Oolong Tea: Production, Flavour, and Benefits

When I was ten, long before I knew anything about antioxidants or the benefits of oolong tea, my mother took me to what became a favourite childhood restaurant: the Oasis. A dumpy, unspectacular, dark Chinese restaurant in my small Pennsylvania hometown, the Oasis still piqued my curiosity and dazzled my limited senses. Where else could I giggle at the thought of a Pu-Pu Platter, crunch on fried chow mein noodles, and order the exotic entrée labeled “Buddha’s Garden”? Of particular novelty, though, was the special oolong tea served at the Oasis Chinese Restaurant. Delighted by the tiny, handle-free cups and the long, snake-like spout of the metal teapot, and the exquisite taste, I became an oolong tea fan at the tender age of ten. Now that I’m all grown up (sort of), I still get excited about tiny, handle-free cups, but I also know more about the production, flavour, and benefits of oolong tea.

About Oolong Tea:  Production and Flavour

Oolong is not an herbal tea but a “real” tea, meaning that it is made with the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. The tea originated in the Fujian region of China but is now cultivated elsewhere in China as well as in Taiwan, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Sometimes known as brown tea, oolong tea falls along a continuum from lightest to darkest as follows: white, green, oolong, and black. The production process for oolong tea is rather sophisticated because the leaves are neither unfermented (as with green tea) nor fermented completely (as with black tea). This limited fermentation usually involves a well-gauged partial drying followed by a chafing and bruising step and then another round of drying, often with charcoal. The timing, temperature, and extent of the drying is crucial, as it teases out the precise flavour of oolong tea.