Oolong Tea

Oolong is mainly produced in Taiwan's mountainsides and in China's Fujian province, especially in the Wuyi Mountains. This semi-oxidized tea uses mature leaves that undergo a rigorous production process. 

They are withered for a few hours, then "rattled" or shaken to bruise the leaves and destroy the cell walls to aid flavor release during oxydation. The oxidation process can go on for hours, until the tea master decides that the tea has reached the correct level of oxydation.

The leaves are then fired to prevent further oxidation, rolled and then fired again, or roasted. Lightly oxidized oolongs are are shaped into small, shiny, dark-green pellets, while the more heavily oxidized oolongs become long, dark, twisted leaves.

Producing oolongs requires 6 steps :

1. Plucking

2. Whitering

3. Rolling

4. Oxidation

5. Firing/Drying

6. Sorting