Oolong

Specialty & other origins

Oolongs that fall outside the four major geographic families and serve different purposes. GABA Oolong (from Taiwan or Japan) is produced under nitrogen atmosphere to elevate GABA content and has a distinctive fruity, almost wine-like character quite unlike conventional oolong. Zhangping Shui Xian from Fujian is pressed into small cakes rather than rolled or strip-shaped. Vietnamese oolong from Lam Dong province is a smaller but genuine tradition. Aged oolongs — typically Wuyi or Taiwanese material stored for years or decades — develop an entirely different profile from the young versions. These are the teas for collectors who have worked through the major families.

teabert, the tealytics teapot, keeper of the kettle

This is the curiosity cabinet of oolong: wine-like GABA, cake-pressed Zhangping Shui Xian, Vietnamese gardens, and aged leaves that have quietly become something else entirely. I'd save this shelf for after you've met the big families, then enjoy how thoroughly it bends the rules.

Styles in this family

Zhangping Shui Xian (Pressed Oolong)

Zhangping Shui Xian is the only well-known pressed oolong: leaf from the Shui Xian cultivar is processed in Zhangping (Fujian) and then pressed into small…

Red Oolong (Hong Wu Long)

Red oolong (hong wu long) is a modern Taiwanese style developed in Taitung, on the island's southeast coast, as a way to make robust, fruit-forward tea from…

GABA Oolong

GABA oolong is a modern oolong processed under nitrogen instead of oxygen, which converts the leaf's glutamic acid into gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the…

Vietnamese Oolong

Vietnamese oolong is overwhelmingly a Taiwanese transplant: most of it is grown in the central highlands around Lam Dong province (Bao Loc and the Cau Dat area…

Osmanthus Oolong (Scented)

Osmanthus oolong is an oolong scented with osmanthus (gui hua) blossoms, whose apricot-and-ripe-peach perfume pairs naturally with a roasted or floral oolong…

Aged Oolong (Lao Cha)

Aged oolong (lao cha) is not a single tea but a practice: roasted, oxidation-forward oolongs (traditional Tieguanyin, Dong Ding, Wuyi yancha and others) kept…