Arranging green tea, oolong, and black tea by their degree of oxidation helps organize tea categories. Yet it does not fully explain aroma differences within oolong. Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries also describes oolong as having varied tastes and aromas according to degrees of partial oxidation and roasting. Let us consider finishing heat as a separate dimension alongside oxidation.
Drying does not necessarily mark the end of heating
The Dong Ding oolong process described by Taiwan’s Tea and Beverage Research Station, Ministry of Agriculture, proceeds through sun withering, indoor withering and agitation, heat fixation, initial drying, ball rolling, drying, and then roasting. In this example, drying and roasting are listed as separate stages.
Ito En’s explanation of oolong production says the drying stage slowly dries the tea and adds a little fired aroma. Heating cannot be read simply as the removal of water. We need to look at the stage and purpose for which heat is applied.
Roasting serves purposes beyond adding aroma
The Taiwanese research station lists several functions of roasting: removing moisture again, extending storage life, correcting green notes and unwanted flavors in initially processed tea, and giving the tea its characteristic roasted aroma and flavor. Preparing the tea’s condition for completion and creating flavor are described together.
A tea described as roasted therefore has not necessarily been made solely to develop a strongly browned color or roasted aroma. Reading what material is being finished and its starting condition reveals a wider range of reasons for heating.
Qingxiang and beixiang are starting points for reading products
The research station divides ball-shaped oolong into qingxiang, or fresh-aroma, and beixiang, or roasted-aroma, styles. It lists high-mountain oolong under qingxiang, and Dong Ding oolong and Tieguanyin under beixiang. This is an example of organizing teas by roasting-related characteristics separately from oxidation categories.
Meanwhile, specialist tea shop HOJO’s account of Anxi Tieguanyin says that although charcoal roasting was originally the usual method, there are also unroasted qingxiang versions. The classification introduced here does not fix every product with the same tea name to one finish. At the shop, check the specific product’s description.
To compare it with hojicha, look before roasting
Hojicha is made by roasting teas such as sencha and bancha. Roasting oolong also uses heat to shape aroma and flavor, but the tea has been made differently before it reaches the roaster. Oolong combines a degree of oxidation with a roasting finish.
Rather than grouping the two simply as brown and toasty, check whether the tea before roasting was green tea or oolong. That helps explain the difference. Whether a tea is roasted is one piece of information; the production stages before it still matter.
If you see “hongbei” on a bag, read beyond the tea name
The term hongbei (烘焙) used in Taiwanese materials means roasting. If a bag or product page explains this stage, look for the intended aroma as well as the material and tea name. When qingxiang or beixiang appears, begin with the explanation accompanying that product.
The processes and classifications here are examples within the scope of each source. For a tasting comparison, follow each product’s brewing directions, write down the aroma in your own words first, and then compare it with the description. This can lead to discoveries beyond simply identifying a category name.