What's in a name? Where is it grown? What are popular types of oolong? How to brew? How to store? All you need to know to get started on oolong tea

1. Peony Tea S. – Celebrating the contemporary
art of tea
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2. Oolong tea is a category of tea
◦ One of the six major categories of tea- green,
white, yellow, black, dark (often erroneously called
Pu-erh which is a type of dark tea) and oolong
Oolong is basically an earlier form of the
Chinese word 乌龙 which is spelt ‘wu long’ in
Hanyu Pinyin
Popular types of oolong include Tieguanyin,
Big Red Robe and Dong Ding Oolong
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3. Literally translated- ‘乌’ black ‘龙’ dragon
Likely named after the shape of the tea leaves
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4. Many fables, the tea picking hunter Hu Liang,
the sleepy tea picker and the rebels
Commonality of the tales
◦ Accidental discovery- rattling of the leaves which is
crucial to production of oolong
◦ Originates either from Northern Fujian (Minbei) or
Southern Fujian (Minnan)
◦ Likely to be sometime in the 17th century since by
1717, there was documented proof that oolong tea
is commonly available in Fujian
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5. Detailed processes vary across regions and producers but basically
production of oolong has the following 5 steps:
Rattling or
Withering Shaqing Rolling Drying
'Yao Qing'
(萎凋) (杀青） (揉捻) (干燥)
(摇青)
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6. Sub-divided by geographical region
◦ Guangdong
◦ Minbei (Northern Fujian)
◦ Minnan (Southern Fujian)
◦ Taiwan
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7. Guangdong Oolong
Guangdong
Province
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8. Famous variants
◦ Phoenix Dancong- Phoenix Mountain, Chaozhou
◦ Rao Ling Dancong- Rao Ling, Chaozhou
Pictured is a Phoenix
Dancong- Honey Orchid
Fragrance (Mi Lan Xiang)
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9. Dancong or 单丛 is sometimes translated as
‘single trunk’
Early dancong were made from same tree but in
recent decades dancong come to denote tea
made plucked from trees grafted of the same
parent plant
Dancong has different fragrances which gives it
its name- Mi Lan Xiang (Honey Orchid
Fragrance), Xin Ren Xiang (Almond Fragrance)
These fragrances are completely natural and no
non-tea ingredients are added
Phoenix Dancong are known for their ‘shan yun’
山韵- Mountain Harmony
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10. Minbei Oolong
Fujian
Province

11. Famous variants
◦ Wuyi Rock Tea (Yan Cha) including Big Red Robe,
Wuyi Sacred Lily (Shuixian), Cockscomb (Ba Ji Guan),
Wuyi Cassia- Wuyishan, Fujian
◦ Minbei Shuixian- Jian Ou Fujian
Pictured is Wuyi Sacred Lily
(Shuixian)
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12. Oolong tea grown within Wuyishan
Officially definition tightened to restrict it to
teas grown within the core-producing area
known as zheng yan ‘正岩’
Famous variants include the 4 Famous
Bushes- Big Red Robe, White Cockscomb,
Iron Arhat and Golden Turtle, Wuyi Sacred Lily
and Wuyi Cassia
Wuyi Rock Tea are known for their ‘yan yun’
岩韵- Rock Harmony
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13. Minnan Oolong
Fujian
Province

14. Famous variants
◦ Anxi Iron Goddess (Tieguanyin)
◦ Golden Cassia (Huang Jin Gui)
◦ Yongchun Buddha Hand (Yong Chun Fo Shou)
Pictured is Anxi Iron Goddess
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15. One of the most well-known of Chinese tea
Grown in Anxi, Fujian and is one of the most
valued of all oolong
Can be made in traditional style (charcoal
baked), medium roast or the newer ‘green
style’
Iron Goddess are known for their ‘yin yun’ (音
韵) – Goddess Harmony
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16. Taiwan Oolong
Taiwan

17. Famous variants
◦ Dong Ding Oolong
◦ Wenshan Baozhong
◦ Taiwanese High Mountain Oolong (Gaoshan Cha)
such as San Lin Xi, Alishan, Lishan, Da Yu Lin
Pictured is Dong Ding
Oolong
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18. Grown in Lugu, Taiwan, Dong Ding literally
means ‘frozen summit’
The seedlings were believed to have
originated from Wuyishan
Dong Ding Oolong are known for their ‘hou
yun’ (喉韵) – Throat Harmony
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19. Recommended Brewing Utensil
Recommended size- 90 ml- 200 ml
Recommend to serve with small cups
Gaiwan (盖碗) Yixing Pot (宜兴壶)
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20. Guangdong Minbei Minnan Taiwan
Water 85ºC 90-95ºC 95-100ºC 95-100ºC
temperature
Infusion time 30 sec 45-60 sec 60 sec 30-45 sec
Quantity 1/3 of 1/3 of 1/5 of 1/5 of
utensil utensil utensil utensil
Just a guide- depends on personal preference, type of tea
and utensil used
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21. 1. Warm the pot with hot water
2. Add tea leaves
3. Add hot water and decant within 5 seconds
4. Discard the water
5. Add hot water again
6. Infuse for the recommended time
7. Decant into a serving pitcher
8. Serve and enjoy
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22. Type Shelf life Storage Method
‘Green style’ 6-12 Double seal in air-tight opaque container
mths and store in a fridge at circa 4-10ºC
When removing from fridge, wait half an
hour for leaves to ‘warm’ to room
temperature before removing from
container
Medium 18-24 Store in cool, dark, dry, air-tight, odor free
Roast mths container
Dark Roast Improves Store in cool, dark, dry, air-tight, odor free
with age container
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23. To be discussed in a later post on
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