Re: Post-Fermented Leaf Processing

I cannot agree that a matured oolong or white tea be categorized as dark tea (hei cha). A sheng cha is stored normally in a breathable container or open to the air, oolongs or white teas are stored in an air-tight condition, as Leo writes about in a few articles. Sheng cha is therefore darkened in the old way, exposed to the elements, to become a dark tea. It turns from very bitter and too sharp to mellow and a bit sweet. Oolongs and white teas retain their individual characters but only softer and perhaps gaining aroma and sweetness when mature.