From the Wuyi Mountains in Fujian, China, come three well-known Wuyi cultivars: Da Hong Pao, Rou Gui and Shui Xian. In Wuyi, there is a saying: ‘no better taste than the Shui Xian’. The cultivars used for the Da Hong Pao and Rou Gui are stronger in aroma, Shui Xian makes up for this with the fuller, rich flavor with nice aftertaste and some sweetness.
- harvested in May (oolong needs more mature leaves)
- growing altitude: 700 meters
- Cultivar: Shui Xian
- natural farming, old shrubs have grown on their own
Shui Xian is sometimes called "Cai Cha," which means something like "planted around the kitchen garden. To co indicate that the Shui Xian is planted as the standard cultivar even more than the Da Hong Pao and Rou Gui. It is the most traditional and most planted cultivar.
This 'old tree' (or Lao Cong) Shui Xian is made from shrubs about 70-80 years old. In Wuyi, the oldest bushes are about 100 years old so the bushes used for this Shui Xian are considered very old. Tea bushes in Yunnan can be much older.
Because of their old age, these bushes also have very long roots. With these, they bring out a lot of minerals which adds to the flavor.
An important step in making oolong is Zuo Qing, damaging the leaf by shaking and tossing it. This occurs between wilting and roasting. The outside of the leaf thus becomes damaged; the juices in the damaged cells react with oxygen, initiating an oxidation process. However, the inside of the leaf remains undamaged, which is what characterizes oolong tea: partial oxidation.
A next important step and also characteristic of Wuyi oolong is roasting over charcoal (Tan Bei). The fire is covered with ash to moderate the temperature (around 65c) and it is not intended to have smoke on the tea, only heat. The tea (3.5-4 kg) is put into a basket and placed on the fire. The total roasting process takes 24 hours and every 45 minutes the tea is turned over to ensure even roasting. This is done away from the fire because otherwise grit falls through the basket into the fire which would cause smoke.
Roasting is done at least 3 times and there is about 2 months between each time. So the whole process takes six months. New harvest oolong is thus somewhat less applicable than green tea since the making takes longer, the harvest is later and actually a rest period after roasting benefits the tea as well.
