The Shoulder Transportation of Wuyi Rock Tea

The traditional Wuyi Rock Tea is produced in the Wuyi Shan area. (The Wuyi Shan it not the Wuyi City. Wuyi City used to be Chong An County 崇安县. And the Wuyi Shan is a mountain in Chong An County). The tea trees grow in the rocky Wuyi shan Area. The farmers plucked tea leaves in the tea season and they transport the tea leaves down to the mountian for processing in the tea works. The road in the mountain is very bumpy and steep, and the distance is long. The farmers have the tradition of transportating the tea leaves by shoulder.

There is few records demonstrating the orgin of Oolong Tea in China. But there is hypothesis that the origin of oolong tea is from Wuyi Shan. The testimony is that the tradition of shoulder transportation of tea leaves for long way inthe bumpy Wuyi road give birth to Oolong Tea. We know that the fresh tea leaves will shake and collide during the un-even way, and the extent is not low is the way is long. it mean some cell in the surface and edge of the of tea leaves are damaged in this way. and given long time, these damaged part get oxidized (fermented). Later the farmers fry the tea leaves. the semi-fementation character alredy formed, which is oolong tea.

This is the recovery of the history of oolong tea.