The manufacture of oolong tea

Although less known than green or black tea, oolong tea (tea "blue-green, also known asWulong tea or semi-fermented) constitutes one of the great families of Chinese teas.

Wu Long means "black dragon" in Chinese and refers to the very dark color of the dry tea leaf.

Legend has it that one day a grower was walking in his garden in search of some new flavors. He was immersed in his thoughts when he saw a huge black snake out of a tea plant. Convinced that this was a sign of fate he tore some leaves of this shrub to taste. This was the first Wu Long tea.

In fact Wu Long tea (such as black tea, green or white) owes its flavor so typical in its method of preparation. It is a tea that has undergone the following steps:

The picking: it is carried out in the sun for nearly an hour, then the tea leaves are left in the shade to cool

Drying: the leaves are processed in a room maintained at a high temperature (between 22 and 25 degrees C), with controlled humidity (85%). In these circumstances, the cellular structure of the leaves gradually degrades and releases an enzyme that reacts with oxygen in the air: the leaves will then oxidize. Unlike black tea whose oxidation is the result of an intensive roll, the oolong tea is done gently and then continued by a manual mixing, lightly and constantly. The drying is stopped when the farmer finds that the optimal level of oxidation is achieved: ideal aromatic smell and with flexible tea sheet. While the complete oxidation of the leaves to produce black tea takes only two to three hours, the partial oxidation of oolongs can be up to fifteen hours.

Roasting: the leaves are heated abruptly in barns at a temperature slightly less than 200 ° C during a period of 30 seconds to 5 minutes. Roasting stop the process of drying and makes the leaves flexible and foldable for easy rolling.

Compression: to compress the leaf without damaging it while it is still hot and flexible. The leaves are dried and contain no more than 2 to 3% water.

The tea comes from the Fujian ( "Blessed Country") south-west of China, it had appeared there more than 300 years ago. So it is a specialty of Fujian but it is also produced in the southern provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi.

Annexed by China in the late 16th century, the island of Taiwan also has oolong tea from tea factory of Fujian, but only available in small quantities. It was not until 1949, when the seizure of power in mainland China by the Communists and fleeing supporters of Chiang Kai-shek on the island of Taiwan that production of oolong tea develop.

Taiwanese Oolong teas are among the most expensive and most coveted in the world compared to their Chinese cousins.

The oolong tea represents less than 3% of global consumption of tea.

Oolong tea is more closer to "green tea" according to the Chinese method (12 to 20% oxidation) and more closer to black tea according to Taiwanese method (60 to 70% oxidation).

It is presented in full leaves, it is low in caffeine and has taste of subtle flavors reminiscent of chestnuts, honey, hazelnut.