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Oolong is one of the six traditional Chinese tea categories. Its degree of oxidation is controlled by the time between picking and final drying and ranges from 8% to 85%, depending on the variety and production style. Oolong shares some characteristics with both green and black teas: its flavour notes are light, but it is often more complex than green tea and not as strong as black tea. Most oolong teas, especially those of fine quality, involve unique tea plant cultivars that are used exclusively for particular varieties. Oolong is especially popular in southeastern China and among ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia.

Varieties and regions

Tea production in Fujian is concentrated in the Wuyi Mountains and Anxi County, both major historical centers of oolong production in China. Da Hong Pao is a Wuyi rock tea grown in the Wuyi Mountains of Fujian Province. Tieguanyin is a variety of oolong that originated in the 19th century in Anxi in Fujian province. Dancong tea refers to a family of strip-style oolong teas from Guangdong Province.

Taiwan is a large producer of oolong. Baozhong is the least oxidized of the oolong teas from Taiwan. The leaves are usually formed into one of two styles: long curly leaves or small beads, each with a tail.

Aroma chemistry

In tea generally, volatile compounds make up only 0.01% of the dry weight, yet they largely determine its sensory character and economic value. The essential aroma components of oolong are linalool and its oxides, benzyl alcohol, 2-phenylethanol, jasmine lactone and indole. A total of 128 volatile compounds have been identified in four typical types of oolong tea. The main alcohols in oolong samples are linalool and its oxides, geraniol, hotrienol, phenylethyl alcohol and (E)-nerolidol, which have typical floral and fruity aromas.

Roasting largely increases the variety of volatile compounds in oolong tea. Heterocyclic compounds are significantly more numerous and more abundant in roasted oolong than in unroasted oolong. In Dongding tea, most of the characteristic roasted-scent compounds are pyrroles, pyrazines and pyridines, which derive from the Maillard reaction during roasting. Three pyrazines contribute significantly to the caramel aroma of Dongding tea.

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