Collection: Oolong Tea

Oolong Tea

Oolong tea, also known as dark tea, is a kind of half-fermented tea with distinctive features in the tea category. It has not only the thick and fresh flavor of red tea，but also the fragrant aroma of green tea. After infusion, the middle tea leaves are green while those on the edge are red. People describe it vividly as "green leaves embroidered with red margin". Meanwhile, it is between non-fermented tea and fermented tea. Its aftertaste is sweet and fragrant. Among the six tea series, the tea ceremony of Oolong tea is the most complex and time-consuming and the brewing method is very exquisite, so Oolong tea is also called "Gongfu" tea.

Oolong tea is generally referred to as "semi-fermented" tea and is principally manufactured in China and Taiwan (still known as Formosa in tea terminology).

For the manufacture of China oolongs, the leaves must not be picked too soon and it is important that they are processed immediately after plucking. They are first wilted in direct sunlight, then shaken in bamboo baskets to lightly bruise the edges of the leaves. Next they are alternately shaken and spread out to dry until the surface of the leaf turns slightly yellow. The edges turn a reddish color as the chemicals in the bruised leaf react with oxygen. This fermentation or oxidation period (12-20 percent fermentation) is halted after 1-2 hours by firing. Oolongs are always whole leaf teas, never broken by rolling. Formosa oolongs undergo a longer fermentation period (60-70 percent) and are therefore blacker in appearance than China oolongs, and give a richer, darker liquor than the paler orangy-brown infusion of China oolong.

Pouchong is another variety of very lightly fermented tea that undergoes a shorter fermentation than oolongs and almost forms an extra category somewhere between green and oolong. Pouchongs originated in Fujian Province but most are now made in Taiwan and are often used as a base for Jasmine tea and other scented teas.

Oolong teas, known as partially or semi-oxidized (or partially or semi-fermented) and sometimes referred to as 'blue' or 'blue-green' teas, are traditionally manufactured in China and Taiwan, but other countries are now also producing them.

Two very different methods of production are used to manufacture two different styles of oolong - dark, open-leafed oolongs and greener, balled oolongs. Darker, open-lafed oolongs are made by withering the leaf in the sun outdoors and then indoors on bamboo baskets. This allows some of the water in the leaf to evaporate and starts the oxidation process. The leaves are turned every two hours and shaken or 'rattled' in the baskets to break the cells inside and on the surface of the leaf. When the oxidation level has reached about 70%, the leaf is turned for 5-10 minutes inside a hot panning machine to halt any further oxidation and then dried in hot ovens. These darker oolongs can be infused several times, give a pale amber liquor and have a soft fruity, honeyed character with undertones of peach and apricot.

The manufecture of the greener, rolled or 'balled' oolongs starts with the withering and tumbling of the leaf as for the darker oolongs. When they have reached 30% oxidation, the leaves are put through the hot panning machine for 5-10 minutes to stop any further oxidation, then dried and allowed to rest overnight Next day, the leaf is wrapped inside large cloths to form balls that contain 9 kg of tea. Each bag is tightened and then rolled in a special rolling machine to bruise and squeeze the leaves inside. The bag is then opened and the compacted leaf is separated and immediately wrapped into a ball again. This tying and rolling of the bags is repeated at least 36 times and sometimes up to 60 times until the leaves are tightly rolled up into rough green pellets. The semi-balled tea is then dried in large ovens. These greener oolongs can also be infused several times, give a very pale amber-green liquor and have a wonderful fragrant character that is often reminiscent of narcissus, hyacinth and lily of the valley.

Bao Zhong (Pouchong) teas are another type of oolong but because of a much shorter oxidation time, they are closer to green teas and have a much greener appearance.

The oolong tea is a semi-fermented tea, a unique tea variety of China. It is mainly produced in Fujian, Guangdong, and Taiwan. The oolong tea has the richness, freshness, and mellowness of black tea and the fragrance of green tea, but does not have the bitterness of the green tea and the astringent taste of the black tea.

Production of the oolong tea started by the end of the 16th century or the beginning of the 17th century. Its processing technique is very special. The fresh leaves should go through sunning, cooling, stir fixation (equivalent to green tea fixation), rolling, and baking. The dry tea is greenish brown and the tea soup is yellow and bright. The brewed tea leaves are bright. The tea soup tastes mellow and remains so after repeated brewing. After brewing, the tea leaves open up. The middle part is green and the edge is red, hence its nickname as "Green Leaves with Red Edge".

The oolong tea ranks first in preserving health. In addition, it performs well in resisting aging, cancer, and arteriosclerosis, and preventing and curing diabetes, reducing weight and keeping fit, preventing tooth decay, clearing heat, and countering the influence by cigarette smoking and alcohol.

Among the famous oolong teas are the Dahongpao from Mt. Wuyi, Anxi Tieguanyin (Iron Cioddess of Mercy), Dancong Tea from Mt. Phoenix, and Dongding Oolong Tea from Taiwan.

Literally "black dragon" tea, Wulong's history has little to do with fiery serpents, and much to do with its inventor, Wu Liang, who like many great inventors was aided by happenstance. Having just picked a bushel of particularly fragrant green leaves, he was distracted by a buck, and chased it quite forgetting to spread out his new leaves to dry. When he returned to them a day later, the leaves were already starting to change color. Wu Liang followed the firing process regardless, and stumbled on a mellow, aromatic concoction unlike any the world had previously tasted.

Our oolong tea is semi-fermented tea and is somewhere between green and black tea. Our oolong tea has a beautiful taste that pleases the taste buds with a smooth, fresh flavor and a sweet, lingering aftertaste, the tea taste between and green, not cold not hot, can eliminate heat, but also restore body fluid.

By mastering how to oxidize tea leaves, Chinese craftspeople have, over time, created a new family of teas, called Oolong. Threy are different from black teas in that they are only partially oxidized, and so Oolong teas fall between green and black teas. It was in the 17th century that growers developed the method of processing these teas that come from Fujian Province, especially from the Wuyi mountains and the Anxi district.

Because of the vastness of the Chinese territory, the great variety of cultivars grown there and the different processing methods used, Oolong teas come in a wide range of aromas and tastes. However, Oolong teas fell into two main categories: teas that may be 10 percent to 45 percent oxidized and are close to green teas, and teas that may be up to 70 percent oxidized and are closer to black teas. As for taste, the Oolong teas that are less oxidized (green Oolongs) are generally distinguished by their more delicate, floral aromas, whereas the more oxidized Oolong-teas (black Oolongs) have more woody notes and are sometimes fruity or even a bit sweet.

In the following paragraphs we will examine the processing of Oolong teas more closely, and we will explore this further in the chapter on Taiwan.

PICKING

Black Oolong teas are produced from highly mature leaves. The leaves will be larger and more mature than those chosen for the production of green tea, for example. Often three leaves will be picked in addition to the bud.

WITHERING

Withering is usually carried out on cloths outside, but bamboo racks are also often used. The leaves are left for about two hours, depending on the weather conditions. There are sun withering and indoor withering. The former, also known as sunning, is to evaporate some water in the fresh leaves to soften the materials in the leaves, and thus to attain the degree of fermentation. Indoor withering, also known as cold withering, is to make fresh leaves wither in the room naturally.

Shaking

This is the key to make the tea green. The withered tea undergoes 4 to 5 times of green tea leaf shaking, the fresh leaves will make a series of biologic and chemical actions to form the unique feature of "green leaves embroidered with red margin" and the distinctive aroma of Oolong tea.

OXIDATION

Next comes the very important stage of oxidation, which governs the development of the sensorial characteristics of the leaves. When processed manually, the leaves are spread on racks and stirred regularly for 12 to 18 hours in order to break down the cell structure and release the oils, facilitating the oxidation process. During mechanical processing, the leaves are heated at ambient humidity in rotating cylinders at temperatures varying from 77 to 86°F (25 to 30°C), for about eight hours.

HEATING

Next, the leaves are heated to stop the oxidation process. The traditional method uses the same type of vat used to dehydrate green teas. Mechanical processing involves using a rotating cylinder.

ROLLING

To obtain the twisted leaves typical of Chinese black Oolong teas, the same machine is used for preparing twisted-leaf green teas or rolling the leaves for black teas. Traditionally, the leaves were rolled manually on a bamboo mat.

DRYING AND FIRING

The leaves are then dried in a rotating cylinder for 10 to 20 minutes at a temperature ranging from 230 to 250°F (110 to 120°C).
Finally, the firing stage is the same as the firing process for Taiwanese Oolong teas but at higher temperatures. The leaves are usually fired twice, and temperatures can vary according to the region of production. In the case of mechanical processing, an electric machine is used to heat the leaves to higher temperatures. It must be noted that firing is not necessarily done immediately after drying the leaves. It is possible to wait several months after the initial processing.

Shape

High-quality Oolong tea strips are fat, strong and curved while poor Oolong tea's strips are loose.

Luster

High-quality Oolong tea is green or black while the poor Oolong tea is brown, orange or red.

Aroma

High-quality Oolong tea has the scent of flowers while the poor has the scent of smoke smelling or other odor. Hold the dry tea in both hands bury ourselves close the tea. Inhale three times. If the fragrance lasts and even become thicker and thicker. the is top tea. Yet the inferior is insuficient aroma and the worst has the smell of grass and other odors.

Liquid

High-quality Oolong tea liquid is orange or golden yellow, clear and bright while the liquid of inferior tea is dark red with turbidity.

Taste

High-quality of Oolong tea tastes good and fresh while the bad tastes mild, bitter and astringent.

Brewed tea leaves

High-quality Oolong tea is "green leaves embroidered with red trim". The green leaves are green with yellow while the red part is bright. The green part of the inferior is dark while the red part is dark red. Oolong tea boutique Tie Kwan-yin, Dongding Oolong, Wuyi Dahongpao, Wuyi Rougui, Wuyi Narcissus, Huangjin Gui, Fenghuang Dancong, Alishan Oolong, Yongchun bergamot and so on.

Effects of Oolong tea

First, Oolong tea has outstanding cosmetic effects. It contains a large number of polyphenols which can lower neutral fat in serum and cholesterol. It has the effect of anti-oxidation and antiaging and keeps the skin moistened and flexible. Japanese people call it "beauty tea". Second, Oolong tea contains a variety of minerals. It strongly decomposes and digests fat and inhibits the accumulation of cholesterol. Thus it can make people lose weight significantly. It is also called "fit tea".

Difference between Oolong tea and green tea

Oolong tea and green tea are produced from the same kind of tea tree. Fermentation is their difference. Green tea is not fermented and retains a lot of vitamins. Being semi-fermented, Oolong tea not only reduces the astringency of tea but also produces antioxidant catechins and polyphenols. So it has many medical effects which most green tea does not have.

Tea Set Suitable for Brewing the Oolong Tea

There are four major oolong tea branches, namely South Fujian Oolong, North Fujian Oolong, Guangdong Oolong, and Taiwan Oolong. Each branch has its own brewing techniques and unique requirements on tea set.

North Fujian Oolong is known for its unique charm of rock. The representatives of this branch include Dahongpao (Big Red Robe), Baijiguan (White Comb), Shuijingui (Water Golden Turtle), Tieluohan (Iron Arhat), Shuixian (Narcissus), and Rougui (Cinnamon). They’d better be brewed with Yixing purple sand teapot, because purple sand can take some heat away from the tea. Besides, white porcelain tureen is also a commonly-used tea set for brewing rock tea.

The representatives of South Fujian Oolong are Tieguanyin and Huangjingui. They'd better be brewed with white porcelain tea set or purple clay tea set.

Guangdong Oolong is represented by Phoenix Dancong. It had better be brewed with the purple clay teapot. White porcelain tea set can also be used to enjoy the shape of the tea leaves and the color of the tea soup. The representatives of Taiwan Oolong include Dongding Tea and Mt. Ali Tea, both being slightly-fermented teas. They'd better be brewed with the porcelain tea set produced in Taiwan.