas barely have any color to the liquor at all, the impact of flavor is undeniable on the tongue. For these teas, the lack of color in the brew is actually a sign of high quality flavor.

It’s no secret that changing the way you brew a tea can dramatically change the flavor in your cup. Though we always offer specific brewing guides for each of our teas, we always recommend experimenting to find the perfect brewing technique for your palate. Formosa oolong teas, in particular, can produce a wide array of flavors depending on how they are brewed. Here are three of our favorite methods for brewing this unique style.