What is Chinese Blue Tea(Oolong Tea)

Blue tea, known as Oolong tea in the international market, has the fresh fragrance of green tea and the mellowness of black tea.

The earliest blue tea,Wuyi Yancha,appeared in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Later on, blue tea production spread to southern Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan.In recent years,Wuyi Yancha is also produced in Hunan,Jiangxi and Sichuan, though the yield is low.Some Taiwanese tea merchants even introduced tea plants,advanced tea equipment and technologies suitable for processing Taiwanese blue tea.However,the quality is not satisfactory.

Blue tea is semi-fermented tea. The process involves plucking two or three fresh leaves→withering→partial drying→roasting fixation (fixation)→ rolling and shaping→drying. Greening is a key process for blue tea quality. The unique greening,together with roasting fixation and shaping,result in the unique quality of blue tea. The process for blue tea varies according to regions and tea plant species.