Chinese Oolong Tea: A Complete Guide to the Types, Tastes and How to Brew Them

By Denis YorkSeptember 24, 20266 min read

Oolong (乌龙, wulong; qing cha, 青茶, in China's six-group classification) is a partially oxidized tea, made by bruising the leaf to start oxidation and then stopping it somewhere between green tea and red tea. That "somewhere" can be anywhere from about 10% to 80%, and many oolongs are then roasted, so the category runs from bright, floral, almost green teas like Tieguanyin to dark, roasty, mineral teas like Da Hong Pao. China's oolongs come from four main areas: Anxi and the Wuyi Mountains in Fujian, the Phoenix Mountains in Guangdong, and Taiwan.

Oolong is the tea category I'd pick if I could only keep one. It's the most varied: you could drink a different oolong every day for a year and never have the same experience twice. It's also the most confusing, because "oolong" on a label tells you less than almost any other tea word. A supermarket "oolong" teabag, a bright green Tieguanyin and a charcoal-dark Rou Gui share a name and very little else.

My own path went through all of it. Green Tieguanyin was the first oolong I loved, for its orchid perfume. Taiwanese high-mountain teas came next. Then a gongfu session of Wuyi rock tea changed how I brewed everything, and roasted Wuyi oolongs are still what I reach for most after sheng pu-erh. This guide is the map of that territory.

Two dials: oxidation and roast#

Every oolong is the result of two decisions made by the tea maker. Once you understand them, labels start to make sense, or at least stop reading like riddles.

Oxidation#

After picking and withering, oolong leaves are shaken or tossed (yao qing, 摇青) to bruise their edges. Oxidation begins at those bruises, turning the leaf edges red while the centre stays green, which is why unfurled oolong leaves often have red rims. The tea maker then fires the leaf to stop oxidation at the point they want.

Low oxidation (about 15–30%): green, floral, fresh. Taiwanese high-mountain oolong; modern Tieguanyin sits around 20–40%.
Medium (about 25–45%): fruitier, rounder, more honey. Dan Cong, Dong Ding, traditional Tieguanyin.
High (about 45–80%): dark fruit, honey, cocoa. Oriental Beauty; Wuyi teas sit at the medium-to-high edge.

These percentages are approximations used by the trade, not lab measurements (nobody is standing over the leaf with a meter), but they're a useful scale.

Roast#

Many oolongs are then roasted (hong bei, 烘焙), from a light finishing bake to several rounds over charcoal lasting weeks or months.

Unroasted or lightly roasted: keeps the fresh aroma, but the tea stays delicate and fades faster.
Medium roast: adds honey, toasted grain and warmth; the tea keeps longer.
Heavy charcoal roast: roasted nuts, cocoa, coffee, minerals. Traditional Wuyi and old-style Anxi teas. Needs a few months to rest before the "fire" settles.

Putting it together#

	Light roast	Heavy roast
Low oxidation	Green Tieguanyin, Alishan, Lishan: floral, buttery, fresh	Traditional roasted Tieguanyin: orchid under honey and toast
High oxidation	Oriental Beauty: honey, muscat, ripe fruit	Da Hong Pao, Rou Gui: dark fruit, cocoa, minerals

If you know which corner of this grid you like, you can navigate any oolong shelf. I started top-left and ended up bottom-right, which seems to be a common path.

The four families of oolong#

Family	Where	Leaf shape	Typical character	Start with
Anxi (Minnan)	Southern Fujian	Tightly rolled balls	Floral, creamy, orchid	Tieguanyin (green style)
Wuyi rock tea (Minbei)	Northern Fujian, Wuyi Mountains	Long dark twisted strips	Roasted, mineral, dark fruit	Shui Xian or Rou Gui
Phoenix Dan Cong	Eastern Guangdong	Long twisted strips	Intensely perfumed, fruity, honey	Mi Lan Xiang
Taiwanese	Taiwan	Rolled balls or open leaf	Buttery, floral, fresh, or honeyed	High-mountain (Alishan)

Anxi oolong: Tieguanyin and friends#

Anxi County in southern Fujian gave the world Tieguanyin (铁观音, Iron Goddess of Mercy), probably the most famous rolled oolong. Today it comes in two styles: a modern green style that's barely roasted, bright and orchid-scented, and a traditional roasted style that's warmer and deeper. Other Anxi teas include Huang Jin Gui (Golden Osmanthus) and Ben Shan. Full guide: Tieguanyin: green vs traditional roasted.

Wuyi rock tea (yancha)#

From the cliffs of the Wuyi Mountains in northern Fujian come the "rock teas": long, dark, twisted leaves, oxidized further and roasted over charcoal. Their signature is yan yun (岩韵), a mineral, stony depth. The famous names: Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe), Rou Gui (Cinnamon), Shui Xian (Narcissus), Tie Luo Han, Shui Jin Gui and Bai Ji Guan. This is my home ground. Full guide: Wuyi rock tea, plus Da Hong Pao and Tieguanyin vs Da Hong Pao.

Phoenix Dan Cong#

From the Phoenix Mountains near Chaozhou in Guangdong: long strips with some of the most intense natural aromas in the tea world, from honey orchid to almond, gardenia and ginger flower. Brilliant and unforgiving: steep a few seconds too long and it turns bitter, and it won't apologise. Full guide: Dan Cong oolong.

Taiwanese oolong#

Taiwan's tea tradition came with settlers from Fujian and developed its own styles: high-mountain oolongs from Alishan, Lishan and Shan Lin Xi (green, creamy, floral), Dong Ding (medium roast, nutty), Baozhong (open-leaf, very floral) and Oriental Beauty (heavily oxidized, honey and muscat, made from leaves nibbled by leafhoppers). Full guide: Taiwanese oolong.

Worth knowing too#

Milk oolong (Jin Xuan): a Taiwanese cultivar with a naturally creamy note. Many cheaper "milk oolongs" are flavoured, though. See milk oolong.
Aged oolong (lao cha): roasted oolongs stored for years and sometimes re-roasted. Deep, plummy, medicinal. A niche worth exploring later.

Not sure which side you're on? Brew a green Tieguanyin and a Wuyi Shui Xian side by side. It's the fastest way to find out. More in roasted vs green oolong.

How to brew oolong#

Oolong is the tea gongfu brewing was made for. Starting points for a 100 ml gaiwan:

Oolong	Leaf	Water	Rinse	1st steep	Add	Steeps
Rolled, green style (Tieguanyin, high mountain)	5–7 g	80–90 °C	Quick	5–10 s	+5 s	5–10
Rolled, roasted (traditional Tieguanyin, Dong Ding)	6 g	90–95 °C	Quick	10–20 s	+15–20 s	7–10
Wuyi rock tea	6 g	90–95 °C	Quick	10–20 s	+15–20 s	7–10+
Dan Cong	5–6 g	90–95 °C	Quick	3–5 s	+5 s	8–12
Oriental Beauty	4 g	80–90 °C	No	10 s	+5 s	Up to 10
Baozhong	4–5 g	85–90 °C	No	10 s	+5 s	5–7

Two simple rules cover most of it:

Rolled oolongs open slowly. The quick rinse helps wake the balls, and the second or third steep is often the best.
Darker and more roasted means hotter water. Strip-style leaf opens quickly, so watch the early steeps closely, especially with Dan Cong.

Western-style, use 3 g per 250 ml, 90–95 °C (boiling for roasted teas), and 2–3 minutes; oolong usually gives two or three good mugs. Every number for every tea is in the gongfu brewing chart, and the method itself is in the gongfu guide.

Buying oolong#

Read the label for place, year and roast. "Oolong" alone tells you about as much as "wine".
Harvest season matters. Spring is the standard for most; for Tieguanyin, autumn is also prized.
Whole leaves unfurl in the gaiwan. Broken, dusty leaf brews flat and bitter.
Freshness for green oolongs, rest for roasted ones. Green-style oolong is best within a year of harvest; heavily roasted oolong often tastes better after several months.
Beware of flavoured "oolongs" sold as milk, peach or rose oolong without saying so.

Storing oolong#

Green-style oolong: airtight, dark and cool. Many drinkers keep vacuum-packed Tieguanyin in the fridge; if you do, let the pack reach room temperature before opening to avoid condensation.
Roasted oolong: airtight, dark, room temperature. It keeps for years and can improve as the roast mellows.
Both: away from strong smells. Oolong soaks them up as eagerly as pu-erh.

Steep timer

5–7 g per 100 ml80–90 °CRinse firstUp to 10 steeps

Steep 18s

Questions people ask

What is oolong tea?

A partially oxidized Chinese tea, made by bruising the leaf and stopping oxidation somewhere between green and red tea. It ranges from light and floral to dark and roasted.

What does oolong taste like?

It depends on oxidation and roast. Light oolongs taste floral and creamy; dark, roasted ones taste of honey, dark fruit, cocoa and minerals.

Is oolong green tea or red (black) tea?

Neither. It's its own category, happily sitting in between the two. Light oolongs can resemble green tea and dark ones red tea, but the processing is different.

What is the best oolong for beginners?

A green-style Tieguanyin if you like floral teas; a Wuyi Shui Xian if you like coffee or chocolate. Ideally both, side by side.

Does oolong have caffeine?

Yes, roughly comparable to other teas. Leaf amount and brewing affect it far more than the type.

How many times can you steep oolong?

Gongfu-style, good oolong gives 5–10 steeps, sometimes more. Western-style, two or three.

What does "oolong" mean?

乌龙 (wulong) means "black dragon", probably from the long, dark, twisted leaves of early Wuyi teas. Stories about a farmer named Wu Long also exist.