OOLONG TEA

By Mark “Dr. Tea” Ukra, Tea Expert

1. All tea comes from one tea plant, “Camellia Sinensis.” The plant dates back to the Tertiary Period, preceding the ice age. The plant was able to survive because the Yunan and Guizhou plateaus were not affected by the glaciations.

2. The saucer was invented around 674 AD as a woman who regularly made tea for her father found it difficult to hand him the hot bowl, so she had a craftsman make her a small plate with a circular ridge in the center to hold up the cup.

A History of Tea Timetable
2737 B.C.
• Birth of Tea: 2737 BC Chinese Emperor Shen Nung was drinking water over an open fire, as he believed in cleansing his water, when leaves from a Camellia Sinensis plant fell into his pot of boiling water.

350 A.D.
• A Chinese dictionary cites tea for the first time as Erh Ya.

400-600
• Demand for tea as a medicinal beverage rises in China and cultivation processes are developed. Many tea drinkers add onion, ginger, spices, or orange to their teas.

400
• Now called Kuang Ya in the Chinese dictionary, tea and its detailed infusion and preparation steps are defined.

479
• Turkish traders bargain for tea on the border of Mongolia.

593
• Buddhism and tea journey from China to Japan. Japanese priests studying in China carried tea seeds and leaves back.

618-907 T'ang Dynasty
• Tea becomes a popular drink in China for both its flavor and medicinal qualities.

648-749
• Japanese monk Gyoki plants the first tea bushes in 49 Buddhist temple gardens.
• Tea in Japan is rare and expensive, enjoyed mostly by high priests and the aristocracy.

725
• The Chinese give tea give its own character ch’a.

729
• The Japanese emperor serves powdered tea (named hiki-cha from the Chinese character) to Buddhist priests.

780
• First tea tax imposed in China.
• 780 AD, first COMPREHENSIVE Book of TEA, by Lu Yu, “The Book of Tea” He began work in 760 and completed the work 20 years later in 780 AD.

A. Lu Yu became the patron saint of tea and was responsible for many of today’s tools and love for tea.
B. With the advent of Lu Yu’s book tea became extremely popular and in 800 AD tea began to be commercially cultivated.

805
• Buddhism and tea devotion spreads further.
• The Japanese Buddhist saint and priest Saicho and monk Kobo Daishi bring tea seeds and cultivation and manufacturing tips back from China and plant gardens in the Japanese temples.
960-1280 Sung Dynasty
• Chinese tea drinking is on the rise, as are elegant teahouses and teacups carefully crafted from porcelain and pottery.
• Drinking powdered and frothed tea or tea scented with flowers is widespread in China while earlier flavorings fall by the wayside.
• Zen Buddhism catches on in Japan via China and along come tea-drinking temple rituals.

1101-1125
• Chinese Emperor Hui Tsung becomes tea obsessed and writes about the best tea-whisking methods and holds tea-tasting tournaments in the court. While “tea minded,” so the story goes, he doesn’t notice the Mongol take over of his empire.
• Teahouses in garden settings pop up around China.

1191
• Japanese Buddhist abbot Eisai, who introduced Zen Buddhism to Japan, brings tea seeds from China and plants them around his Kyoto temple.

1206-1368 Yuan Dynasty
• During the Mongol take over of China, tea becomes a commonplace beverage buy never regains its high social status.

1211
• Japanese Buddhist abbot Eisai writes the first Japanese tea book Kitcha-Yojoki (Book of Tea Sanitation).

1280
• Mongolia takes over of China and since the Emperor of Mongol isn’t a “tea guy,” tea drinking dies down in the courts and among the aristocracy. The masses continue to indulge.

1368-1644 Ming Dynasty
• At the fall of the Mongol take over, all teas green, black, and oolong is easily found in China.
• The process of steeping whole tea leaves in cups or teapots becomes popular.

1422-1502
• The Japanese tea ceremony emerges onto the scene. First created by a Zen priest named Murata Shuko, the ceremony is called Cha-no-yu, literally meaning "hot water tea" and celebrates the mundane aspects of everyday life.
• Tea’s status elevates to an art form and almost a religion.

1484
• Japan's shogun Yoshimasa encourages tea ceremonies, painting, and drama.

1589
• Europeans learn about tea when a Venetian author credits the lengthy lives of Asians to their tea drinking.

1597
• Tea is mentioned for the first time in an English translation of Dutch navigator Jan Hugo van Linschooten's travels, in which he refers to tea as chaa.

End of 1500s
• Japanese tea master Sen-no Rikyu opens the first independent teahouse and evolves the tea ceremony into its current simple and aesthetic ritual. During this ceremony, one takes a garden path into a portico, enters upon hearing the host’s gong, washes in a special room, and then enters a small tearoom that holds a painting or flower arrangement to gaze upon. The tea master uses special utensils to whisk the intense powdered tea. Tea drinkers enjoy the art or flowers and then smell and slurp from a shared teabowl.
• Europeans hear about tea again when Portuguese priests spreading Roman Catholicism through China taste tea and write about its medicinal and taste benefits.

1610
• The Dutch bring back green tea from Japan (although some argue it was from China).
• Dutch East India Company market tea as an exotic medicinal drink, but it’s so expensive only the aristocracy can afford the tea and its serving pieces.

1618
• Chinese ambassadors present the Russian Czar Alexis with many chests of tea, which are refused as useless.

1635
• Tea catches on in the Dutch court.
• A German physician touts a warning about the dangers of tea drinking.

1637
• Wealthy Dutch merchants’ wives serve tea at parties.

1650-1700
• Tea parties become quite trendy among women across the social classes. Husbands cry family ruin, and religious reformers call for a ban.

1650
• The Dutchman Peter Stuyvesant brought the first tea to America to the colonists in the Dutch settlement of 'New Amsterdam' (later re-named New York after the British took over in 1674). Settlers here were avid tea drinkers and it was found that the small settlement consumed more tea at that time then all of England put together.

1657
• The first real evidence of tea in England was in the form of an ad in a newspaper by Thomas Garway in 1658. It read, “That excellent and by all physicians approved drink called by Chineans tcha, by other nations Tay alias Tea is sold at the Sultaness Head a Cophee house in Sweetings Rents by the Royal Exchange London.”

A Seventeeth Century View of Tea from England:

Garway’s Broadstreet

Following is the text of the famous broadsheet or advertising leaflet circulated by coffeehouse proprietor Thomas Garway, the first to sell tea in England, with contemporary spelling, but today’s punctuation.

“The Drink is declared to be most wholesome, preserving in perfect health until extreme Old Age.

The particular virtues are these:

• It maketh the Body active and lusty.

• It helpeth the Head-ach, giddiness and heaviness thereof.

• It removeth the Obstructions of the Spleen.

• It is very good against the Stone and Gavel, cleansing the Kidneys and Uriters being drunk with Virgin’s Honey instead of sugar.

• It taketh away the difficult of breathing, opening Obstructions.

• It is good against Lipitude, Distillations, and cleareth the sight.

• It removeth Lassitude, and cleareth and purifieth adult Humors and hot Liver.

• It is good against Crudities, strengthening the weakness of the Ventricle or Stomack, causing good Appetite and Digestion, and particularly for Men of corpulent Body and such as are the great eaters of Flesh.

• It vanquisheth heavy Dreams, easeth the Brain, and strengtheneth the Memory.

• It overcometh superfluous Sleep, and prevents Sleepiness in general, a draught of the Unfusion being taken, so that without trouble whole nights may be spend in study without hurt to the Body, in that it moderately healeth and bindeth the mouth of the stomach.

• It prevents and cures Agues, Surfets and Feavers, by infusing a fit quantity of the Leaf, thereby provoking and most gentle Vomit and breathing of the Pores, and hath been given with wonderful success.

• It (being prepared with Milk and Water) stregtheneth the inward parts, and prevents consumption, and powerfully assuageth the pains of the Bowels, or griping of the Guts or Looseness.
• It is good for Colds, Dropsies and Scurveys, if properly infused purging the Blood of Sweat and Urine, and expelleth Infection.

• It driveth away all pains in the Collick proceeding from Wind, and purgeth safely the Gall.

• And that the Virtues and Excellencies of this Leaf and Drink are many and great is evident and manifest by the high esteem and use of it (especially in later years) among the Physicians and knowing men of France, Italy, Holland and other parts of Christendom:

• And in England it had been sold in the Leaf for six pounds, and sometimes for ten pounds the pound weight, and in respect of its former scarceness and dearness, it hath been only used in Regalia in high Treatments and Entertainments, and Presents made thereof to Princes and Grandees till the year 1657

• The said Thomas Garway did purchase a quantity thereof, and first publickly sold the said Tea in Leaf and Drink, made according to the directions of the most knowing Merchants and Travellers in Eastern Countries:

• And upon knowledge and experience of the said Garway’s continued care and industry in obtaining the best Tea, and making Drink therof, very many Noblemen, Physicians, Merchants and Gentlemen of Quality have ever since sent to him for the said Leaf and daily resort to his House in Exchange Alley aforesaid to drink the Drink thereof.

• And to the end that all Persons of Eminency and Quality, Gentlemen and others, who have occasion for Tea in Leaf may be supplied.

• These are given notice that the said Thomas Garway hath Tea to sell from sixteen to fifth Shillings for the pound.”

1661
• The debate over tea’s health benefits versus detriments heightens when a Dutch doctor praises its curative side while French and German doctors call out its harmful side.

1662
• When Charles II takes a tea-drinking bride (Catherine Braganza of Portugal), tea becomes so chic that alcohol consumption declines.

1664
• English East India Company brings the gift of tea to the British king and queen.
• The British take over New Amsterdam, name it New York, and a British tea tradition ensues.

1666
• Holland tea prices drop to $80-$100 per pound.
1669
• English East India Company monopolizes British tea imports after convincing British government to ban Dutch imports of tea.

1670
• The Massachusetts colony is known to drink black tea.

1680s
• Tea with milk is mentioned in Madam de Sévigné’s letters.
• The Duchess of York introduces tea to Scotland.

1690
• The first tea is sold publicly in Massachusetts.

1697
• The first known Taiwanese cultivation and export of domestic tea takes place.

Late 1600s
• Russia and China sign a treaty that brings the tea trade across Mongolia and Siberia.
18th Century
• The controversy over tea continues in England and Scotland where opponents claim it’s overpriced, harmful to one’s health, and may even lead to moral decay.

1702-14
• During Queen Anne’s reign, tea drinking thrives in British coffeehouses.

1705
• Annual tea importation to England tops 800,000 pounds.

1706
• Thomas Twining serves up tea at Tom’s Coffee House in London.

1717
• Tom’s Coffee House evolves into the first teashop called the Golden Lyon. Both men and women patronize the shop.

1723
• British Prime Minister Robert Walpole reduces British import taxes on tea.

1735
• The Russian Empress extends tea as a regulated trade.
• In order to fill Russia’s tea demand, traders and three hundred camels travel 11,000 miles to and from China, which takes sixteen months.
• Russian tea-drinking customs emerge, which entail using tea concentrate, adding hot water, topping it with a lemon, and drinking it through a lump of sugar held between the teeth.

1765
• Tea easily ranks as the most popular beverage in the American colonies.

1767
• Boston Tea Party: 1767 British Parliament passed the Townshend Revenue Act imposing a tax on the tea and other commodities used by the colony from Britain. This had a lot to do with needed added revenues to finance England’s own consumption of tea from China.

1770
• The tax on all items except tea was repealed.

A. Women save the day! They united and decided not to purchase any tea. This action was taken to heart by Women of the other colonies so the tea would never be unloaded off of the boats anywhere in the colonies.

B. On December 16th, 1773 a meeting was had by 5000. 50 men then dressed as Indians attacked the three British ships in Boston Harbor and dumped over 40 tons of black tea into the harbor and other similar acts erupted around the colonies all leading to the Revolutionary War and our Independence.

C. Such “tea parties” are repeated in Philadelphia, New York, Maine, North Carolina, and Maryland through 1774.

D. George Washington was an avid tea drinker and was provided three cups of tea in the AM even during the war and then continued the practice of having his three cups of tea at breakfast during his tenure as President.

E. After the Tea Party Americans began looking for another beverage of choice, and this is where coffee began its popularity.

1774
• A furious British Parliament passes the Coercive Acts in response to the American “tea party” rebellions.
• King George III agrees to the Boston Port Bill, which closes the Boston Harbor until the East India Company is reimbursed for its tea.

1775
• After several British attempts to end the taxation protests, the American Revolution begins.

1778
• Before the indigenous Assam tea plants is identified, British naturalist Sir Joseph Banks, hired by the East India Company, suggests that India grow plant and cultivate imported Chinese tea. For 50 years, India is unsuccessful.

1784
• Parliament further reduces the British import taxes on tea in an effort to end the smuggling that accounts for the majority of the nation's tea imports.

1785
• 11 million pounds of tea are brought into England.

1797
• English tea drinking hits a rate of 2 pounds per capita annually, a rate that increases by five times over the next 10 years.

1815-1831
• Samples of indigenous Indian tea plants are sent to an East India Company botanist who is slowly convinced that they are bona fide tea plants.

1826
• English Quaker John Horniman introduces the first retail tea in sealed, lead-lined packages.

1830
• Congress reduces U.S. duties on coffee and tea and other imports.

1833
• By an act of the British Prime Minister Charles Grey (the second Earl Grey and the namesake of the famous tea), the East India Company loses its monopoly in the trade with China, mostly in tea.

1835
• The East India Company starts the first tea plantations in Assam, India.

1837
• The first American consul at Canton, Major Samuel Shaw, trades cargo for tea and silk, earning investors a great return on their capital and encouraging more Americans to trade with China.

1838
• The first tea from Indian soil and imported Chinese tea plants is sold. A small amount is sent to England and quickly purchased due to its uniqueness.

1840s
• American clipper ships speed up tea transports to America and Europe.

1840s and 50s
• The first tea plants, imports from China and India, are cultivated on a trial basis in Sri Lanka (Ceylon).

1840
• Anna the Duchess of Bedford introduces afternoon tea, which becomes a lasting English ritual.

1849
• Parliament ends the Britain's Navigation Acts, and U.S. clipper ships are allowed to transport China tea to British ports.
• Tea wholesaler Henry Charles Harrod takes over a London grocery store and grows it into one of the world's largest department stores.

1850
• Londoners get their first peak at a U.S. clipper ship when one arrives from Hong Kong full of China tea.
• U.S. clipper ships soon desert China trade for the more profitable work of taking gold seekers to California.

1856
• Tea is planted in and about Darjeeling, India.

1859
• Local New York merchant George Huntington Hartford and his employer George P. Gilman give the A&P retail chain its start as the Great American Tea Company store. Hartford and Gilman buy whole clipper shipments from the New York harbor and sell the tea 1/3 cheaper than other merchants.

1866
• Over 90 percent of Britain's tea is still imported from China.
1869
• The Suez Canal opens, shortening the trip to China and making steamships more economical.
• In a marketing effort to capitalize on the transcontinental rail link fervor, the Great American Tea Company is renamed the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company.
• A plant fungus ruins the coffee crop in Ceylon and spreads throughout the Orient and Pacific, giving a hefty boost to tea drinking.

1870
• Twinings of England begins to blend tea for uniformity.

1872
• The Adulteration of Food, Drink, and Drugs Act deems the sale of adulterated drugs or other unlabeled mixtures with foreign additives that increase weight as punishable offenses.

1875
• A new British Sale of Food and Drugs Law calls adulteration hazardous to personal health and increases its legal consequences to a heavy fine or imprisonment.

1876
• Thomas Johnstone Lipton opens his first shop in Glasgow, using American merchandising methods he learned working in the grocery section of a New York department store.

1885
Tea Processing in China—circa 1885

1890
• Thomas Lipton buys tea estates in Ceylon, in order to sell tea at a reasonable price at his growing chain of 300 grocery stores.

1893
• Ad for Lipton Tea. Half-page engraved advertisement for Lipton Tea, from the May 27, 1893 Illustrated London News. Features a young woman in South Asian dress, drinking a cup of tea. The ad boasts that Lipton was the largest tea, coffee and provision dealer in the world. At the bottom of the page are ads for bread knives, pocket watches and beauty cream.

Late 1800s
• Assam tea plants take over imported Chinese plants in India and its tea market booms.
• Ceylon’s successful coffee market turns into a successful tea market.

1904
• Englishman Richard Blechynden creates iced tea during a heat wave at the St Louis World Fair.

1904
• Green tea and Formosan (Taiwanese) tea outsells black tea by five times in the U.S

1908
• New York tea importer Thomas Sullivan inadvertently invents tea bags when he sends tea to clients in small silk bags, and they mistakenly steep the bags whole.

1909
• Thomas Lipton begins blending and packaging his tea in New York.

1910
• Sumatra, Indonesia becomes a cultivator and exporter of tea followed by Kenya and parts of Africa.

Tea Styles:
F. Shen Nung times: fresh leaves were boiled in water.

G. 3d century AD tea leaves were dried, powdered and boiled

H. 600- 900 AD Tang Dynasty; tea was in the form of green tea cakes made from fresh leaves, steamed, crushed, fired, pounded, and compressed into tea cakes. In Lu Yu’s time a pieces was broken off, roasted until it was soft and then boiled.

I. 960- 1279 Song Dynasty; green tea was dried powdered and whipped in hot water with bamboo (taken to Japan). In this time they added onions, pickle juice, ginger, and orange peel.

J. Ming Dynasty: processed loose tea like we know it today was added to hot water.

1924
• Pictures of tea being produced in China. Exquisite photographs titled,"Four Steps in Tea Culture." Shows scenes of tea being produced in China.

Brewing the Perfect Pot of Tea

The perfect pot of tea is personal to the drinker. Always remember you have the finest nose and palate and the way you brew your pot of tea is the best for you. Below, Dr. Tea will give you some historic rules for preparing a perfect pot of tea.

1. Use Fresh Cold Water. Do not use hot water to begin the boiling process as this will impede the taste of the water. Wu Yu, the water expert, always said spring water was best, followed by river water and then well water. As we live in a different world today, sadly, try to find the best bottled spring water or filtered tap water.

2. Never use boiling water as it is too hot and will reduce the taste of the tea. Some people believe the use of rolling boiling water adds to the saturation of the leaves. Decide on your own.

3. Always pre-heat your preparation vessel by placing some hot water into the pot and then discarding the water.

4. The rule of thumb is to add one teaspoon of tea for each cup of water. Dr. Tea believes in coating the bottom of your preparation vessel with a thin line of tea and adding one additional dash of tea.

5. Tea Balls or Infusers: Most tea experts, and Dr. Tea, frown on the use of balls or infusers because the metal does not allow the water to fully saturate the tea leaves. This is the same criticism tea bags receive. If you have to use the ball or infuser, please to only fill it half way to allow for complete saturation and expansion of the tea leaves.

6. To rinse or not to rinse? You already know Dr. Tea does not rinse at the Tea Garden as we believe in presenting the tea as it is meant to be presented, then allowing our clients decide to rinse or not to rinse. If you do choose to rinse, add a small amount of the hot water to cover the tea and drain immediately. This is a good way of reducing the amount of caffeine in your tea.

7. Pour your hot water over the tea and cover. Now if you are using a high grade of tea, like we serve at the TG, then leave your lid off so as not to create a stewing of your tea leaves in the water.

A. Fine tea needs a short steep time 2-3 minutes.
B. Curled leaves need a longer steep time closer to 5 minutes
C. Tannins come out early in the steep.
D. Scientists are now stating longer steep times are necessary for the medicinal benefits of tea to take effect.
E. YOU must decide for yourself!

8. Caffeine rule: About three-fourths of the caffeine comes out at five minutes of steeping.

9. If you want strong tea, do not steep longer, instead add more tea.

10. Rinse cups with hot water

11. Milk? If you add milk now is the time to add the milk, before the liquid tea, as the British say it provides a flavor unique to the milk tea combination. Never use cream as tea will cause the cream to curdle. Milk is said never to be used with green tea, and sometimes with oolong.

12. Before pouring the tea, shake the tea pot a little and then let the tea leaves settle again.

13. Pouring the tea: Sweetener: it is here any sweetener is added and then lemon.

14. Any liquid tea left in the vessel should be strained out of the pot and kept to the side. This will allow the leaves to dry awaiting the subsequent steeps. If you cannot steep again, then sadly throw away the leaves and do not leave them overnight as harmful bacteria will grow onto the leaves causing stomach issues and even the possibility of cancer causing cells.

15. If you have the time to make the additional steeps, but not drink the tea, place them into a pitcher and then enjoy your tea for one additional day if left out or up to three days if left in the fridge.

OOLONG TEAS

Camellia Sinensis Plant & Flower
The Chinese refer to devoted connoisseurs of fine tea as cha ren, literally "tea people."

Tonight we are all part of the Cha Ren!

From the Chinese Art of Tea, which the Tea Garden emulates each and every day, John Blofeld describes the aesthetic and philosophical appeal of drinking this sort of tea the Chinese way:
One should recognize that drinking tea is something in itself, to be done for its own sake and not to fulfill an ulterior purpose, for only in this way can the drinker come to "taste sunlight, wind, and clouds." This is a typically Taoist and Zen sentiment. . . Tea, unlike powerful drugs or alcohol, increases rather than dulls alertness and carries with it the essence of sunlight and mist, the spirit of sparkling mountain springs and a pleasant earthy tang. . . Tea mysteriously engenders empathy with nature and kinship with one's fellow beings.

History of Oolong Tea:

Information panel with the history of oolong tea and its preparation via the Gongfu method

1. Oolong tea literally translates to Black Dragon Tea.

2. It is also seen as Wulong tea.

3. Oolong predominately come from the tea growing areas of China and Tawain and as we will see below, and are starting to be produced in other tea growing areas around the world.

4. The first syllable, ? (wu) means a crow, or raven' in some contexts, but here as it relates to tea means black.

5. ? (Long) means a dragon, and the leaves look like curled-up little black dragons which when infused in your pot wake up. However according to legend the name originally had nothing to do with dragons, black or otherwise. Rather legend tells us it is named after its discoverer Wu Liang. Wu Liang is a synonymous for Oolong Tea in the south Fujian dialect.

6. Oolong Legend tells us Wu Liang (in and around 1400 AD, during the Ming Dynasty in China), a tea farmer went out picking tea one day, as he did every day in the tea-picking season. After collecting a good load, his eye was caught by a river deer and he stopped to slay the poor animal (sorry to have to report this). Then taking it home to prepare for the weeks worth of meals he forgot about his tea. The next day he found that the tea had started to blacken or as we know today it began to oxidize.

A. Wu Liang became very worried about his tea and perhaps that it might have gone bad. So he began to continue the preparation as he knew, and dried it in the traditional way, by pan firing the tea as was done with the green teas of the day. He made a cup and found to his surprise that it tasted fantastic

B. He taught his neighbors and friends how to make the new tea, and it came to be named after him; language being what it is the Wu Liang became known over the years as Wu Long, and that's why today we know it as Oolong.

7. Early Chinese settlers brought Oolong tea production from mainland China to Taiwan during the late 17th century. Taiwan was part of China at that time. Over the centuries, Chinese planters in Taiwan's mountainous central highlands meticulously cultivated this special variety of tea to produce what sophisticated connoisseurs of Chinese tea today regard as the finest tea on earth (Dr. Tea agrees) which some believe to be the ultimate masterpiece in the Chinese art of tea.

8. Ti Kuan Yin Oolong begins production in the 1800’s.

9. In 1865, when the scholar Lin Feng-chih crossed the Taiwan Straits his hope was to pass the imperial examination in Fujian province and become a government official. On his return to Luku, Taiwan, however, he brought more than the good news of his success. He also brought home 36 plants from the famous tea gardens of Wuyi Mountain. In the next few decades, trade with the West ensured a steady demand for oolong tea, and the plants from Wuyi Mountain proved ideal for oolong production.

OOLONG TEA INFORMATION:

1. Oolong is a semi-oxidized whole-leaf tea which retains all of the nutrients and natural healing factors contained in unfermented green tea, but without the "raw" grassy taste and the somewhat harsh impact on the stomach that make green tea disagreeable to most people. By being a whole leaf the taste is most important and very much the best tasting of all teas.

A 9-year-old Nepali girl harvests tea in India. Child labor is traditional in some countries in South Asia.

2. The very brief fermentation process eliminates harsh irritants from the raw tea and creates the subtle fragrances and flavors which distinguish this tea from all other varieties, without producing the tannins and other toxic compounds found in fully fermented black tea.

3. The cultivation and appreciation of High Mountain Oolong is somewhat similar to fine wine, with each plantation and each mountain producing its own unique bouquet of flavors, and each year's harvest yielding its own special character.

4. Process of preparing the Oolong Tea Leaf from field to our TG cans:
A. The plucking takes place by hand and depending on the production the bud and up to four leaves may be picked. The best time to pick the high mountain Oolong is in the afternoon when the dew on the leaves has dried.
B. The tea is then taken to the plantation for cleaning.
C. The rich flavor and fragrant aroma of oolong result from a process often referred to as "fermentation" but which is really an oxidizing action.
D. This effect is produced after withering (which allows the leaves to soften) by tumbling or otherwise bruising the surface of the leaves in order to break down their cells and release enzymes which darken when exposed to the air.
E. Once the tea has achieved the desired color and flavour development, the leaves are usually rolled or twisted and oxidation is halted by drying.
F. The best oolong teas are always totally handmade. This requires great skill and long experience on the part of the tea maker in order to control the cycles of fermentations, rollings, and roastings necessary to achieve perfection.
G. No machine has yet been invented that can match the skills of experienced oolong tea makers in producing the delicate elegance of High Mountain Oolong Tea.

5. The tea liquor is somewhere between pale cherry and deep red.

6. It is a refreshing beverage and produces a flowery aroma, and can be steeped many times.

7. The better Oolongs are meant to be steeped a number of times and the leaves fall to the bottom of the tea pot or preparation vessel.

8. Some Oolongs are more refreshing and flowery than others. The lower grades are bitterer with darker tea liquor. The leaf should be bulky and whole; the lower grades are pieces and should take on the shape of dramatic forms (the many shapes of dragons or other mythological creatures, insects, animals, fishes, birds, etc.).

9. The leaf should unfold beautifully in the pot as a morning mist unfolds and covers the valley.

10. 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 the Fujian Province (North of Hong Kong and south of Shanghai and thus both methods are used in China proper today.
A. Therefore, Formosa refers to two things in the tea industry: (1) the process, and (2) the growing region. An Oolong which is 60% oxidized but which is grown and processed in China is called FORMOSA OOLONG.

Types of Oolong Teas

Chinese oolong teas
Wu-Yí mountain, Fujian province
The most famous and expensive Oolong teas are made here but the production is still usually accredited as organic. Falsification is rare as the teas generally have a very distinctive aroma.

1. Imperial Oolongs represent the top end of the Oriental Beauty or Black Dragon teas. They liquor up Amber in color and are many times simply called “Amber Oolong.” They are highly aromatic with a slight Chestnut/Honey flavor. Most of these teas are very difficult to obtain here in the USA.

2. Grand Pouchong is a China Oolong with a golden color, light aroma and somewhat subtle flavor which, once found, is seldom forgotten.

3. Ti Kuan Yin (Iron Goddess of Mercy) liquors up to a lighter amber than Black Dragon but has a more highly-developed aromatic quality, mild flavor but does not have a Chestnut/Honey after-taste.

Legend of Ti Kuan Yin:

A. According to legend in the 1800’s, Kuan Yin, who is the Goddess of Mercy (see the wooden Kuan Yin we have at the TG), appeared and presented a the secret to a special tea to a tea farmer who maintained her old dilapidated temple in Fujian, China. Inside of the temple was the iron statute to whom followers prayed for enlightenment.

B. One day, the iron statute came to life, and the farmer was shocked. The gfoddess said, for you years of devotion to taking care of my temple and being a devotee, “I will bestow upon you the key to your future and for those tea farmers in this area. Behind the temple there lies the secret. Nourish it, and it will take care of you.”

C. The farmer went outside and behind the temple, to find a straggly bush. He took care of the bush, day after day, and in a year the bush began to blossom. The framer plucked the leaves and in honor of the iron statute pan fired the leaves in his wok to the color of the iron statute, a charcoal black.

D. The liquor produced from this process was sweet and fragrant.

E. This is how Ti Kuan Yin came to be!

4. Tung Ting is rooted in the China Oolongs of the past from the Fujian Province but now grows only in Formosa. The liquor is more orangey-red and has a mild flavor.

5. Da Hong Pao : Also known as Big Red Robe, a highly prized tea and a Si Da Ming Cong. This tea is also one of the two Oolongs that make it to the list of Chinese famous teas.

6. Shui Jin Gui: Also known as Water Turtle, a Si Da Ming Cong.

7. Tieluohan: Also known as Iron Warrior Monk, a Si Da Ming Cong.

8. Bai Ji Guan: Also known as White Cockscomb,a Si Da Ming Cong. A special light tea with very distinctive lightly colored leaves.

9. Rou Gui: Also known as Cinnamon, a dark tea with a spicy aroma.

10. Shui Hsien: Also known as Water Sprite, a very dark tea, often grown elsewhere.

11. Jin Fo: Also known as Golden Buddha this is a very new tea that produces a light brew.

12. Huang Guanyin: Also known as Yellow Goddess of Mercy, this is a very new but already famous tea.

13. Huang Mei Gui : Also known as Yellow Rose, this is a very new tea that produces a floral infusion with a very light taste.

14. Qi Lan: Also known as Rare Orchid is a popular light tea.

15. Jin Suo Chi: Also known as Golden Key.

16. Ban Tian Yao: Also known as Half Day Perish.

17. Fo Shou: Also known as Buddha Hands.

18. Bu Zhi Chun: Also known as Not known in springtime.

19. Huang Jin Gui: A tightly curled tea from Anxi in South Fujian.

20. Pouchong: The lightest and most floral Oolong, originally grown in Fujian it is now widely cultivated and produced in Taiwan.

Guangdong province
1. Dan-Cong : A highly floral flat tea with large undamaged leaves that is often scented with various aromas.

Taiwanese Oolongs
Tea cultivation of Oolong only recently began in Taiwan in the mid 19th century. Since the 1970s, tea in Taiwan has developed independently of China, with the major market being not the export market but the domestic market. Teas have been cultivated at ever higher elevations than those of China which produce a unique sweet taste that can get a premium (up to tens of thousand of US dollars) on the world market.

Tea Mountains of Taiwan:
1. Alishan: 700-1600M
2 . Lishan: 1600M
3 . Nantuou: 600-1600M
4 . Tung Tin: 800-1600M
5 . Wenshan: 800M

Types of Taiwanese Oolongs:

1. Dòng Ding: A pelleted tea known as Cold Summit. Dong Ding is a mountain in Nantou county of central Taiwan. It was the original tea growing area and produces some of the most prized tea in Taiwan.

2. Ali Shan(Mt. Ali) which Dr. Tea has brought to the Tea garden for years and Li Shan(Mt. Pear) are higher mountain teas with lower yields and even more sought after for the velvety smooth clean "qing xiang" light fragrance. This fragrance is almost adictive and no other oolong teas except for the Taiwan high mountain varieties have it.

3. Prize winning grades are exorbitant and just opening pouch or canister of these prize wining teas fills entire house with fragrance.

4. Bai Hao Oolong tea: Also known as Oriental Beauty, this is a fresh and tippy tea.

Other oolong teas:

1. Darjeeling Oolong (India: A full leaf chocolaty and dark tea.

2. Vietnamese Oolong

Preparing Your Oolong Tea:

1. Dr. Tea personally infuses my Oolong semi-black teas for 5-7 minutes. This however is based upon the quality of the tea and its roll and shape, and of course based upon ones own personal preferences for their tea.

2. The water temperature at the time of infusion should be approximately 185 degrees.

3. If you are boiling your water and not using a mechanism to determine your water temperature the water should first be brought to a 10 second boil and then allowed to cool down. The free floating oxygen should be given a short period (the 10 second boil) to boil off in the form of gas, otherwise the tea’s flavor will be diminished.

4. Oolong can be steeped a number of times and as Dr. Tea always recommends, experiment on your own.

Health Benefits of Oolong Tea:
High Mountain Oolong Tea also has many other health benefits, and these have all been validated by modern scientific research. The most important therapeutic advantages derived from drinking this tea on a daily basis are briefly discussed below. These are taken from articles researched by Dr. Tea:

Antioxidant: High Mountain Oolong contains abundant supplies of potent antioxidants known as "polyphenols" and "catechins." These compounds, also known as "free radical scavengers," neutralize and eliminate the highly reactive metabolic and environmental toxins known as "free radicals," which destroy cells, corrode tissues, and cause premature degeneration of the internal organs. The antioxidants in the tea provide constant detoxifying activity in the blood and tissues, protecting the body from toxic damage and preventing formation of tumors.

Anti-Cancer: Since the polyphenols and other antioxidants contained in High Mountain Oolong suppress tumor formation, drinking this tea daily provides strong protection against the development of all types of cancer, particularly in the lungs and liver, which suffer the heaviest exposure to toxic contaminants in air, water, and food. This protection against cancer is further enhanced by the tea's strong alkalizing action in the blood and tissues, where it counter-acts the excessive acidity associated with all forms of cancer.

Scientists already know green tea plays a role in preventing cancer, but now they know why: EGCG, or Epigallocatechin gallate. EGCG works in precisely the same way as the chemotherapy drug methotrexate: Both hinder the action of an enzyme that incites cells to divide, according to Spirituality & Health (July/August 2005). Since EGCG causes less damage to healthy cells than chemotherapy, it could become a promising cancer treatment. High Mountain

Oolong has even more potent anti-cancer properties than green tea, and unlike green tea, it can be drunk continuously throughout the day for maximum therapeutic benefits.

Alkaline: High Mountain Oolong alkalizes the digestive tract, bloodstream, and cellular fluids, neutralizing the acidity which permits formation of cancerous tumors and causes many other degenerative conditions. Blood and tissue acidity is the primary cause of loss of calcium from the bones and teeth, and this in turn leads to osteoporosis and tooth decay. Drinking this tea daily therefore helps prevent these conditions as well as other health problems associated with calcium deficiency.

Diuretic: The tea's mild diuretic properties promote swift elimination of the toxins and acid wastes flushed from the blood and tissues by the antioxidant and alkaline elements in the tea.

Deodorant: By alkalizing the mouth and stomach, this tea eliminates the bacteria responsible for producing foul odors in the breath. The aromatic fumes contained in the tea saturate the blood and bodily fluids with cleansing medicinal elements that help deodorize bodily secretions.

Blood Adaptogen: High Mountain Oolong contains medicinal factors known as "adaptogens," which adapt the body's vital functions to changing conditions in order to maintain a healthy state of equilibrium. This balancing effect is strongest in the bloodstream, where it regulates blood pressure, balances blood sugar, and prevents thickening of the blood.

Digestive: High Mountain Oolong assists digestion by neutralizing excess acidity and preventing fermentation and putrefaction in the stomach. It also breaks down fat molecules into smaller particles, making them much easier to digest.

Detoxificant: Drinking this tea daily produces a continuous detoxifying effect throughout the body, facilitating the elimination of metabolic wastes and toxic residues assimilated from food, air, and water.

Cholesterol Control: Studies have shown that High Mountain Oolong Tea removes cholesterol deposits and other sticky plaque from the walls of the blood vessels, thereby preventing arteriosclerosis, heart disease, and strokes.

Stimulant: This tea contains only 0.5% caffeine, plus several other compounds and co-factors which have mild stimulating effects on the central nervous system. Unlike coffee, which stimulates the body by racing the heart, the blend of natural stimulants in High Mountain Oolong Tea directly activates the nervous system, enhancing alertness, improving cerebral functions, and relieving mental fatigue. They also stimulate swift eliminatiion of wastes from the body. Due to the many nutrient co-factors contained in this tea, the stimulation it provides does not enervate the nervous system, as coffee and black tea can do, and its stimulating properties may be enjoyed throughout the day without any negative side-effects.

Nutrient: High Mountain Oolong contains significant amounts of vitamins A, C, and E, as well as essential minerals and trace elements. These nutritional factors all have potent antioxidant and healing properties, providing additional support for detox and immune responses and increasing the health benefits of the tea.

Antiseptic: By producing a clean alkaline environment in the body, this tea destoys a wide range of bacteria, fungus, and other microbes, most of which depend on toxic acid conditions in the blood and tissues in order to survive and spread in the human body.

by Dr. Tea, Tea Expert

Much Love and Light

Mark Dr. Tea, Ukra,
Tea Expert & proprietor of the Tea Garden & Herbal Emporium.