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Oolong Tea
Oolong (wulong) is the most complex of all Chinese teas. One tea master, Lin Zhi, compared tea to painting saying that oolongs were like oil paintings, while black tea was like water colors, and green tea like Chinese ink paintings. Oolongs fall between green tea and black tea in the level of oxidation. Green tea is not oxidized at all, and black tea is almost 100% oxidized. Oolongs may range from 5% to 70% percent oxidized.

Oolong teas were first developed in the Wuyi mountains, which is the same area black tea was invented. At this time Oolong tea was called Ming Bei Wulong (oolong). From here Oolong tea spread to the south, to the Anxi area, and then to Guangdong province to the Chaozhou area (Phoenix Mountain), and then to Taiwan around 1810. Taiwan at the time was still part of Fujian province. From this evolution four general types of oolong were created: Wu Yi Rock Mountain Oolong, Anxi Oolong, Guangdong Dan Chong and Taiwanese Oolong.

Oolong teas have a few different characteristics that separate them from other types of tea. The picking and harvest time is focused on bigger leaves that are rich in aromatic oils. The growing conditions favor high mountainous areas with rocky and sandy soil. The goal of production is to bruise the leaves in some way, causing a controlled oxidation process, and the controlled removal of water from the leaves. The level of moisture in the tea is determined by the tea master by look, touch, and especially by smell. The smell of the leaves is critical, and tea masters do everything they can to avoid catching a cold during the tea making season.

Oolongs have become of interest to the West because of the current research being done with obesity, but oolongs have been famous for hundreds of years for aiding digestion, curing headaches, cleansing the system from excessive use of smoke and alcohol.
To see our complete inventory of Oolong teas please visit our online store.