In the winter season of 2021, we successfully took two varietals commonly used for black tea production and successfully made them into oolong tea instead. This made us wonder: What if we combined both the processing techniques of black tea and oolong tea, making a red oolong? Since they are both black tea varietals, why not utilize their natural character as black teas to their full potential? Thus, this season a new Assam was born.

The material of this tea was combined with two varietals, the varietals that were made into “The Ridge” and “The Eight” last season. Despite combining the harvests from both plantations, the yield was still very small due to the cold temperatures this spring. This small quantity of raw tea material (around 54 kilograms) did not, however, make the processing any easier. Because we were trying to create a red oolong, the extra step of “rolling” was added at midnight, which increased the amount of time and labor needed to finish. Luckily, the factory owner (whose name was also Mr. Chen) was not too bothered by this unexpected extra turmoil.

Mr. Xie was again very intrigued by our creation, which turned out beautifully smooth. When placed in a preheated teapot, the leaves give off a spicy yet cooling sensation in the nostrils, a rambunctious scent with the rich depth of a black tea and the herbaceous freshness of an oolong. On brewing, the leaves produce a glistening dark liquor. It may look like a standard black tea, and indeed it has a nice cooling mouthfeel that you may experience in black teas such as “Warm Elephant”, yet the structure of the tea liquor has the thickness of an oolong. After drinking, a fragrant aftertaste of sticky rice cake is left in the nose, a common flavor from big leaf/arbor teas.

Like many arbor varietals, this tea also has powerful energy; see if you feel a warm glow especially around your head and neck. These are great leaves to share with your tea-loving friends, you might just knock a few socks off!

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Harvest: Spring 2022 / 春貳零貳貳

Varietal: Arbor Varietal / 喬木種

Elevation: 350 M / 參佰伍拾公尺

Region: Sanlun / 三崙村

Fermentation Level: 70% / 分之柒拾

Roast Level: 1 / 壹分

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