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Solar withering is an important part of achieving the desired level of oxidation in oolong teas. (Courtesy of Eco-Cha).
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Tea leaves harvested during the 2022 season. (Courtesy of Teasenz.com).
Oolong is considered a tricky tea to produce. Four experts share their insight into the hard work poured into making oolong.
Tea producers might become proficient enough to make a decent oolong given a few years, but it can take decades to truly become a master. “After getting to know a lot of farmers and tea makers over the last 25 years, I think generally the people in this trade could call themselves a master after 20 years of continuous tea making,” says Andy Kincart, founder of Eco-Cha, a company dedicated to the tea industry of Taiwan. What does it to take to make oolong from cultivation and manufacturing to the cup?
Varieties of Oolong
The main differences that separate tea varieties — white, green, black, oolong — do not lie with the plant itself. These teas are made from similar species of plants. Rather, it is how the plant is processed that results in a specific type of tea. Oolong itself defies classification into neat categories.
“The more you learn about tea, the more you learn that what separates certain green and oolong teas is very little,” says Taylor Cowan, co-founder of Chicago-based tea company Spirit Tea. “Hard categories definitely aid our understanding but slightly downplay the miraculous nature that any variety of tea plant can be harvested to produce any style. More and more, we’re seeing producers experiment with this very concept.”
While some types of tea are relatively easy to produce, oolong stands out as one of the most complex. It is characterized by a variety of different flavors, depending on how it is processed. Words like earthy, fruity, woody, rich, bright, and dense can all be used to describe oolong, which is often considered a midpoint between green and black tea.
At the broadest level, oolong is often categorized based on where it is produced. While oolong can be made throughout the world, China and Taiwan are considered two of the top countries for this type of tea. Oolong finds its classical hailing grounds in Fujian, China, says Cowan. “Though in my humble opinion, Taiwan is home to the most innovative, beautiful, and complex oolong in the world today.”
Oolong can be further differentiated by its shape. Some oolongs are a strip shape and others are made in a ball or globe style — often referred to as dragon pearls, which delicately unfurl as the tea brews. Partial roll is yet another shape.
Cultivation
The creation of different oolongs begins with its cultivation. While the plant might be the same — typically Camellia sinensis — the terroir of the tea has a significant influence on the final product.
“The terroir, sunlight, precipitation, and the weather on the tea-harvesting day influence tea production,” explains Cindy Chen, a tea farmer with Chen Family Farms in the Fujian province of China. “Taiwanese low-oxidized oolong tea is more widely accepted due to its aroma and smooth liquor. In contrast, the market for Wuyi rock tea is much smaller as it tends to attract people who are really into tea...and have at least two years of the tea-drinking experience.
”The mineral-rich soil of Wuyishan, Fujian is responsible for producing the rock flavor, according to Sam Lin, founder of Teasenz, a Chinese tea wholesale and retail company. “Wuyishan mainly produces dark oolongs, with higher oxidations levels relative to light oolong teas from Anxi [county in China] and Taiwan,” he says.
Regardless of where the tea is being grown, it takes skill to harvest the tea. The growing season can vary depending on the variety of tea; it can also be influenced by whether or not the producer uses fertilizer or pesticides. Some more prolific varieties can be harvested multiple times per year. For some high-end oolongs, harvest takes place only once a year, according to Lin.
Once the window for harvest arrives, producers are subject to changeable weather conditions that can affect the character of the tea leaves. “It can be almost disastrous when a farmer harvests most or all of their seasonal yield, and then it suddenly starts raining,” says Lin
Processing
Once the tea is harvested, processing is the next step. Differentiation in flavor continues in this phase of creating oolong. Oolong is considered a partially oxidized tea, although some varieties are barely oxidized and others, almost completely oxidized, according to Cowan. Oxidation, which helps producers achieve specific flavor notes in the tea, is achieved by bruising the tea leaves and then heating the leaves until the desired effect is achieved. The leaves are then typically left to set overnight before being shaped.
Depending on the variety being made, some leaves will be roasted after oxidation. “For unroasted oolong, such as High Mountain Tea, it takes about 36 hours to process the leaves once they arrive at the factory,” says Kincart. “Traditionally made oolongs that involve much more extensive oxidation can take 48 hours or more.” Other varieties can be even more time-intensive. For example, making Tie Guan Yin includes a step in which producers wrap the leaves in cloth and set to steam. Roasting this tea can take 40-60 hours, according to Kincart.
Over time, the roasting process evolved. “In the early days, charcoal roasting was very primitive and didn’t have many changes; now, it is more sophisticated in the process, leading to better performance in taste and aroma,” says Chen. “Cold roasting is a newly invented technique where farmers use air-conditioners to lower the temperature to roast the tea, creating a distinctive aroma for the tea.”
Making oolong tea takes multiple steps, which are often specific to the producer. Even then, the process can change from batch to batch, as master producers react to changing conditions.
Selling oolong
Grown all over world, oolong is readily available to consumers interested in drinking this tea in its many forms. “In the past, mostly cheap teas were sold online, while expensive teas were bought from people you knew offline,” says Lin. But he is seeing the rise of ecommerce, with more high-end oolongs being marketed and available through online retail. “Another trend is that many tea gardens are investing in their own brands and selling directly to consumers,” he says.