Introduction:

Oolong tea is a semi-oxidized tea, occupying the middle ground between green and black teas. Combining the best qualities of green tea and black tea, Oolong Tea is not only as clear and fragrant as Green Tea, but also as fresh and strong as Black Tea. If you drink Oolong tea, the natural aroma may linger in your mouth and make your throat comfortable.

Oolong Tea is helpful in antiaging, bringing high blood pressure down, improving immunocompetence, anti-heart-disease etc. Oolong Tea can help you digest food, refresh yourself and sober up. It is also helpful in prolonging your lifespan. To sum up, it is a world-famous natural health drink.

All China Oolong teas come from Fujian province. The semi-fermented tieguanyin tea is china's most flavored tea and also very famous worldwide. The tea liquors to a color between pale cherry and deep red.  It is a refreshing beverage and produces a flowery aroma. Some are more refreshing and flowery than others, with low quality grades being toward the bitter end with a blackish tea liquor color. Dahongpao Wuyi cliff tea is the most famous of all the Wuyi cliff teas. The name "Dahongpao" means "big red robe", and legend tells the story of an emperor who, in thanks, provided red robes to clothe the bushes which made the tea that cured his sick mother.

         
Varieties & Distribution of Oolong tea: 

       
There are four varieties of Oolong tea: Anxi Oolong tea(Minnan Oolong), Wuyi cliff Oolong tea(Minbei Oolong), Guangdong Oolong and Formosa Oolong(Taiwan oolong).
Anxi Oolong: Tieguanyin(Iron Goddess of Mercy), Sezhong, Huang Jingui(Golden Osmanthus), Benshan, Maoxie(Hairy Crab).
Wuyi Oolong: Shui Xian(Narcissus), Da Hongpao(Big red robe), Rou Gui, Bai Jiguan (White Cockscomb), Tie Luohan(Iron Warrior Monk), etc.

Classification of Oolong tea

■  TieGuanYin tea, which translated as "Iron Goddess of Mercy", is taken as the most famous Oolong tea. Far Superior Ti Guan Yin from Anxi County is a terrific value. Tie Guan Yin is directly curly forming, not heavy blue and green the base of a fruit belly dragonfly hair form. The color and luster is fresh and moist, the mung bean of sand, point out red, the watchband of leaf has white frosts. Soup color is golden yellow, rich and gaudy and limpid, the leaf is plump and bright at the end, have gloss silk fabric . Steep and drink millet paste go back sweet to bring honeyed flavor is fragrance strong fragrance lasting, there is reputation of " steeping lingering fragrance seven times" by mellow sweet fresh entry.
■  Wuyi Cliff tea originated in the Wuyi Mountain region of Fujian. Wuyi Cliff Oolong has long, curly leaves resembling iron shards. The leaves are hand-rolled into the traditional twisted Yan Cha form and pan-fired at their aromatic peak to arrest oxidation. Afterwards they are charcoal-fired in small batches to produce the deep green color and rich flavor that have made this tea one of China's "Ten Most Famous". The aroma of the dry leaf is deliciously sweet while the dark amber infusion is soft, smooth and malty.
■  Phoenix Oolong is one of famous Chinese Oolong teas. Phoenix Oolong is grown in the Phoenix Mountains of the Guangdong Province of China. Phoenix Oolong was once a tribute tea to be presented to the emperor each year. Phoenix Oolongs are still grown in the traditional manner on tea plants that have matured into small trees. Richly oxidized and dark-roasted during production, Phoenix Oolong's elegantly long, twisted leaves infuse to a fragrant liquor renowned for its versatility as an accompaniment to fine dining or alone as a connoisseur's delight.
■  Formosa Oolong: China Oolongs undergo a 20% oxidation while Formosa Oolongs undergo a 60% oxidation. Do not let the names China and Formosa throw you off: remember, Formosa was once a province of China and many of the tea manufacturing processes used in Formosa originated in Fujian Province and thus both methods are used in China proper today. Therefore, Formosa refers to two things in the tea industry: (1) a process (2) a growing region. An Oolong which is 60% oxidized, but which is grown and processed in China is called FORMOSA OOLONG.

How to brew Oolong tea:

A simple way to prepare Oolong tea is to pour boiling water to a 12 oz cup with 1 teaspoon (5g) of Oolong tea leaves and brew for about 2 minutes before serve. Multiple infusion of hot water is one of the characteristics of Oolong Tea. In fact, Preparing Oolong tea is an art. The method is refered to as Kungfu or Gongfu. It's very detailed and complicated. Whoever one should follow the procedures below to brew Oolong tea to its best.

1.) Bring water to boil and keep it boiling. Bottled spring water is much preferred than Tap water.

2.) Use a small teapot (We use a 200 ml or 7 oz teapot as a reference here).

3.) Apply hot water inside and over the teapot to warm it up. Discard all water. This is to bring up the temperature of the teapot. So, the heat of the brewing hot water is for brew.

4.) Put 1/2 oz or so ( about 3 teaspoon ) of Oolong into the teapot ( How much wulong to use is based on personal preference. It could take approximately vary from 10% to 20% of space in the teapot. The more tea leaves used, the more flavor the tea has and its required brewing time for each infusion is less. However, too much tea leaves used could increase the bitter taste and the teapot would not have enough room for the tea leaves to fully expand themself.).

5.) Add boiling water and discard this pre-brew water right-a-way. This is to wash away the fine tealeaves hairs and bring the tealeaves to brewing temperature.

6.) Top off the teapot with hot water to brew. First brew should be about 70 seconds. Pour brewed tea to a water pitcher or something similar for transfer to tea cups for drinking. First brew is the best for you to experience the aroma.

7.) Enjoy the tea while it is hot Smell the aroma of the cover. Observe the color of the liquor.and then sip. The best tea is from second and third brews. Second brew should be 60 seconds. Third brew should be about 75 seconds. The brewing time should gradually increase by 15 second interval to 120 seconds for the sixth brew. Much longer brewing time is required for the 7th and 8th (3 minutes) brew, if the 7th or 8th brew are not too light to drink.

Health Benefits:

Teas contain a number of ingredients that have an influence on the human body. The quantities and percentages of these ingredients differ depending on the extent of fermentation. Oolong tea contains a large quantity of polyphenol which is more than Green Tea as commonly believed. Polyphenol is the ingredient that generates the delicious flavor unique to Wulong tea and also promotes beauty and health. According to research, Polyphenol is the most importaint ingredient in tea to provide health benefits. Polyphenol is an antidioxidant.

Oolong tea is helpful in antiaging, bringing high blood pressure down, improving immunocompetence, anti-heart-disease, etc. Oolong Tea can help you digest food, refresh yourself and sober up. It is also helpful in prolonging your lifespan. To sum up, it is a world-famous natural health drink.There are some functions of Oolong tea are listed : Diabetes - Oolong tea may be an effective adjunct to oral hypoglycemic agents in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Eczema - Japanese researchers reported that patients with a form of eczema improved after drinking a liter of Oolong tea daily.

Allergies - Two catechin derivatives (C-1 and C-2) with potent antiallergic activity were isolated from Oolong tea.

Cavities - Oolong tea polyphenolic compounds could be useful for controlling dental caries.

Obesity - Consumption of Oolong tea stimulates both EE and fat oxidation in normal weight men.

Bacterial infections - Oolong tea polyphenols strongly inhibited the enzyme activities of some types of streptococci.

Cancer - Oolong tea extract has a chemopreventive action against hepatocarcinogenesis.