Tea of the Week: Eastern Beauty Oolong

EASTERN BEAUTY OOLONG

In celebration of Dragonfly's 15th birthday, we have created our beautiful new Tea House Collection of ten artisan teas. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be telling you a little more about each of these delicious teas, from old favourites to new discoveries.

Like both black teas and green teas, Oolong teas are made from the leaves of the Camelia Sinensis bush, part of the same family as the garden Camellia. However, unlike black teas which are fully oxidised and green teas which are only slightly oxidised, Oolongs are made from semi-oxidised leaves. As a result, they have a complexity, richness and golden amber colour that places them halfway between green and black teas. Considered one of the most complicated teas to make, the craft lies in carefully controlling the oxidisation process (the same browning as when you leave a peeled apple out in the air). The tea master repeatedly stirs, tosses and gently bruises the leaves, using his sense of smell, touch and sight to monitor the process. As the tea leaves begin to darken, releasing the special flavours and aromas, the master decides when to stop the oxidising process with the swift application of heat. The warm leaves are then rolled or twisted into the desired shape and dried.