Oolong classification

[olivierco]

All is in the title.
Could any expert give a clear and detailed classification?

[brandon]

Stab in the dark -- green tea is minimally oxidized, black tea is "fully" oxidized, puerh maocha is partially oxidized and then fermented.
Off the top of my head, oolong is the one tea that is intentionally partially oxidized.

Someone posted a few pages on this topic in PDF, but it has escaped me.

[Space Samurai]

I've read from a few different places that oolong is between 30% and 70% oxidized. I don't know if those exact numbers are true, but yes, as Brandon pointed out, oolong is moderately oxidized and exists in the world between green and black.

[Pentox]

Oolong Tea - A tea that is not as good as Japanese green tea.

[Victoria]

Oolong Tea - A tea that is not as good as Japanese green tea.

And to think I voted for you.

[Pentox]

Oolong Tea - A tea that is not as good as Japanese green tea.

And to think I voted for you.

Lol, I honestly have yet to find an oolong that i really like. I'll keep searching though.

[olivierco]

Oolong Tea - A tea that is not as good as Japanese green tea.

That is for sure.

Anyway, I'd like to know if there is any relation between a name and an oxidation degree and also have the characteristics for each.
I found this on wikepedia.
Are there any mistakes?

Wǔyí cliff tea (武夷岩茶) from Fújiàn province

Dà Hóng Páo (大红袍)
Big Red Robe in Chinese, a highly prized tea and a Si Da Ming Cong (四大名樅, literally: The Four Great Bushes). This tea is also one of the two Oolongs that make it to the list of Chinese famous teas.

Shuǐ Jīn Guī (水金亀)
Golden Water Turtle in Chinese, a Si Da Ming Cong.

Tiě Luó Hàn (鉄羅漢)
Iron Arhat in Chinese, a Si Da Ming Cong.

Bái Jī Guān (白鸡冠)
White Cockscomb in Chinese, a Si Da Ming Cong. A light tea with light, yellowish leaves.

Ròu Guì (肉桂)
Cinnamon in Chinese, a dark tea with a spicy aroma.

Shuǐ Xiān (水仙)
Water Sprite in Chinese, a very dark tea, often grown elsewhre.


Fújiàn province

Tiě Guān Yīn or Ti Kuan Yin (鐵觀音)
Iron Guanyin in Chinese, this is a tea from Anxi in South Fujian. It is very famous, in fact a 'Chinese famous tea' and very popular.


Guangdong province

Dān Cōng (单丛)
A family of stripe-style oolong teas from Guangdong Province. The doppelganger of teas, Dancong teas are noted for their ability to naturally imitate the flavors and fragrances of various flowers and fruits, such as orange blossom, orchid, grapefruit, almond, ginger flower, etc.
As the name implies, Dancong ("single bush") teas are clonal or single-bush productions.


Taiwan

Dòng Dǐng (凍頂)
The name means Frozen Summit or Ice Peak. Dong Ding is a mountain in Nantou County, Central Taiwan. This is a tightly rolled tea with a light, distinctive fragrance.

Dong Fang Mei Ren (東方美人茶)
The name means Oriental (Eastern) Beauty. Also known as Bai Hao Oolong. This tea is tippy (the leaves frequently have white or golden tips), with natural fruity aromas, a bright red appearance and a sweet taste.

Alishan (阿里山茶)
Grown in the Alishan area of Chiayi County, this tea has large rolled leaves that have a purple-green appearance when dry. It is grown at an elevation of 1000 to 1400 metres. There is only a short period during the growing season when the sun is strong, which results in a sweeter and less astringent brew. It produces a golden yellow tea which has a unique fruity aroma.[8]

Pouchong (包種茶)
Also romanized as Baozhong, the lightest and most floral Oolong[citation needed], with unrolled leaves of a light green to brown color. Originally grown in Fujian it is now widely cultivated and produced in Pinglin Township near Taipei, Taiwan.

[scruffmcgruff]

The only oolongs I know that have "specific" (still, not really) oxidation levels are baozhong and bai hao, the former being almost green and the latter being almost black/red. Except maybe for fo shou (though I'm not sure if this is highly oxidized or just roasted), nothing really comes close to the oxidation of bai hao, as far as I know.

Most new-style Taiwanese gao shans tend to be on the lighter side, while "traditional" ones tend to be more oxidized.

I *think* dancongs are lightly oxidized and highly roasted, but I'm not sure.

Wuyi oolongs and TGY (plus ben shan, mao xie, etc.) vary a lot. They seem to follow a pattern similar to the new/traditional styles of Taiwanese oolongs. Except for Bai Ji Guan, which seems to be very similar to dancong, I don't think there is too much difference between Wuyi varietals.

[olivierco]

Thanks for these precisions.

[Thirsty Daruma]

Can degrees of roast differ too, Scruff? I recall a post where somebody did a side by side comparison of an Oolong of the same variety from different stores. The three couldn't have looked more different, with one having the "p*ss" roasted out of it and another looking quite green.

[scruffmcgruff]

Can degrees of roast differ too, Scruff? I recall a post where somebody did a side by side comparison of an Oolong of the same variety from different stores. The three couldn't have looked more different, with one having the "p*ss" roasted out of it and another looking quite green.

Yeah, roasting varies quite a bit.

[MarshalN]

When you say "classification", what do you mean?

The names you listed from Wikipedia are, for the most part, differences in varietals. Taiwanese do things differently, and the differences in names are more due to processing.

The thing is, both oxidation and roasting run the gamut for most of these types -- so you can have a dahongpao that is lightly oxidized and lightly roasted, or so heavily oxidized/roasted it looks like burnt charcoal (and will taste very sweet, mind you).

[hop_goblin]

I was under the impression that what made oolong oolong is that it is repeatedly rolled and oxidized and then subsequently fired. The operative word being repeatedly.

[olivierco]

When you say "classification", what do you mean?

A list to be able to know what kind of oolong corresponds to a precise name.

Something like this with indications of tea main characteristics (taste particularly).

[hop_goblin]

When you say "classification", what do you mean?

A list to be able to know what kind of oolong corresponds to a precise name.

Something like this with indications of tea main characteristics (taste particularly).

This would be hard to do as many oolongs IMHO taste the same, especially Taiwanese oolongs. IMHO I think it is difficult to describe oolongs with any degree of accuracy because a TQY will at times taste different from someone elses TQY. It is totally dependant on how the farmer processes it. I mean there are general style profiles that can be used as a guide like Dancong will taste like peaches, Rou Gui like cinnamon, Jinxuan has a creaminess. However, even vendors are careful not to provide too much description and will use words such as: toasty, floral, fresh, mild etc. For the most part, I feel they classify oolongs according to color more than taste - more so in light oolongs. Needless to say it is a big mess! This doesn't even bring into account the concepts of grade and winter vs spring! I think it is less difficult to try to classify them by the obvious - light fire, Heavy fire, region and cultivar such as Jade or Jinxuan etc. Again, to try to classify them by taste seem somewhat futle for me atleast as everyone's palate is different. I myself have a hard time distinguishing between Japanese greens. Of course an expert can tell the difference but I am not there yet. They all seem to taste the same. I don't seem to be cynical, its just that the more I taste and the more I learn the more I don't know! There are just so many variables, it is so intimidating! Frankly, I think one of my problems is that I am starting to approach tea more academically and not just drink and enjoy.