Oo·long
/ˈuːlɒŋ/
noun
China / Taiwan
A partially oxidised tea sitting between green and black, spanning floral, creamy, and roasted expressions.
Oolong covers an unusually wide range of flavour because oxidation can be stopped anywhere between 10% and 80% — close to green tea at one end, close to black tea at the other. Taiwanese high-mountain oolongs tend toward light, floral, and creamy, while traditional Wuyi rock oolongs from Fujian are darker and roasted.
The leaves are often rolled into tight balls rather than left flat, which lets them unfurl slowly over multiple steepings — oolong is a favourite for gongfu-style brewing, where the same leaves are infused many times in quick succession.