What is Oolong tea?

This is approximately correct. But I'm sure someone extremely knowledgeable could go on and on about what oolong is (and isn't).

Green tea is not oxidized ("fermented") at all. Black tea is more or less fully oxidized. Oolong is partially oxidized. That's the nutshell definition.

-- Randy (if replying by e-mail, remove SPAMFREE and DeLeTe from my address) Current book recommendation: BLUE LIKE JAZZ

knowledgeable

That is exactly right. Oolong is 50% oxidized, and it combines the flavor of red (black) tea which is usually very rich, and that of green tea which is more delicate and lighter.

Traditionally the leaves used for making Oolongs are older leaves, but tea makers from different regions are now using different techniques and inventing new teas.

Now most shops here try to bank on 'fresh crop' and new tea when it comes to Wulong. Even the same tea, same grade if it's newer, can sell for quite a bit more due to the over abundance of older tea on the market.

snipped-for-privacy@rogers.com/8/05 19: snipped-for-privacy@rogers.com

That is unfortunately *not* right; Oolongs can be oxidized at anywhere from around 15% up to over 70%. Fifty percent is not a magic number, and is in fact uncommon. I would also disagree with the statement that Oolongs combine qualities of green and red teas, since Oolongs are many and varied, and clearly a thing apart with their distinct identities, which exploration will reveal to you.

Traditionally Oolong is made from a larger and thereby stronger leaf in part because the leaf will go through a series of manipulations before it reaches your cup. Makers might be trying to outdo one another in coming up with new teas, but they seldom beat the traditions. This does not however suggest that PT Barnum was in any way wrong in his assessment of commerce and its victims.

Hope this helps.

Michael

and in addition some are more oxidized and fermented- previously there was an interesting discussion on this- oolong is a semi-fermented tea fresh pluck leaves are plucked>and then withered>sai qing>tea is transferred inside and withered at room temperatur>sai qing then stirred by hand every hour or so for 6-8 hours>lang qing next step sha qing is pan firing to olxidase enzymes and stop fermentation rou jian>rolling mao huo>second firing lang che>cold rolling zu huo> final firing

some oolongs are more green and others are more fermented/oxidized- personally i enjoy the more green and lightly oxidized oolongs-and the oolongs from taiwan rather than mainland china joanne

Joanne, although it's obviously a matter of taste, I also prefer the Taiwanese "green" oolongs, although I have had some floral Tieguanyins and Phoenix oolongs from the mainland that I thought were extraordinary.

I also think of most Darjeelings as oolongs, at least stylistically. Many of them, especially first flushes, are very lightly oxidised.

Regards, Dean