Basic Introduction to Xiyuan Oolong Tea
Xiyuan Oolong Tea is a specialty of Meizhou City, Guangdong Province, and is a Chinese National Geographical Indication product.
Xiyuan Oolong Tea originates from Xiyuan Mountain, which is characterized by its high altitude, misty environment, fresh air, and lush greenery. The tea produced here has distinct characteristics: the tea leaves are robust, tightly rolled, full, smooth, and evenly shaped with a lustrous yellow-brown color; in terms of aroma, it has a floral and honey-like scent that is naturally fragrant and long-lasting; the tea liquor is bright orange-yellow, slightly golden in hue; in taste, it is mellow, sweet, rich, fresh, and refreshing with a good aftertaste. It has won numerous honors, including the “Gold Medal” at the China Agriculture Expo, “China Famous Tea,” and “China Famous Brand Agricultural Product.”
The original tea tree variety of Xiyuan Oolong Tea was a small-leaf type, strong in resistance, with purple shoots and leaves, producing tea with a high and lasting fragrance. In the 1960s, excellent tea tree varieties such as Lingtou Dancong, Mei Zhan, Daye Qilan, and Phoenix Shuixian were introduced from Raoping County and Fujian Province. To meet the demand for highly fragrant, mid-to-high-grade teas both domestically and internationally, the area under tea cultivation expanded continuously, and tea-making techniques improved constantly. Now, Dabu Baiye Dancong accounts for more than 60 percent of the county's tea gardens, gradually replacing the original small-leaf tea tree varieties.
The processing of Xiyuan Oolong Tea involves six steps: fresh leaf, sun-drying, semi-fermentation, fixation, rolling, and drying (initial drying, bagging, final drying). High-quality Xiyuan Oolong Tea is renowned worldwide for its five outstanding features: aroma, sweetness, clarity, smoothness, and mellow taste.
Xiyuan Mountain is a famous mountain in eastern Guangdong, located within Dabu County, Meizhou City. The production area of Xiyuan Oolong Tea is subtropical, with a mild climate, abundant sunlight, rich heat, ample rainfall, long summers, and short winters. The annual average temperature is 21.2°C to 22°C, with an annual sunshine duration of 1,730.4 hours and an annual rainfall of 1,400 to 2,500 millimeters. The climate in the Xiyuan Oolong Tea production area is characterized by high altitudes with short daylight hours, plenty of cloud cover, abundant rain, mild winters, and cool summers, making it very suitable for tea tree growth without a distinct dormant period.
The soil types in Dabu County include: yellow soil, red soil, laterite, and paddy soil. Yellow and red soils mainly occur at altitudes above 500 to 1,000 meters. Xiyuan Mountain is primarily composed of yellow and red soils, which are loose, moist, fertile, and support healthy vegetation. The pH value ranges from 3.97 to 4.46, with deep soil layers rich in organic matter (2.35% to 3.93%) and dozens of trace elements, making it an excellent location for tea production. Lower altitude areas and plains are dominated by laterite and paddy soil. These regions have favorable water and heat conditions, deeper soil maturation, higher fertility, and a pH range of 3.97 to 4.46, making them ideal for tea tree growth in high-altitude tea-growing areas.
Nutritional Value
1. Lipid Regulation: Oolong tea contains linoleic acid, an unsaturated fatty acid that can reduce blood viscosity, increase blood flow, and lower cholesterol, thus aiding in lipid regulation.
2. Weight Loss: Oolong tea has fat-dissolving properties for weight loss. One of its main components, tannic acid, is closely related to fat metabolism. Oolong tea can lower cholesterol levels in the blood.
3. Refreshing and Stimulating: The caffeine in oolong tea stimulates the central nervous system, enhancing cerebral cortex excitement, and can help improve focus and mental clarity.
4. Beautifying and Nourishing the Skin: The water-soluble polyphenols in oolong tea can be used to cleanse the face, removing oiliness and tightening pores. Additionally, various vitamins in oolong tea provide nutrients to skin cells, hence having beautifying and nourishing effects on the skin.
Product Characteristics
The shape of Xiyuan Oolong Tea is tightly rolled with a slight curl, and the color is dark green and evenly lustrous. The inner quality is characterized by a fragrant and lasting aroma, a mellow and refreshing taste, a sweet aftertaste, a bright orange-yellow tea liquor, and green leaves with red edges that are durable when steeped.
Historical and Folk Customs
The origin of Xiyuan Oolong Tea dates back to the establishment of Yizhao County during the ninth year of the Yixi era of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (413 AD). Historically, the Oolong tea produced by the “Xizhu Temple” located on Fenglang Xiyuan Mountain was well-known far and wide, marking the earliest origins of Xiyuan Oolong Tea. Dabu County has a long history and is associated with the Buddhist Patriarch of Shame (817-866), who practiced meditation and recited Buddhist scriptures there, giving rise to a profound Zen culture. Buddhism not only established its unique Zen culture but also matured the indigenous tea culture, merging Zen and tea into Zen tea culture. Therefore, there is the saying of “Zen and Tea as One.” This concept originated from Zen and flourished through Zen, ultimately achieving the fusion of Zen and tea. The tea sage Lu Yu, who founded Chinese tea ceremony, recorded many praises of Buddhism and monks' fondness for tea in his “Tea Classic.” In practice, tea ceremony and Buddhism share increasing similarities in their philosophical foundations. The Zen tea culture in Dabu County emphasizes “harmony, tranquility, joy, and truth,” integrating the principles of Zen and tea into daily life, providing practical significance in harmonizing interpersonal relationships. Xiyuan Oolong Tea is one of the finest examples of Dabu's Zen tea culture. The Zen tea culture in Dabu County integrates righteousness into harmony, sharing into calmness, elegance into bliss, and gathering hearts into sincerity, playing a subtle yet significant role in uniting people, resolving conflicts, improving qualities, and fostering harmonious relationships.
Awards and Honors Received by Xiyuan Oolong Tea
1994: Gold Award in the Guangdong Provincial Famous Tea Evaluation;
1995: Gold Award at the Second China Agriculture Expo;
2003: Gold Award in the Fifth “Zhongcha Cup” National Famous and Quality Tea Evaluation;
2007: The organic tea king brand Xizhu won the gold award for quality competition of national famous and quality tea at the China (Guangzhou) International Tea Industry Expo;
2008: Recognized as a “China Famous Brand Agricultural Product” by the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China;
2012: Won the “China Famous Tea” Gold Award at the 2012 China (Shanghai) International Tea Industry Expo;
June 26, 2013: Approved by the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China to implement geographical indication product protection for “Xiyuan Oolong Tea”;
September 2020: The Guangdong Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced the list of the Third Guangdong Famous, Special, Excellent, and New Agricultural Products, with Xiyuan Oolong Tea among the 17 agricultural products from Meizhou City listed.