Oolong Tea 乌龙茶

Also known as, Wuyi Oolongs, Rock Oolongs, Yancha and many others

This region offers plenty of teas remarkably like each other and processed using the same technology, Da Hong Pao, Water Golden Turtle, Cinnamon, Daffodil etc. They are commonly named Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe). This is both the name of the separate tea type and the brand name of the tea originating from this region. Basically, every tea from Wuyi Mountains may be sold as Da Hong Pao but in specialized shops committed to the Chinese tea culture tea types will be distinguished. This region is the ancestor of all Oolongs.  

The color of a good leaf is achieved in the middle of May, then followed by several weeks of production and roasting of Oolong. The leaf is twisted a little but keeps the form of the ribbon. Tea leaves are big, dark-brown or even black in color. The brew gains a cognac color, strong taste and in most cases savors of the floral scent.

By color and strength, the brew resembles European black tea. Wuyishan was one of the first regions actively trading tea with Europe, and it is where North Fujian teas that began acquaintance of the Europeans with the dark tea. Chinese say that the name of the whole field of black teas has acquired its name from Oolongs. Oolong translates as “black dragon” therefore the merchants have started to shorten names of all dark teas to black.

Wuyi Mountain region is famous for its twisted, roasted oolongs known for having the "rock taste" or yan wei. The rock taste comes from the thin layer of rockier soil they grow in, leading them to be known as "rock tea" or yan cha

Hong Pao or Big Red Robe or Wuyi Rock Tea is a famous rock tea, with a robust mineral and roasted nuts flavor.

Shui Xian or Water Sprite or Fujian Rain with mostly peachy honey and mineral notes

 Even with several Oolongs are cultivated in this location, the region is famous for Tie Guan Yin which name translates as “Iron Bodhisattva Guan Yin” or “Iron Goddess of Mercy”. The word “iron” in its name is not accidental. Tea leaves are harsh and heavy as iron. Tea processing procedure customary in the region includes tight rolling of leaves into balls, nevertheless the harshness of the leaf makes Tie Guan Yin balls the least firm. The tea is easy to recognize by its infirmly rolled leaves. 

 Traditionally Tie Guan Yin was heavily roasted, it was characterized by dark brew and deep velvety taste. However, in recent years there is a trend for the light roasting of the leaf which preserves the astringency of the green tea while giving bright floral aroma. Therefore, the market offers both lightly roasted and traditional Tie Guan Yin. However, this tea is produced in such an abundance and processed in so many ways, that its variety available at the market is vast. While the specialized shops provide information on the types of processing and other features of the tea, regular traders offer it under the general brand name of Tie Guan Yin. 

The teas grown in Anxi county are similar to Taiwanese oolong. The famous ones are greener, ball-rolled varieties. The most popular Anxi oolong, and maybe the most renowned oolong, is Ti Kuan Yin. 

 Ti Kuan Yin or Iron Goddess of Mercy is a medium roasted style oxidized tea, most famous for its orchid notes. Kuan Yin is the buddha goddess of compassion.

 Guangdong province produces only one type of Oolong, Lonely Bushes from the Mountain of Phoenix. This tea is known from the ancient times of the Song Dynasty (10-13 century). Tea leaves in this area are very aromatic with at least   

 It is common to hear statements that this tea is hallucinogenic. All of them originate from the way the tea is prepared in municipal area of Chaozhou, Guangdong province. There it is customary to make the Lonely Bushes tea brew extraordinarily strong. The tea pot is stuffed with the as much tea as possible, poured over with boiling water and is left to brew. The resulting tea is extremely astringent, and this astringency gives sweet aftertaste and together with wild aroma you get strong, bright and wonderful taste impressions. The tradition is called the Chaozhou ceremony. Some overzealous individuals brew the tea so strong and drink it so much without preparing their bodies, that they may occasionally get poisoned and see hallucinations. 

 Tea came to Taiwan rather late in 17-18 centuries. Oolong bushes were imported from Fujian, but the teas produced were predominantly green and flower. The production of Oolongs started in the beginning of 19-th century. It turned out that the island perfectly fits for cultivation of Oolongs in particular, the higher in the mountains they were planted, the tastier and fragrant was the tea. In time Oolong production became the brand identity of Formosa. Taiwan has inherited two ways of Oolong processing, North Fujian, in the form of a ribbon and South Fujian, rolled in balls. 

 The most frequent to come across in Taiwan Oolong is lightly roasted, rolled in tight balls. This was the tea that won over America and Europe. In Taiwan Oolong grows at many mountains, peaks, rocks and canyons. But it became customary to name the tea after the name of the main mountain range. For example, Alishan tea, while the Alishan mountains range thousands of kilometers, therefore, quite often in various locations and in different years, flavors of the tea may vary. 

 Taiwan is mostly known for its high mountain greener ball-rolled oolongs customarily named after the mountain area. 

Bi Hou or Oriental Beauty with flavors of apricot or nectarines and brown sugar. The sweetness comes from aphids attacking the tea plant during the summer months. The plant secretes an enzyme that fights off the insects, creating a sweetness like nectarines.

Jin Xuan or Milk Oolong or Golden Lily has milky cream and butter notes to sweet floral.

Dong Ding or Frozen Summit is traditionally a dark roasted oolong with a nutty taste. It's a very high mountain tea with more floral, sweet notes in the lighter roast