To preserve quality, local and national tasting competitions are carried out regularly, and the list of the year’s ten cups ranking on top is published every year. These famous teas called ming cha are exclusive and very expensive, they are highly appreciated by the home market and the over-seas Chinese diaspora, and are making strides in attracting Western tea fans. There are premium cups from both the oolong tea and the white tea categories that appear on the ‘ming cha’ list every year, without exception.

It’s noteworthy that today, in China, there are also oolong and white teas that are grown in non traditional areas, mostly newly developed cultivars, which do not have an origin territory appellation and are therefore considerably cheaper and more accessible for non-Chinese customers. It should also be noted that the manufacturing skills and some of the more recent plant varietals have been introduced outside China, namely in Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and also in some East African countries, among others, where certain tea gardens have begun producing some oolong and white teas.

The vicinity between China and Taiwan, with many tea farmers having crossed the Taiwan strait in the 18th and 19th centuries, taking their tea bushes with them on their boats, and since then developed a thriving and extremely premium high mountain and coastal oolong tea production. Based on their continental China heritage and also newly developed cross bred varietals by the intensely active Taiwanese Tea and Beverage Research Station (TTBRS) in Nantou County, these exclusive Oolong tea cups are rivalling fully with those of China’s Fujian province.

3 Taiwan A li shan high mountain oolong tea. Credit: Barbara Dufrêne

The Complex Oolong Tea Category

All tea experts and tea lovers agree that this tea family is extremely complex, because of the incredible number of cultivars, each with unique flavour characteristics, a statement fully supported by French veteran tea experts, Katrin Rougeventre and Vivien Messavant, aka Zhong Yun Jing. The various manufacturing processes are often still carried out by family tea masters applying the wisdom of many generations. All this input generates an unbelievable amount of leaf shapes cup colours and, most importantly, endless shades of fragrance and aromas, ranging from warm and comforting to mineral and
metallic, offering many different flowery, fruity, spicy and woody notes.

This tea category was reintroduced to the Western markets at the beginning of the millennium and was so different from the well-established green and black teas, with its semi oxidised leaf, that they had to be named first.
Some called them ‘blue-green’, or qing cha and finally the denomination ‘oolong or wulong’, meaning ‘black dragon’ spread and was commonly adopted, with reference to the black and twisted leaf of the deeply oxidised Fujian rock teas. The many different bush varietals harvested in continental China and in Taiwan are genuine to the local lands, to which research has added on more through cross-breeding.

These many cultivars and varietals are grown in several oolong territories, all with their specific origin appellation, namely in Fujian and Guangdong province and in Taiwan’s Central Mountain range and coastal plains.

Additional quality criteria add on more specificity, such as the premium plucking time and picking way and the manufacturing process, with either ball shape rolled or twisted leaf and either low, medium or high oxidation.

Oolong teas can be stored and the aged teas of 20 to 25 years will then be basket toasted again to
bring out their wide range of delicious fragrance and taste notes. Because oolong teas require so much input and have such an intense richness of flavour notes, their brewing has been made into a
ceremonious ritual called gongfu cha, translated into “take your time to brew this state of the art cup” with a set of pots, cups, trays and other tools to serve the outstanding cups.

The best known and sought after heritage oolong teas from China are the low oxidised Tie Guan Yin from Anxi, South Fujian. The premium harvest is picked during the first half of October, whilst for all other oolongs the spring picks are the best – the leaves are tightly rolled into blue greenish pearls that infuse with intense flowery fragrance with notes of lilac and osmanthus. The deeply oxidised Wuyi Shan Rock teas are from Northern Fujian, with Da Hong Pao, Rou Gui, Shui Xian and others offering intensely fragrant cups with fruity and roasted notes with hints of caramel, brown sugar, cinnamon. The medium
oxidised Feng Huang Dancong from Guangdong’s Phenix Mountains, with intensely fragrant cups
offering notes of honey, orchids, gardenia, osmanthus, ginger flower, and magnolia, have big leaves and are harvested from specific single tea trees, very dear and rare cups indeed. According to Chinese statistics, oolong teas represent over 12 percent of the global production, which had a volume of around 382,000metric tonnes (mt ) in 2022.

The most famous oolong teas from Taiwan, initially brought over from Fujian but were then cross-bred and with local processing ways, fall into two main categories: the green or jade oolongs and the dark oolongs. The green or jade oolongs ,which are the low oxidised types such as the Milky Oolong or Nai Xiang Xin Juan, are highly appreciated for their creamy, buttery flavour, the Dong Ding Oolongs grown near Taipei, and the high mountain teas from Central Taiwan’s Nantou Province, namely from Ali Shan and Li Shan with their exclusive and costly frost teas that are picked bet ween November and January,
which are then delivered – in small parcels – to awaiting list of avid tea lovers. The dark oolongs, namely the high oxidised Dongfang Meiren or Oriental Beauty, are grown near Taipei.

According to International Tea Committee data, Taiwan’s 2022 total tea out put amounted to 14,000mt , with a share for oolong teas that were estimated to stand at around 75 percent and which are currently intensely promoted on international level with significant support from the government.

White Teas: A ‘Newer’ Category

Originating from China’s Fujian province, where the Da Bai and Bai Hao tea bush varietals grow as a local land race, t hes e elegant whit e buds and leaves were relaunched in the Western markets in the early 2000s . Their unbruised immaculate leaves, their reputation for high anti-oxidant effects, and the easy ways of brewing them without any fuss immediately fascinated consumers who jumped at the cup and wanted to learn more about it . This fascination has given rise to more authenticity controls because other producing countries did invest to master the manufacturing process, without necessarily being able to produce comparable cup quality.

As China wanted to protect these exclusive teas, which represent only about one percent of its tea production volume, an ISO Technical Report developed the basic definition and processing requirements in 2013. There are two main white tea terroirs in Fujian, around Fuding City and around Zhenghe City, both mountainous areas , which have started to intensely promote the white teas in recent years and to extend the cultivation surf ace. During the first International White Tea Conference that was convened in Fuding in December 2023,many Chinese tea experts presented their findings concerning tea research, tea and health, export facilities, protected geographical indication rules and more, all geared to the key target : how to enhance foreign markets’ awareness about the goodness of white teas and to make them keen to buy more.

Much clarification was provided about the cultivars, their characteristics and the three main quality grades:
• Early Spring: bud only harvest, called Yin Zhen (Silver Needle 4);
• Late Spring: more mature, one bud and two or three leaves, the still whitish Bai Mudan (White Peony);
• Summer Harvest: no more white down on the leaf, and no more buds, traded as Gung Mei and Shou Mei (Tribute and Longevity Eyebrow).

All grades are sought after in the home market, mainly for their reported health benefits and physiological effects, such as powerful antioxidant properties, antiviral and detoxifying effects, relief from fever, highly refreshing and relaxing during the hot tropical summer times.

Widely acknowledged in China, these reported health benefits come from the high polyphenol and theanine concentration in this rich plant material, which has undergone a soft processing that has not bruised the leaf and not broken up the cell walls, but allowed the leaves to wither for several days in the sun, thus also preserving their silvery downy coat, which makes up their elegant and unusual look.

These teas need a longer brewing time in order to extract all the flavours and juices – ten minutes
or more. They can be stored over years and their enzymes will allow the leaves to slowly continue
to mature, which is an additional bonus.

With their wide range of cups, from the premium origins to more accessible untraditional growing areas, consumers can discover these outstanding teas step by step, indulging in these gently boosting and truly soothing brews for everyday consumption and moments of sharing. Be it in or out-of-home, both oolong and white teas will provide highly pleasant moments of leisure and wellbeing, as well as offering the opportunity to become more knowledgeable about quality details, product botanicals, tea garden geographies and cultural tea brewing accessories.

The post Exploring China’s Prized Oolong and Lesser Known White Teas appeared first on Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.

A total of thirty-six Highly Commended and thirteen Gold awards were presented by The Leafies judges, which include preeminent tea leaders from brands such as Fortnum & Mason, The Ritz London, Postcard Teas, Twinings, Lipton and more. A selection of Special Awards were also presented to individuals, estates, or institutions that were effecting positive change within the industry in areas such as education, community empowerment, innovation and environmental stewardship.

This winner of the Fortnum & Mason Best in Show award, and therefore the highest scoring tea of the entire competition, is Yame Tea Kumaen’s Gyokuro Saemidori, an exquisite steamed green tea produced by a tiny tea garden in a remote mountainous region in Fukuoka, Japan. Guests at the ceremony were able to sample this tea, brewed by Kazumi Nakatani who travelled from Japan, amongst twenty-five of the award-winning teas made available to taste.

Zealong Tea Estate were another notable winner of the afternoon, scooping three awards in total for its Aged Oolong, Aromatic Oolong and the UKTA Lifetime Achievement Award, recognising Zealong’s phenomenal efforts pioneering a tea culture in New Zealand and demonstrating a tireless commitment to environmental regeneration through its sustainable farming practice. Zealong CEO Gigi Crawford and International Marketing Manager Sen Kong were present at the ceremony to serve their teas and said “this award acknowledges 25 years of hard work bringing about a tea industry and culture in New Zealand by Zealong Tea Estate, we are deeply honoured and grateful to receive this award.”

The Leafies aims to connect primary tea producers with buyers and hospitality professionals and offer exposure to a global tea-focused market. A selection of winners will once again be selected for sale across Fortnum & Mason’s Rare Tea Counter, where six winning teas from last year are still currently being sold. Ottilie Cunningham, tea buyer for Fortnum & Mason, said, “An enormous thank you and huge congratulations to everyone for another successful year of The Leafies. The organisation that goes into the entire thing is immense and it is really exciting to see how much it has grown since last year’s launch.”

New for this year were categories for retailers who are selling tea online or in store and connecting tea drinkers with carefully selected high-quality teas. Triple award-winning Japanese tea shop, Chaki Co was started by three former tea producers in March this year. Dorothy’s Teas, a former UK Tea Academy student and retailer based in Cumbria, UK, won Gold in the BRITA sponsored White Tea category for her Shannon Estate Silver Needles White Tea.

The full list of winners is available on the UK Tea Academy website here.

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