In this video we show you, not tell you, the steps involved when making Dancong Oolong maocha. This is the initial processing for Dancong, after which it can be roasted 1 or more times to achieve the desired result.

The first step is obviously picking. Although perhaps the first step could be planting a seed or a clone, then waiting for the tea tree to grow big enough to support a harvest and then picking… but we’re going to keep things simple today.

After the leaves are picked, they are briefly wilted in the sun (shaiqing) to quickly remove some moisture.

But too much sun isn’t good for them, so they’re soon moved inside to a “liangqing” in a cooler environment. This happens for a few hours at a time, interrupted periodically to “zuoqing”, which involves lightly bruising the edge of the leaves with either your hands or by tossing them in a basket.

This 10+ hours affair is capped off with a little more rest, then “shaqing”/kill green/fixing. As with other teas, this is the step that denatures the enzymes and “fixes” the tea.

With the tea fixed, it’s time to roll it and break the cell walls.

The last step of it all is a baking/roasting process, which dries the tea.

To see the last step of making Dancong, check out the charcoal roasting process video as well.