Oolong Teas

An Oolong Tea is an in-between tea: it is neither a Green Tea nor a Black Tea. In fact Oolong production is the process of stopping oxidisation before Green Tea becomes Black Tea.

Oolong Tea commands a position of excellence acknowledged by all tea connoisseurs. There are Oolongs of such high regard they attract celebrity status at auction.

Oolong is the best production of many famous tea gardens, with a prize best production considered as the grade they wish to be judged by.

The 3 main types of Oolong

There are at least 3 approaches to producing Oolong:

• First are the Green 10% Oolongs of China and Taiwan/Formosa. These are deliciously fresh and naturally fragrant teas. Capable of countless brews and highly sought after in China and Japan.

• Second are Black 60% Oolongs: famously from Fujian in China, with a smaller but not lesser quantity produced in Taiwan. A 60% Oolong offers a more complex tea, closer to black tea, with many aromas and flavours in various tones.

• A third Oolong production is called Pouchong. These are not strictly Oolong Teas, but they do belong in this category due to a light oxidisation used in production. Pouchong is 3% oxidised and much closer to Green Tea than other Oolongs.

Oolong production methods

Traditionally Oolong tea is produced from wild tea trees found growing on the side of steep Chinese mountains. Often these are large leaf varieties, as opposed to the smaller Chinese varieties found in Black Tea production.

Once plucked, fresh leaves are laid out to wither in the sun. This is followed by a light tossing which encourages the edges of the leaves to oxidise. This is in fact a light bruising, giving the outer edges of the leaf a slightly red tone.

There is no rolling process as in Green or Black Tea production. The tea master is king. He or she uses scent to judge the readiness of the tea before an application of high heat is used to stop oxidisation proceeding any further.

In Green Oolong, oxidisation is stopped at around 10 to 20 percent. In Black Oolong production oxidisation is arrested closer to 60 to 70 percent. Because of the nature of Oolong production these teas offer an excellent way to appreciate how tea changes in flavour from Green to Black, clearly showing the skill involved in quality tea production.

Because these teas are of such a high order each master will follow a tried and tested production for his or her plucked leaf. We will go into some of these productions in our newsletter. There are many methods of production, some involving wrapping the leaf in cotton or silk, some using a shaded solar method. There are many variations.