Shiguping Oolong Tea

Shiguping Oolong Tea

　　Chao’an Shiguping Oolong Tea is a specialty from Shiguping in Fenghuang Town, Chao’an County, Chaozhou City, Guangdong Province. It has a glossy green, tightly rolled appearance, with a high, rich aroma and a fresh, mellow, and refreshing taste. The liquor is clear yellow-green, and the leaves are tender green with a red edge along the leaf margins. When brewed in a premium teapot, the fragrance lingers even after multiple infusions without losing its flavor. After being stored for one year, the new tea still maintains its original color, aroma, and taste. It is also known to help prevent and treat high blood pressure, chronic asthma, dysentery, and tooth decay.

　　Shiguping Oolong Tea originates from Shiguping in Fenghuang Town, Chao’an County, Chaozhou City, Guangdong Province. The growing area sits mostly at elevations above 1,000 meters, featuring overlapping mountains, undulating hills, dense bamboo forests, flowing rocky springs, deep and loose soil rich in organic matter, a warm climate, large day-night temperature differences, abundant rainfall, and constant cloud cover. Local tea farmers practice selective cultivation, choosing mother plants with tender, thick, and glossy leaves to cultivate cuttings. They use short-cuttings for propagation and establish modern tea gardens. The tea trees grow vigorously, producing plump, tender, and soft buds and leaves that are rich in amino acids and aromatic compounds.

　　The Shiguping area has been home to the She ethnic group for over 400 years and has a history of tea cultivation for the same duration. It was not until the late Qing Dynasty that semi-fermented tea processing techniques were developed, leading to the production of this tea. Today, the tea-growing region has expanded to villages throughout the Dazhi Mountain range. However, due to limitations in climate, soil, and tea variety, cultivation is restricted, resulting in limited yield and greater rarity. In 1985, at a renowned tea evaluation conference held in Nanjing by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Fisheries and the China Tea Science Society, this tea was awarded the title of High-Quality Agricultural Product and a Golden Cup Prize. It is exported to Southeast Asia and the Hong Kong and Macau regions.

　　Shiguping Oolong Tea: Harvesting and Processing Techniques and Tea Quality. During harvesting, the “horseback-style” picking method is used—tea leaves are picked gently and handled delicately, then transported promptly. Picking is only done on sunny days between morning and 4 p.m., avoiding dewy tea, rain-soaked tea, or evening tea. Leaves from different tea mountains and of varying maturity levels are picked separately to ensure the quality of fresh leaves. All processing is carried out at night and includes seven steps: sun-withering, cooling, shaking, resting, fixing, rolling, and drying. Among these, the shaking process is crucial to forming the tea’s unique quality. Shaking and resting are repeated 5–6 times, all overseen by experienced tea masters. The entire process takes 18 hours. The final tea product has a tightly rolled, glossy green appearance, a rich and high aroma, and a fresh, mellow, and refreshing taste. The liquor is clear yellow-green, with tender green leaves that have a red edge along the margins. When brewed in a fine teapot, the fragrance remains strong and the flavor consistent even after multiple infusions. Even after being stored for a year, the tea retains its original color, aroma, and taste. This tea is also effective in preventing and treating high blood pressure, chronic asthma, dysentery, and tooth decay.