Oolong Tea – In Between of

What if we told you that there’s a tea in between Green Tea and Black Tea? It’s called Oolong, and in this episode we’re going to teach you all about it. We’ll explore how it’s picked and processed, how it compares to green and black tea in terms of flavor and health benefits, and of course, how to brew it properly. So you get the most out of every leaf. But before we get into the details, what exactly is Oolong tea? If green tea is unoxidized and black tea is fully oxidized. Oblong sits somewhere in the middle. It’s often described as a semioxidized tea, but that symbol definition doesn’t even begin to explain how diverse this category really is. Ong can range from light, floral and creamy almost like a green tea to dark, roasted and rich like a black tea. The difference comes down almost entirely to the processing. All true teas come from the same plan Camellia sinensis, and whether it becomes white, yellow, green Oolong, red or dark tea depends on what happens after the leaves are picked and when it comes to processing. Ung is the most complex and skill- intensive treaty in the world because it’s so heavily processed. Ung can be made from the older tea leaves, often a bud and three to four leaves. These leaves are thicker and stronger, which allows them to withstand the intense processing steps that follow. These are typically avoided for premium green teas and black teas, but producers can manipulate the larger tea leaves to produce fantastic quality. Ong, as we’ll explain later after picking, the leaves are laid out in the sun for withering. This reduces moisture and softens the leaves. Then comes one of the defining steps of Oolong production. Bruising. The leaves are gently shaken, rolled or tossed in bamboo drums. This bruises the edges of the leaf and accelerates the oxidation by exposing the compounds inside the leaf with the air. You’ll sometimes notice that Oolong leaves have reddish edges and greener centers and you may even see the leaves look like they’ve been crushed. This is a direct result of that controlled bruising. The producer alternates between shaking and resting the leaves. During resting, oxidation develops during shaking, more cell walls are broken. This cycle can repeat for hours. And this is where the art comes in too much oxidation and the tea loses its brightness too little, and it tastes tart or grassy. The producer has to rely on smell, touch, and experience to know when it’s perfect. Once the desired oxidation level is reached, heat is applied to stop the process. Then the leaves are rolled, sometimes twisted into long strips and sometimes rolled into tight balls that slowly unfurl when brewed. These are called ball rolled and strip style Oolong. Finally, many Oolong are roasted over charcoal. Roasting can be light, medium, or heavy, and this dramatically impacts the flavor. If an Oolong is unroasted, it’s referred to as a green Oolong, and these are usually oxidized between eight and 20 percent. Amber Oolong are typically oxidized between 20 to 80 percent and they tend to be roasted. Oxidation is a spectrum and roasting is a spectrum, so together they create infinite possibilities for flavor of an Oolong tea. And that’s what makes Oolong the most diverse category of tea. Green Oolong are characterized by their fresh, floral and buttery taste profiles, while amber Oolong produce more of these roasted, honey, nutty, mineral and multi flavors. To give you an idea of just how diverse this category of tea is, we’re going to explore some of the more famous Chinese ong teas, but before we do that, if you’re enjoying this video so far, it would really mean a lot to us. If you could like and subscribe to see more T videos in the future, we just checked and close to 80 percent of you guys are not subscribed, which means you’re really going to be missing out on all the new tea topics we cover this year. But now let’s get back to the ung. First, we’ll start with Baojong. Baojong is perhaps the lightest oxidized Oolong. The leaves are twisted into long strips rather than tightly rolled. Because oxidation is kept low and roasting is minimal. Balojong expresses extremely fresh floral aromas, often compared to lilac, gardenia or hyacinth. The liquor is pale, silky and elegant, and the mouth feeler is light and slightly tart. This tea reminded me a lot of an unfinished tea I had in Japan a few years ago, when we were visiting tea farmers in southern Japan, we stumbled upon a small town called Tekaiho, which still maintains a lot of traditional tea production methods. It’s one of the country’s last strongholds for Ung and Kameidachcha, a green tea made using the Chinese panfiring method rather than the Japanese steaming technique. The farmer introduced us to an unfinished tea that tasted very similar to a baojong fresh and tart with notes of freshcut grass and light floras. This tea was a great expression of the freshness of the spring tea harvest, but it wasn’t quite well routed enough to be sold. As he explained, with a little oxidation, this tea could be made into a light green ong. While extremely rare in Japan, there are still a few farmers in Miyazaki Prefecture that can produce delicious Japanese ong, and so the quest began to find a Japanese ung for neots. We tried a few samples and finally settled on one that had that rich, floral and creamy flavor we were looking for. The Miyazaki Hainunun Ung is a delicious green ung that tastes quite similar to a Taiwanese ong. While it is green and fresh, it has this light floral and buttery finish that makes the tea irresistible. It even works well as a cold brew. If you want to try it for yourself, you can get it at neos.com with free shipping options worldwide. So this Japanese ung and balohong are both on the lighter end of the oxidation spectrum. Ballo jong is considered the least oxidized ung, ranging from eight to 15 percent. This light and floral flavor profile has become popular in recent years, especially in teas like Jin Shan or Milk Ung. Tieguan yin is traditionally oxidized between 30 and 40 percent, but more modern styles have attempted to capitalize on the success of these green uongs with 15 to 30 percent oxidation. Tieguanin is traditionally from Anhui in Fujja Province and it’s a ball rolled dong, meaning it’s pressed into these tight pellets. When brewed, these leaves slowly open up and release creamy orchid-like aromas with a smooth mouth feeler. Next we move along the oxidation spectrum to Yenha, also known as rock tea. Yenha comes from the Wui Mountains in Fuji. These teas grow in rocky cliffs with mineral rich soil and that terroir gives them a distinctive mineral character often called rock rhyme or yen yun. This can be felt as a tingling sensation on the palate and this is something we noticed in another Japanese tea when we visited the farmers of Oadan in Isaggawa, up in the mountains of Shizuoka. The rocky soil imparts a mineral in the tea and this can be felt as a tingling on the tongue. If you want to experience the tingling sensation of a tea with a high mineral, you can try the Kukicha Osaka on our website Neotez. Dot. Com. But Yancha teas are usually more oxidized between 40 and 60 percent and more heavily roasted than Baoiang or modern Tigran Y. They have notes of roasted nuts, cocoa, spice, and sometimes dried fruit. One of the most famous Yan chatees is Da Hong Pao. Da Hong Pao is legendary. Traditionally grown from mother bushes in the Wue Mountains. It’s known for its deep roast rich body and complex layers of mineral caramel and dark fruit. According to legend, a scholar traveling through the Wui Mountains fell ill before his imperial exams. A monk brew tea from these bushes and the scholar quickly recovered. After passing the exam and becoming an official, he returned in gratitude and draped his red imperial robes over the tea bushes to honor them. From that day on, the tea became known as Datong Pao meaning Big Red robe, and these original tea bushes still remain. When you line these teas up side by side. Balojong Tieguan. Yin Yencha and Da Hong Pao, you’re not just tasting different teeth. You’re tasting different oxidation levels, roasting styles, mountain climates and centuries of craftsmanship. That’s the magic of Ung. But what about the health benefits. Because ong is partially oxidized, it sits between green and black tea. In terms of catekin content, it still retains antioxidants while also developing new aromatic compounds during oxidation. Like other teas. Ung contains caffeine and threonine. This combination can provide steady energy with a calmer more focused feeling compared to coffee. Some research suggests that ONG may also help support metabolism and fat oxidation, which is one reason it’s become popular among people looking to maintain a healthy lifestyle. But most of the cited health benefits in the world of tea come from the catkins, the most plentiful antioxidant in the tea leaf. If you want high concentrations of catkins, you really need to go for a green tea like senchaum. But how do we brewing? Because brewing varies so much brewing temperature depends on the style. For lighter uongs like Balojog and modern Tieguan Y use water around 90 to 95 degrees Celsius or 100 and 95 to 200 and three Fahrenheit. For darker teas like Yencha and Daungng Pa, you can use fully boiling water 100 degrees Celsius or 200 and 12 Fahrenheit to bring out their roasted depth. Use about six grams of tea leaves for 100 milliters of water in a small teapot or porcelain. Guiwan. It’s really important to weigh your tea, especially with ong, to make sure that you get the right amount. Many uongs are tightly rolled, so they may not look like much at first, but once they unfurl, they expand dramatically. You can give the leaves a quick rinse to wake them up and get them ready for infusion. Start with a twenty- second infusion and add five to ten seconds with each round. Highqual uongs can be breed 6, eight or even ten times, with the flavor evolving in every infusion. The first steep may be floral and bright, the second creamy and sweet, and the third deeper and more mineral. This way, you get to experience different sides of the tea with every cup and experience it as a journey rather than a mere drink. So while it technically sits in between green tea and black tea in terms of oxidation, in reality Ung might just be the most diverse tea category of all. From the fresh floral elegance of Balojang to the creamy richness of Tieguanan to the more mineral intensity of Yencha, there’s an entire world to explore in Ung. If you brew it properly and take your time. Ung can easily become one of the most rewarding teas in your collection, and we would love it. If you could try our oblong out for yourself and let us know what you think, thank you all so much for reading. We’ll see you next time.