The Journey of Tea
2023.07.28

Why should oolong tea be kneaded into a hemispherical shape?

Why should oolong tea be kneaded into a hemispherical shape?

Hi everyone, I'm Andy.

Have you ever been curious about the Dong Ding oolong tea or High Mountain Oolong tea that you often drink? Why are they all hemispherical?
Instead of a straight like black tea.
Some people say it is better to drink tea when it is kneaded into balls.
Judging by the results so far, this may be true.
But how did anyone know that tea is better when kneaded into balls?
This problem can be traced back to the birthplace of ball tea, Tieguanyin in Anxi, Fujian, China.
In the beginning, the tea was straight, but for ease of transport, and there are many ferocious beast in the tea mountains,
So a new method was developed to knead the tea into a hemispherical shape, reducing the volume by more than 30%.
As the volume shrinks, people find that the sweetness of the tea has improved, but the aroma of the tea has weakened.
This is because there is a heating step in the tea ball kneading process,
Heating volatilizes the aromatic substances in the tea leaves and post-oxidases the chemicals in the tea leaves.
This is also the reason why the ball tea has a strong aftertaste and weak aroma.
Wenshan Baozhong tea is a straight shaped oolong tea with a strong aroma and weak aftertaste.
Most of the inventions of tea-making steps come from functional requirements because new tastes can only be discovered with new functions.

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