People all over the world enjoy drinking wu long tea (also known as wu-long, Wulong, or oolong tea) for its unique taste and natural health benefits. There are many varieties of this fragrant beverage, each with a slightly different flavor, color, and fragrance. Some of the more well-known varieties are Formosa, Tie Guan Yin, Shui Xian, and Da Hong Poa.
Wu-Long tea is grown in the southern regions of China - Taiwan, Guangdong, and Fujian. It comes from the Camellia Sinensis plant, as does green tea and black tea, but it's the different production methods, namely the amount of oxidation, that makes them all so different.
Green tea is not oxidized. The leaves are steamed or dried immediately after being picked. Black tea is oxidized. After the leaves have been picked they are withered and then oxidized. Wulong tea is semi-oxidized, so it has properties of both green and black tea. The leaves are left to dry in the sun until they are partially oxidized (20-80%), then to halt oxidation the leaves must be roasted.
The traditional way to make oolong tea is known as the Gong Fu method. This involves using a small teapot, sometimes called a Yixing teapot, which is made from unglazed clay. The teapot is filled with hot, lightly boiled water and then is emptied. Tea leaves are then put in the teapot - about 1/4 or 1/3 of the volume of the teapot, and the pot is filled about halfway with hot water. This is the first infusion and is not meant to be drunk; it makes the tea leaves 'awaken' and start to unfurl and also removes any dust or impurities from them. This tea is then poured away and the teapot is re-filled with hot water and left to steep for about 30 seconds up to a minute, before being poured into tiny cups for serving.
The teapot can then be re-filled with hot water for another infusion. The steeping time should be slightly longer than the previous and with good quality tea you can get 5 or 6 infusions before the teas lose its taste. Gongfu teapots are never washed with detergent; they are just rinsed with water.
Wu long tea can be brewed in a normal teapot and unless you are a tea connoisseur it will still be delicious and nourishing!