What Is Oolong Tea?

The main production areas of oolong tea are as follows:

1. Taiwan
2. Wuyi Mountain, Fujian Province
3. Anxi County, Fujian Province
4. Fenghuang Town, Chaozhou City, Guangdong Province

Each production area produces oolong tea with unique characteristics not found in other regions.

Taiwan Oolong Tea

Taiwan produces lightly fermented oolong tea from high mountain tea, characterized by its refreshing, floral aroma. Additionally, Taiwan is known for its honey-scented oolong tea, such as Oriental Beauty.

Wuyi Rock Tea (Wuyi Oolong Tea)

Wuyi Mountain is famous for its Wuyi Rock Tea, a heavily fermented oolong tea with a rich aroma reminiscent of dried fruits, achieved through long charcoal roasting. The unique rocks of each production area contribute minerals to the soil, imparting distinctive characteristics to the tea.

Anxi Oolong Tea

Anxi is known for its Tie Guan Yin, an oolong tea made from the cultivar of the same name. The tea-growing areas in Anxi are high in altitude, with iron-rich red soil, contributing to the tea's lingering aftertaste.

Fenghuang Dancong Oolong Tea

Dancong refers to tea trees grouped and managed in small lots based on their cultivar and flavor characteristics. In the case of Fenghuang Dancong, high-quality tea is harvested from shrubs that grow independently like fruit trees, rather than from low-pruned tea gardens found in Japan and Taiwan. Producers are well-versed in the characteristics of each tree and group them based on aroma, selling them in micro-lots. This is called Dancong. Fenghuang Dancong Oolong Tea has floral and fruity aromas, a long-lasting aftertaste, and is of extremely high quality.

Other Production Areas

In recent years, Taiwanese producers have been making Taiwanese-style oolong tea in northern Thailand and northern Vietnam. Some of these teas are of very high quality, making these regions of great interest for future development.