Most Americans will encounter hot oolong tea when they visit their local Chinese restaurant for a sit-down meal. The slightly bitter, slightly sweet tea served up before the meal is usually oolong.

In most cities, you can find a wide variety of oolong teas at your local Asian supermarket. Always get a package that's labeled in both English and Chinese: the best oolong teas are the ones targeted at Chinese people. I personally like Foojoy tea bags, which cost around $2.50 for a box of 100.

You can drink oolong hot, or you can drink it cold. In Japan (and presumably other Asian countries), oolong tea is brewed and sold in cans, which can be heated during the winter months or chilled during the summer months. In the US, cold oolong tea is rarely seen: a shame, in my lofty opinion.

Because oolong is in the twilight zone between black tea and green tea, it doesn't taste right if you make it with boiling water or cold water. The best way to make oolong tea is with hot water, at about the same temperature as hot tap water.

In the summertime, you can make very tasty oolong sun tea in a matter of minutes by placing three or four bags in a transparent pitcher, filling the pitcher with hot tap water, and placing it in the sunlight until the water has turned a murky shade of brown. Refrigerate it until it's nice and cold, and then drink it without ice (to keep the flavor intact).

A pitcher of cold oolong tea is the first step in overcoming your addiction to soda, and a pot of hot oolong tea is the first step in burning your ass up with General Tso's Chicken.

Oolong himself tells me that the water should be hotter, although I've found that it doesn't need to be ridiculously hot... just steamy. Albert Herring is repulsed by the idea of using tap water, as any herring should rightfully be. My way is just what I like; feel free to find your own.