China Oolong Tea Leaves

What is Oolong? Oolong (or Wu-long), meaning black dragon (or snake) in Chinese, has many types of tea to its name as a loose leaf category.

Oolong loose leaf teas differ from Green and White tea in that it goes through an oxidisation process which 'bruises' the leaves (breaking the cell structure of the leaf by varying degrees from 20% to 60%). The best way to explain this is to compare it to when you eat an apple and leave the core for a while, it turns brown. The same principle happens to the tea leaf. You will notice this when you tip out the spent oolong tea leaves, you should note reddish/brownish edges to the leaves (depending on the amount of oxidisation).

Oolong takes two forms usually. The oldest is where the leaf is twisted up along the length of the leaf (for example, Wuyi Dancongs or Phoenix oolong), and the newer form that has the leaf twisted up into a tight ball (for example Huang Jin Gui).

Flavour note profiles from Oolong loose leaf teas vary from buttery, orchid, and vegetal to fruity, spice, or dried fruit.