Oolong Tea

Oolong Tea (乌龙茶) is made of Camellia sinensis (small-leaf or medium-leaf tea) leaves, most oolong teas, especially those of fine quality, involve unique tea species that are exclusively used for particular Oolong teas. The Oolong teas are normally picked when it has grown to 3-4 fresh leaves in the afternoon of sunny days, to achieve stronger flavors. It is semi-fermented through a complicated process including repeated withering, green-making, baking, rolling and pressing, further repeated baking, then drying. The process green-making gets the tea to be partial fermented through controlled oxidation, the further repeated baking over fire helps to achieve particular flavors. Different styles of oolong tea can vary widely. They can be sweet and fruity with honey style, or woody and thick with roasted aromas, or green and fresh with complex characters, depending on the species, environment of growth and style of production. Several types of oolong tea, including those produced in the Wuyi Mountains of northern Fujian, such as numerous varieties of Rocky tea (岩茶) and Da Hong Pao (大红袍), are among the most famous Chinese teas. Besides those Oolong from northern Fujian, the Oolong teas from southern Fujian such as TieGuanYin (Iron Goddess of Mercy铁观音), the Oolong from Taiwan are also very popular too. Oolong is especially popular in southern China, the Fujian tea brewing process for Oolong tea known as the GongFu tea ceremony is practiced in many homes and tea events there.