Tea in China is largely categorized into six major types: green, yellow, white, black, oolong and dark. Wuyi rock tea, as a special oolong variety, sits between green “non-fermented tea” and black “fully-fermented tea.” Its processing involves more than ten steps, principal among which is the fermentation, which must be done at precisely the right temperature to bring out complex flavors.

Having been passed down and developed over many centuries, the art of processing Wuyi rock tea has been listed as part of China’s intangible cultural heritage.