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Da Ye Wulong

Another of the four traditional cultivars brought from Fujian to northern Taiwan in the nineteenth century, distinguished by a notably larger and thicker leaf than Qing Xin. It is hardy and tolerant of poorer ground, which is why it persisted on marginal plots, and it is used for Baozhong, for heavily oxidised styles and increasingly for black tea.

大葉烏龍Camellia sinensis var. sinensisTaiwanAlso called Large Leaf Oolong

Where it sits in the botany

Da Ye Wulong is recorded under Camellia sinensis var. sinensis, the variety group one level above cultivar. It is associated with Taiwan, which is where it was selected or is most widely planted rather than the only place it grows.

Also transliterated as: da ye wulong, da ye wu long.

What the plant is like

Large, thick leaf with good vigour and tolerance of poor soil, but less aromatic refinement than Qing Xin. Small remaining planted area.

Why a grower plants it

Yield, hardiness, when it buds, what it resists and whether a machine can cut it. This is the half of a cultivar’s identity that decides what is actually in the ground, and it is usually left out of writing aimed at drinkers.

Hardy, vigorous and tolerant of poorer ground, which is exactly why it persisted on marginal plots after better-regarded cultivars took the good land. Its leaf is notably larger and thicker than Qing Xin's, so it handles differently through rolling and suits heavier oxidation. The remaining planted area is small.

What it does in the cup

Reported as less aromatically refined than Qing Xin, and used for Baozhong, for heavily oxidised styles and increasingly for black tea.

How much of this is really the cultivar?

Cultivars survive or vanish with the ground they are left on rather than with their quality, and this is the clearest Taiwanese example: a plant that holds poor soil ends up defining what poor soil produces. Its recent movement into black tea is the other half of the same logic — a cultivar finds a category that suits what it can do once the category it was planted for has moved on.

Cultivar, growing site and processing all shape a cup, and the cultivar is very often the smallest of the three. It is also the one that fits on a label, so almost every commercial incentive runs toward overstating it. This section is on every cultivar page that has been reviewed for it, including the ones where the honest answer is “less than you would think”.

What it is usually made into

The categories this cultivar is typically processed into. It is a statement about common practice, not a limit — processing decides the category, and a cultivar can be taken down more than one route.

  • Oolong — Partially oxidised teas, bruised deliberately and often roasted — the widest-ranging category in tea.
  • Black tea — Tea taken deliberately through full enzymatic oxidation, giving the dark leaf, amber-to-red liquor and malty or brisk character most Western drinkers think of as simply 'tea'.

Teas in the catalogue made from Da Ye Wulong

Other cultivars in Camellia sinensis var. sinensis

Sources

  • TeaHQ editorial synthesis — TeaHQ

This page is TeaHQ’s own synthesis throughout. No breeding register or institutional record stands behind the account above, which is why the origin note carries its confidence in the open rather than reading as a citation.

How TeaHQ handles sources