Yao Qing: The Step That Defines Oolong Tea
The defining step for oolong is shake-withering, yao qing (摇青), and no other category has anything like it.
Tag: Charcoal Roasting
Key Process Points for Oolong Tea
Oolong has more control points than any other category, and most of them sit inside the making green stage.
How Oolong Tea Is Made Across Regions
Oolong covers a wider spread of regional craft than any other category, and the districts disagree on nearly every step.
Oolong Tea: Hand-Made Versus Machine-Made
Hand work in oolong survives at two points: the decisions during making green, and the roasting at the end.
How Oolong Tea Is Made: Step-by-Step Process
Oolong is made in a fixed sequence: pluck, wither, make green, fix, roll, dry, and often roast at the end.
The Plucking Standard for Oolong Tea
Oolong is picked as open, mature leaf rather than as bud, which surprises people who assume all fine tea is young leaf.