Tea and Health

Wu-Yi Tea Harvesting and Processing

The amazing Chinese slimming tea, Wu-Yi Tea, is some of the very best tea for dieting and health benefits, but do you really know the process of creating that great weight loss aid that is sweeping the nation and becoming one of the most popular diet tea of all time?

The leaves of Wu-Yi Tea begin as thousands of leaves of the camellia sinensis plant on rolling hills and high mountains of the Wu-Yi Mountains in the Fujian Province of China. The moist climate is the perfect setting for wu-yi tea harvesting as the wind from the ocean meets the high altitude of the mountain region. If you have ever seen pictures of the Wu-Yi Mountains where authentic Wu-Yi Tea comes from you will notice the foggy atmosphere that always stays at mountain level making it seem that the mountains are literally up in the skies of the China province.

Across these mountains the people of Wu-Yi Shan Village harvest some of the finest oolong tea in the world. The harvest time for Wu-Yi Tea usually comes in April and then in the autumn, but of course it varies depending on each crop year. A typical tea bush of the camellia sinensis plant will generally produce about three thousand Wu-Yi tea leaves a year. Although that may sound like a lot, you must know that three thousand leaves only make up only about one pound of fully processed Wu-Yi Tea. Most tea farmers are villagers from Mt. Wu-Yi Shan. A popular picking technique of the villagers is to face the hands upwards, hold the stem between the index and middle fingers, then break the stem gently using the thumb. This is the customary way to pick the camellia sinensis leaf which also yields oolong tea, green tea and also black tea.

Why is Wu-Yi Tea usually oolong tea? Authentic Wu-Yi Tea is almost always oolong tea. While of course it can be fermented less where it may look greener like a green tea, true Wu-Yi Tea has consistently been fermented as oolong dating back for centuries in the villages of Mt. Wuyi Shan. It was actually such a prized tea for its perfect combination of taste and pleasant aroma that it was often given as gifts to foreign dignitaries. Over centuries the wu-yi tea harvesting has been perfected and is usually achieved through a unique ball-rolling step during processing. The finished appearance of the tea has a deep-greenish brown color. When brewed wuyi Oolong tea is a bright golden-yellowish color with a strong and pleasant aroma. When a tea bag allowed to steep for three to four minutes the wuyi tea leaves unfurl and allow all of the tea juices and flavor to seep into the water. Wu-Yi tea has a refreshing and long lasting after taste in the mouth. Remember also that Wu-yi Oolong tea also has more of the weight loss benefits than green tea due to the further oxidation of the tea leaves. This is well known in Asia and becoming more well known throughout the world as authentic Wu-Yi Tea is becoming more popular.

Once high grade premium Wu-Yi Tea is harvested, the procedssing is always handmade while most other tea is machine made. There are usually 7 stages involved in Wu-Yi Tea production. The most important steps of the process are Wu-Yi Tea leaf selection or harvesting. The next step consists of bruising and slow-baking. Occasionally there is Wu-Yi tea harvested in the autumn which is also known as winter Wu-Yi tea. Wu-Yi Tea leaves consist of mature leaves of one bud with 3 or 4 leaves. Wu-Yi Tea is usually made of tender leaves, thus the higher grade or quality of tea results. That is why the warm moist climate of the WuYi Mountains is the perfect setting for tender wuyi leaf harvesting.

Once Wu-Yi Tea leaves are picked from the camellia sinensis plant or bush as some refer it is as, they are left to cool indoors and then sometimes moved to the outdoors to remove moisture from the sunlight. This is an important step of the process as the level of moisture determines how quickly tea polyphenols oxidize. Sometimes the wu-yi tea leaves are alternated quite a few times between indoors and out as too much sun can cause over-heating. The more the polyphenols the more the weight loss benefits of the Wu-Yi Tea so remember that is a good thing for the tea to have!

As moisture vaporizes in the Wu-Yi Tea leaves, they become soft and lose their natural springiness and vitality. This is not a cause for concern as the later bruising stage allows the wuyi tea leaves to regain their elasticity. The leaves are spread out over usually a bamboo type of table by the hands of the wuyi tea farmers to distribute moisture more evenly. Stirring or moving the wu-yi tea leaves around once again by the tea farmers occurs also at this point which helps with the oxidation process. This can take up to 10 hours of labor from the wu-yi tea farmers and should be seen as a continuation of withering. Further bruising takes place in bamboo baskets where wu-yi tea farmers shake the withered leaves and then handpress them against the bamboo, which allows the wu-yi tea juices to be exposed and it turn speeds up the oxidation process, encouraging higher polyphenols count for the weight loss tea.

The wu-yi tea leaves are then spread out again over the bamboo table to slow down oxidation and other chemical changes once again. This process is repeated several times from the handpressing of the wu-yi tea leaves to spreading them out to dry. The amount of time and intensity varies depending on the wind speed, temperature, sun or light intensity, and humidity on that particular day of tea processing.

In the final part of this process moisture eventually travels from stems to leaves which causes the wu-yi tea leaves to regain their suppleness. This process ends when wu-yi tea leaf edges start to turn brownish red and tea aroma substances form. Once this occurs the next step involves the bruised wu-yi tea leaves being pan-fried at high heat which kills the enzymes and stops the process of oxidation. This actual part of the wu-yi tea process is called fixation and usually lasts only a brief period of time. The purpose of this “pan frying” is to kill enzymes and stop oxidation of the wu-yi tea leaves. If it lasts too long, the leaves will lose too much moisture and become over processed. This is where the skill of the true wu-yi tea farmer comes into play.

Wu-Yi tea rolling and shaping is the next step of the tea process. This is where the tea farmer applies pressure to roll the wu-yi tea leaves into the desired shape which is usually long and curly for wu-yi tea. Once the Wu-Yi Tea is rolled it is heated and then rolled again. This part of the process is then repeated several times.

In the next step the Wu-Yi Tea is baked in low heat for up to seven hours usually by charcoal. This slow cooking allows the tea to form into its desired tea with the right amount of aroma. Have you ever wonder why wu-yi oolong tea lasts so much longer than green tea? It is the slow baking that allows wu-yi tea to last longer. The slow baking also makes the tea more potent for weight loss benefits and makes it more of a weight loss tea.

During the final stages the wu-yi tea leaves are then sorted and bad parts such as twigs and substandard leaves are removed. Once the tea is sorted and bagged it is then carried down the mountain area for storage in the wu-yi tea houses until it is ready to be bagged in our small tea bags.

Once the Wu-Yi Tea is bagged and boxed in our certified organic facility it is immediately shipped to us here Austin, Texas and then shipped directly to you! So you see a lot of love and dedication goes into each cup of your Wu-Yi Tea! Now you can not only appreciate all of the health and weight loss benefits that come from the tea, but also the time and effort from the tea farmers that created your cup of tea.

Enjoy and cheers to your health!

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