“I found an unsuspecting little bag of some ball rolled green oolong today. After a little inspection, I decided it must be this tea that I received a 5g of from derk some time ago. I thought I have...” Read full tasting note
“I’ve been feeling longer steep times with the teapot the past few days, as opposed to shorter infusions in a gaiwan. This tea… hm. I think it liked it, too. 5g, 100mL, 212F, rinse plus 6 steeps at...” Read full tasting note
Probably the most challenging tea on offer right now, this Wild Garden Oolong from Alishan has an amazing story. The garden was planted during the tea boom by an Aboriginal Zhou Tribe family 30 years ago and then abandoned soon after. It had been sitting ignored for twenty years until the tragic events of Typhoon Morakot 10 years ago brought the family back to the mountain to rebuild. The trees were cut back and tended to twice a year for 5 years before the plants were even strong enough to produce a single harvest. Now in their 5th year of limited production, the teas produced from this garden are very, very unique and powerful. The nature of the regenerative farming methods have made it so that the trees can only be harvested twice a year, in spring and winter. This is the spring pick.
The taste of this tea is challenging and powerful and can be described as like drinking a strong aboriginal soup. The Jinxuan (milk oolong) cultivar’s body and buttery mouthfeel are in full force and the wild vegetal bitterness of the regenerative growing practices accent it perfectly, if you like that kind of thing. Buttery, meaty, thick, smooth, with hints of bitter greens in the sides of your mouth, followed by a pleasant and very long aftertaste with hints of sweetness, this is not a tea for beginners!
I totally realize that this story is an amazing one and hard to believe! I have been to this area, met the people and tasted the tea. It all fits and I have no reason to disbelieve any of it, but as with all stories of tea you have to see it to believe it. I will be visiting this garden more in the coming years and I hope to provide lots more information about this unique and powerful tea.
Elevation: 1000m
Status: Certified Organic
Cultivar: Jinxuan (Milk Oolong)
Oxidization: 30%
Season: Spring 2018
Method: Hand picked, processed on site, very small batch
Region: Alishan, Nantou County
Recommend Brewing Style:
Gong Fu Style: 3-5g per 100ml, 100C water, 30, 45, 60 then add 5-10 seconds steeps in gaiwan. Lasts 4-5 steeps.
Western Style: 3g per 100ml, 100c water for 2 minutes. Lasts 2-3 steeps
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