Oolong teas are generally not as famous or as well-known as green and black teas, but I think they have the most amazing and diverse spectrum of flavors, aromas and liquor colors of all the tea categories.
Oolongs flavors range from soft delicate greens to floral to buttery to heavy roasted flavors.
The tea traditionally comes from China and Taiwan, but many tea-producing countries are beginning to produce oolong-style teas. They are not the classic profile of the original oolong producing countries which comes from years of expertise from the dedicated farmers and the knowledge passed down from generations.
Oolong comes from the leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant, but the flavor comes from the way it is processed and the varietal that is chosen.
There are many varieties and hundreds of named cultivars used to produce oolong. China has more than 100 registered cultivars.
Some famous examples are Tie Guanyin, Quing Xin and from the Taiwan Jin Xuan cultivar which produces the well-known Milk Oolong. There are also many Wuyi bush types which produce the beautiful rock oolongs of Fujian province.
Although there is no precise measurement registered for the oxidization level of oolong it varies from levels like a light green tea through to levels of black tea (which can also vary in oxidization level). Some will say 5 percent oxidization to 90 percent oxidization but as I say there is no exact, precise measurement.
Different Styles
Then there are the styles of oolong: strip styles, ball rolled, semi-ball rolled and open leaf.
With strip-style oolongs they are long twisted leaves, this style is often used for Dancong, Phoenix oolongs or Wuyi Rock oolongs.
With Dancong oolong, which is produced in Guandong, China you can experience flavors of highly aromatic, perfumed notes. Intense flavors of honey, orchids, almonds and fruit and a strong after sweetness. The liquor color is usually a vibrant golden, green.
With Wuyi Rock oolongs which are produced in Fujian province you will discover cocoa, baked fruits, toasted grains and soft charcoal. One of the most famous Wuyi Rock Oolongs is of course Da Hong Pao but there are many others that are just as delicious as Rou Gui known for its notes of cinnamon. The liquor of these oolongs is orange to amber and then deep amber to ruby for the more heavily oxidized. A great oolong to suggest for the coffee lover.
With the ball rolled style oolong these are tightly rolled pellets and are classic in the Tie Guan yin style, Tung Ting or Dong Ding and Taiwanese Gaoshan or Jade oolongs. These delicious, little pellets can produce a brew up to eight to ten times if it is high quality.
The flavors can be from a creamy, elegant style with high floral notes to nutty, caramel and toasty notes.
The open leaf style of processing is used to produce Fairy oolong or Oriental Beauty.
The flavors you can expect from Fairy Oolong are soft, subtle vegetal notes while from Oriental Beauty you can expect honey like flavor with soft citrus fruits. The liquor color is bright golden. This unique honey like tea flavor comes from the leaf been bitten by an insect called a Jassid prior to plucking.
Production
So how is Oolong produced?
Firstly, the leaves are partially oxidized through withering, bruising, shaping and drying. Depending on the plucking required, it can be from one bud plus two to four leaves. Fresh leaves are spread in the sun or indoors to help lose moisture and this in turn softens the leaf ready for processing.
Next, we have the bruising and shaking where the leaves are gently tumbled to help break the cell walls. The leaves are rested in between been shaken so the farmer can manage the flavor, aroma and color of the leaf.
The next step is the heating or kill-green process where the leave are heated in a pan or tumbler to lock in the oxidization levels.
The next steps are very critical where the leaves, while still warm are rolled into strips or if ball rolled in a special, large cloth. Originally, they were wrapped in a cloth and hand rolled on a mat, they are now still wrapped in the cloth, and it is mostly rolled on a machine.
The material and leaves can be undone many times and the leaves teased, re wrapped in the cloth and rolled repeatedly to produce the perfect product. This process can be done many, many times.
Different styles of oolongs can then undergo baking or roasting to produce the final flavor and liquor profiles. Baking the finished tea can produce Baked Tie Guan Yin and charcoal baking/roasting over embers can produce the chocolatey Wuyi Rock oolongs.
We must add here the sorting as this takes skilled hands to select the best oolongs and can take hours to produce 1kg of high-quality oolong.
Brewing varies with the style of oolong and the darker the style the more heat it can tolerate. The brewing range is somewhere between 85-95 C or 185-205F and most oolongs can achieve multiple brews.
For the type of brewing vessel using either a Galwan or an Yixing teapot are perfect.
Sharyn Johnston is CEO & director of Australian Tea Masters.