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Winter Harvest 2010
Growing Area: Alishan, Chiayi County, Taiwan
Varietal: Qing Xin (Green Heart) Oolong
Altitude: 4,000 ft (1,200 m)
Oxidation: 20%
Roasting: Medium
Overview:
This Winter Harvest High Mountain Oolong Tea comes from
the Alishan Scenic Area in Southwest Taiwan's Chiayi County. We buy all of our Alishan oolong tea from one awesome Tsou (an indigenous Taiwanese tribe/ethnic group) family who own and manage several tea gardens at different altitudes near Dabang, their village in Alishan.
This tea is a
re-roasted version of our Winter, 2010 "1,200 Meter Alishan oolong" which
was harvested in early December,
2010. It was stored under
vacuum seal until my visit this past April, when I asked the wonderful
woman who roasts the tea for us to do a medium roast with the last 6 KG
of this harvest for us. To get to this finished product, she roasted
the tea very slowly at a low temperature in an air-circulating oven for an additional 30+/- hours
in total.
Flavor and Aroma:
When infused, this tea presents toasted grain-type elements layered on top of a deep, penetrating spicy-sweetness that reminds me of sweet, highly perfumed, oily spices like cinnamon or clove (although this tea doesn't taste like either spice really) in both the flavor and aroma. The mouthfeel of the infused tea liquor is moderately thick and smooth, and the "hui gan" (literal translation: "return sweet"), or sweet aftertaste that comes
after the initial bittersweet flavor fades, is beautifully sweet, spicy, a little bit tingly in the mouth and quite long lasting.
Steeping Guideline:
As usual, I suggest Gong Fu
style preparation with this tea. Rather than sticking
to a specific weight of tea leaves to water volume measure, we
recommend simply filling your gaiwan or Yixing style teapot 1/4 to 1/3
full of dry tea leaves, use water just under a boil and a series of
short steepings. If you prefer to use a weight to volume measure, try
starting with 7 grams of leaf in a 150 ml gaiwan or teapot. I also recommend using aroma cups with this tea, but, if you don't have aroma cups, be sure to enjoy the surprisingly sweet aroma that clings to the walls of your drinking cup after drinking this tea.
For
Western-style steeping, start with 1-2 tsp of leaf per
cup. Use water under a boil (195 degrees F), and steep
for 3-5
minutes. Adjust the amount of leaf, steeping time,
and water temperature used according to your preference.
General steeping
guidelines for the different categories of Chinese tea and a short downloadable "how to"
video on Gong Fu style tea preparation are available on our Chinese Tea Steeping Guide page.
Volume Discount: 10% off 90g, 16.67% off 225g+
Discount reflected in displayed price
Note: We used a new packaging
facility to package this tea, and something went wrong with the way it
was weighed. Because of this error, this
tea is packed in 46-47 gram vacuum packages with Oxygen absorbers
instead of the full 50 grams we requested. Rather than ship just 6 KG
of tea back to Taiwan to get the problem fixed, we decided to just sell
it in these odd 45+ gram portions and just call it 45 grams. I'm very
sorry for any inconvenience or confusion this may cause! -GG
Weight: 0.0027 lb
1.22 grams
0.04 ounces
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Dry Leaves
Wet Leaves
Infusion
Ali Shan Map
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| Positive Customer Review |
| fracol |
19 Oct 2011, 6:16 PM |
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Powerful Yet Subtle
I started this tea out with a nice quick rinse using water just under boiling. I used a 125 ml porcelain gaiwan.
The first infusion came off as slightly thin which is natural because the leaves have not opened up. You can taste distinct notes of warm toasty grain like features, with a quiet nutty undertone.
On the second infusion you can really start to feel the full force of this tea. Don't brew for too long or you will feel a bit of a bite. The flavors of nuts becomes more pronounced, but toasty and occasionally spicy flavors still dominate the pallet.
Third infusion you can begin to feel a slightly sweet honey flavor characteristic to most light roast alishan oolongs. It is a nice balance between the beginning power and apparent subtle flavors now starting to show.
As you finish off the leaves (at least another 2-3 good infusions) you begin to get the sweetness, and I daresay floral elements.
Throughout this whole time I really appreciated the coating that can be felt especially on the sides of the tongue.
Bottom line: Great tea! Would/will buy again. You don't often find a medium roast alishan oolong so it is really a special treat. I would definitely recommend using as much tea as you can without making the tea too powerful. I feel as though I may have underscored the amount of dry leaf used. Had I used more tea I probably could have had a few more infusions, and overall a more well rounded tasting.
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