Increase Your Tea Pleasure with Captivating Oolong Teas…
What Makes Tea an Oolong Tea? What’s So Special About Them…and Which Oolong Teas Are the Best?
Many people never venture into oolong teas because they are already maybe enamored with white, green, and black teas...or they don’t know enough about oolong teas to be as enthralled with them as they should.
Experiencing Oolong Teas takes on a sensual journey different than what we get with other tea types, even if they are high quality. How, and why? Complexity.
Complexity in tea comes from influencing sensory factors. In this case, while great oolongs deliver a delightful range of tea enjoyment characteristics, it is the aromas that create tea drinking bliss, different from other tea types.
With oolong teas, three primary factors influence the final result in the cup: The leaf material, the processing technique, and the level of oxidation to which the leaves are taken.
Oxidation is the process that turns an apple brown after you bite into it. White & green teas are unoxidized, and black teas are fully oxidized. Oolong Teas are partially oxidized, which is a big part of the opportunity for aromatic complexity.
The processing of oolong tealeaves creates conditions that yield both abundant aroma content and variation in that aroma content. This comes from the art of varying oxidation levels in the leaves, which results from leaf shaping and then oxygen exposure...
Oolong processing most often includes the synchronized steps of shaping the leaves into a twisted or balled shape concurrently with oxidation in an amazing transformation of specially harvested leaves into magical aromatic delight. It is like a syncopated dance between the Oolong Tea Master, the tea leaves, and Mother Nature.
After harvesting, the leaves are softened and intentionally bruised by tumbling. This triggers oxidation from the edges of the leaves gradually inward, both deepening the color of the leaf edges and activating the aromatic oils within the leaves.
Unlike white, green, and black teas, in China and Taiwan, oolong tealeaves are not harvested until they have matured and reached ripeness, like a ripe piece of fruit. This maturity has allowed the organic compounds in the leaves to develop to the point that it is possible to coax alluring aromas from them during the processing of the leaves.
The dance consists of allowing the leaves to rest, occasionally being fluffed, and continuing to soften and oxidize from the outside edges in, resulting first in the activation and release of aromatic compounds, then alternating with more tumbling, resting, tumbling, and resting until the desired aromas have been achieved. Leaves are then suspended at that aromatic level by applying heat to stop the process.
Finally, the leaves are shaped, dried, and sometimes finished with a final baking step.
Back to complexity…the allure of oolongs…
The processing of Oolong Teas creates variation in oxidation within the individual tea leaves themselves. This means that within the leaves, there is variation in the development of the aromatic compounds. It is this variation that contributes to the complexity of oolongs...
Amazingly, we have about 150,000 olfactory nerve cells in our nasal chamber. Just as the 8,000 taste buds on our tongue taste the tea, the olfactory nervous cells in our nasal chamber taste the air, the aroma molecules that make their way into the chamber.
This is why oolong teas give us an abundant, complex aromatic experience, and for those who have not explored them fully, there is a great tea journey ahead of you.
Because oolongs are processed to varying degrees of oxidation and complexity, we classify them as Jade, Medium, and Dark. Within this range, we have variation not only in aroma and complexity but also in the kinds of aromas we experience, the taste profile, and the broth color.
Most jade oolongs will have more floral aromas, like gardenia or lilac. Dark oolongs offer nuanced aromas of stone fruits, and medium oolongs are known for honeysuckle and almond aroma notes.
Which oolong is best?...
That is going to depend on you. Just remember that, along with the health benefits of oolongs, come their signature aromas…this makes oolongs stand out in ways other teas don’t. Jade, Medium, and Dark oolongs will all give you uniquely different and delightful aromatic experiences.
An important note to be aware of is that in some non-traditional oolong-producing countries like India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, teas are produced that are partially oxidized and are referred to as oolongs. While this meets the industry definition of oolongs, these are Oolongs by Oxidation Level Only and don’t usually include the leaf maturity, bruising, and leaf shaping that are an essential part of oolong processing in China and Taiwan.
Oolong teas require the most interaction between man and the tealeaf during processing, as the oolong processing cycle is implemented to optimize the complexity of the leaf.
Considered The Agony of The Leaf, the leaf shaping and processing of oolongs is designed to yield character gradually, by building in a delayed diffusion as the leaves unfurl slowly over multiple infusions. This allows a more gradual increase in leaf surface area as the leaves open from their compacted shapes into the full leaves they originally were.
The maturity of the leaves, the level of oxidation, and the shaping of the leaves combine with the plant DNA and its growing environment to result in what thrills us about oolongs.
The majority of what influences the cup comes from the leaf ingredient, which is largely determined by the terroir where the plants grow.
The cultivar, combined with the soil type, climate, elevation, topography, processing technique, history, and people, are all the necessary influencing factors that bring us incredible oolongs.
All this effort, this attention to detail, is invested in creating complex, alluring, outstanding tea experiences that we are fortunate to enjoy.
