Oolong Tea 乌龙茶

It is possible to find good examples of amateur-made white and green tea--not so with oolong. Its name meaning "black dragon," great oolong is one of the vaunted productions of tea for which importers, competition judges, and tea lovers will spend a lifetime scouring for. The category itself is so broad that it is difficult to narrow into a concise terminology. If there is commonality, it is this: great oolongs are grown in special terroir (high mountain slopes, jagged ferruginous cliffs, serpentine and fertile river valleys) and require both a nonpareil understanding of agriculture, and, tea processing, to achieve a finished result of character: dynamic, clear and distinct flavors. Finished oolong can be undulated longwise "strip" leaves or compressed bud-set "ball" coils, and almost anything in between. No style challenges its supposed borders more than the black dragon: you will find leaf-like oolongs greener than green teas, and meticulously rolled pearls bruised soundly into black tea territory. From creamy and floral, to rose and honey, to toasted caramel and vanilla spice--oolong contains multitudes.