Oolong Tea Basics
Oolong (in Chinese, Wulong) is a time-honored Chinese tea (derived from the Camellia sinensis plant) someplace betwixt green and black within oxidization. It varies from ten percent to seventy percent oxidization.
Wuyi oolong tea is rich with cultural resonance and a unique collection of stories shrouded in the mists of the Wuyi Mountains.
Within Chinese tea leaf culture, semi-oxidized oolong teas are together classified as “blue-green tea.” Wulong teas feature a sense of taste more akin with green tea than with black tea: it lacks the rosy, fresh fragrance of black tea yet it also doesn’t exhibit the stridently grasslike vegetable aroma which typify green tea.
These teas are generally brewed to become potent, with the bitterness providing a sweet aftertaste. Many sub-varieties of wulong, including those developed in the Wuyi Mountains of northerly Fujian and in the primary mountains of Taiwan, are amongst the most celebrated of Chinese teas.
Wu long tea leaves are cured in 2 different manners. A few teas are rolled into extended curly leaves, whilst some are pressed into a ball-like configuration similar to gunpowder tea. The former technique of treating is the older of the 2 methods.
The name oolong tea descends into the English language from the Chinese name wulong (in the Min Nan verbalized form). The Chinese name means “black dragon tea.” There are 3 broadly recognized accounts about how this Chinese name occurred.
Camellia sinensis connoisseurs classify the tea by its fragrance (frequently flowered or fruity), taste as well as aftertaste (often melon-like).
Oolongs come in either roasted or light. While many wulongs may be consumed at once, like pu-erh tea, many oolong teas might improve with long aging with regular light roasting on a low charcoal fire.