China has over one hundred famous tea varieties, classified into six major categories based on oxidation level: green tea, black tea, dark tea, yellow tea, white tea, and oolong tea. Oolong tea is also known as "blue tea" in some contexts, and many wonder why the "six colors" are often split into "five colors" in common parlance. There’s actually a story behind this! Let’s explore the history of oolong tea.

Oolong tea, a semi-oxidized tea with numerous varieties, is a distinctive category of Chinese tea with rich Han cultural characteristics. Famous examples include Tieguanyin and Dahongpao. It is produced through processes such as picking, withering, shaking, fixation, rolling, and baking.

In the Fujian dialect, "oolong" means "blunder" or "messy." This is why in soccer, scoring an own goal is called an "own goal" (乌龙球).

Legend has it that a tea farmer, after picking tea leaves on a mountain, carried the fresh leaves down in a bamboo basket. The rugged mountain path caused the leaves to jostle and shake during the descent, resulting in a floral aroma from the collisions. The farmer applied this accidental discovery to tea processing, eventually developing the unique "shaking" technique. At the time, lacking scientific explanation, farmers called this tea "oolong tea"—the "blunder tea"—and the name stuck as the common term for this category.

The processing techniques for tea categories are the result of endless experimentation and refinement. However, this story helps people remember the "shaking" process of oolong tea and understand that the aroma of Tieguanyin and Dahongpao comes from this critical step.

After the story, let’s delve into the specifics. What exactly is the "shaking" process? Don’t rush, dear readers—let me explain.

Modern science provides a clear explanation for the once-mysterious "shaking" process. Typically, tea farmers alternate between sun-withering (drying fresh leaves) and shaking, often three rounds of each, sometimes even six. Shaking causes the edges of the leaves to collide and break, allowing slight oxidation of tea polyphenols into theaflavins, forming the signature "green leaves with red edges" of oolong tea. Additionally, shaking is key to developing the tea’s aroma. Through shaking, the chemical compounds in the leaves increase from 50 to over 300 types, producing floral and fruity fragrances.

Now you know where the aroma of Tieguanyin and Dahongpao comes from! For all tea types, learning a bit about tea science—cultivation, processing, and evaluation—helps you appreciate tea beyond mere confusion.