Netizen Inquiry: Hello, is oolong tea considered unroasted or roasted? Some say it’s unroasted, while others feel it’s roasted. How do you tell the difference between unroasted and roasted teas, and what sets them apart? Could a tea expert please explain? Thank you!
Chang-Hsing Tea: Oolong tea can be either unroasted or roasted! This comes down to the production method rather than the tea variety. In Taiwan, Tieguanyin, Pouchong, and Oolong teas can all be crafted into either unroasted or roasted styles. The distinction lies in the duration and temperature of the roasting process: lightly roasted teas are considered unroasted, while heavier roasts are referred to as semi-roasted or roasted teas.
Unroasted tea tastes closer to the natural flavor of the tea leaves, though it also has a bit more stimulation, making it very effective for cutting through greasiness and refreshing the palate. Roasted tea is milder—what people traditionally call “old timer’s tea” usually refers to roasted tea. Looking at the tea liquor, unroasted tea has a pale yellowish-green hue with a refreshing floral aroma, which describes most Pouchong and high mountain teas on the market. Semi-roasted teas yield a deeper liquor with a roasted aroma; traditional Dong Ding Oolong and Muzha Tieguanyin are examples of medium-roasted semi-roasted teas. Taking it a step further, you have heavily roasted oolongs or mainland China’s Wuyi rock teas, which often feature a hint of scorched or charcoal flavor, though heavily roasted teas are much rarer nowadays.
To answer your question directly: visually, unroasted tea leaves tend to be greener, while more roasted leaves become increasingly reddish-black. When brewed, unroasted tea produces a light green liquor, whereas deeper roasts yield a redder infusion. Flavor-wise, unroasted tea is lighter and more aromatic, while roasted tea is richer, smoother, and leaves a lingering sweet aftertaste (huigan). However, do note that some tea varieties produce a very bright red liquor without being roasted. Examples include Oriental Beauty (Formosa Oolong), black tea, and Pu-erh tea; their reddish tint comes from fermentation, not roasting. As a side note, “raw” (sheng) and “ripe” (shou) Pu-erh refer to whether the tea has undergone wet piling (wo Dui), which is entirely different from the unroasted and roasted classification of Taiwanese oolong tea.