Our Story
A beautiful mistake
Did you know that oolong (烏龍) can mean “mistake” in Chinese?
There are many stories about how oolong came to be. Our favourite is a Taiwanese folk tale about a tea maker who left freshly harvested leaves to rest a little too long.
What seemed like a mistake turned into something unexpectedly delicious, and a new style of tea was born. We fell in love with the idea. In a world obsessed with getting everything just right, oolong reminds us that sometimes the best things happen when you leave a little room for happy accidents.
Stay curious, keep playing
Oolong was a constant part of my childhood growing up in Taiwan. Now living far from home, I wanted to bring a little piece of Taiwanese tea culture into our everyday life here in Australia, and share it with the people around us. But we didn’t create Toolong to make tea feel traditional or intimidating. We want to make single-origin oolong easy, fun and playful, with the same sense of discovery you get from exploring a good coffee or wine.
Oolong can be incredibly complex, with layers of floral, fruity, creamy, honeyed and roasted flavours. Each tea has its own personality, and that’s the fun part! Our mission is to help you explore the world of oolong and find teaware that makes you happy.
The contemporary table
Explore our collections, play with steeping times and water temperatures, try different ways of brewing, or simply drop the leaves into your favourite everyday mug.
Stay curious, keep playing, and maybe you’ll find your favourite tea by happy accident.
— Marge & Dani
Founders, Toolong Studio