Tsui Yu Oolong Tea

Upon first brew, there are distinct aromatic notes of fresh herbs with subtle hints of flowery sweetness. This Tsui Yu has a dark green leafy vegetal character base with herbaceous overtones and a refreshing floral, dry finish. This selection makes an especially flavorful cold brew tea.

Tsui Yu Oolong is a hybrid that was registered at the Taiwan Tea Research Extension Station (TRES) in 1981. It was designed for making oolong teas, and is capable of variable oxidation levels. It is known for its flowery aroma which takes on a fruity character if the leaves are roasted post production.

This batch of tea leaves comes from the most active tea merchant we know. He enters virtually every oolong tea competition in central Taiwan, including the largest and most prestigious oolong tea competition in the world. He was awarded 3rd place in this competition in 2018. He consistently achieves high ratings in all of these competitions. He won first prize in the Nantou County Tea Trade Association Dong Ding Tsui Yu Oolong tea competition winter 2013. He has also repeatedly won first prize in the Nantou County Tea Trade Association Jin Xuan Dong Ding Oolong tea competition. This is a region that is comprised of some the best tea makers in the world. He is a highly motivated and progressive individual - making him an exemplary figure in his field.

He has formed a cooperative with neighboring farmer friends who share his standards of cultivation and processing. This is in order to collectively produce a significant enough volume to be able to compete with the larger scale production of tea in the area, while maintaining the quality control standards of small, privately-run farms.

Wholesale dealers of tea typically buy tea from large scale producers in quantities of thousands of pounds per harvest. This co-op of farmers employs farming methods that use occasional or zero chemical fertilizers, zero chemical weed killers, and only a minimal amount of water soluble pesticides are administered at the beginning of the growing season. The tea leaves are randomly tested for trace chemical residue, and this team of farmers share their expertise in continually developing methods for cultivating quality tea.

This tea is grown at 400m elevation, which means the farms are on relatively flat ground, allowing for machine-cut harvesting. The machine that is used for harvesting is wielded by two people, one on each side of the row of tea bushes. A vacuum attachment collects the harvested leaves in a cloth bag. While machineharvesting results in a portion of the leaves and stems being cut, this expedient method allows for timely harvest in the late morning hours that ensures that the solar withering occurs at the ideal time. Machine harvesting provides more control over these daily conditions simply because it is faster and does not require scheduling a team of pickers.

Mug: 8g tea in 300ml 100°C water. Steep for 4 minutes. Re-steep. Adjust to taste.

Cold Brew: Use 5g of tea per liter of water. Brew tea at room temperature for 2-3 hours, and enjoy. Or you can put your cold brew bottle in the fridge to brew overnight and be ready to drink the next day.

Gong Fu: Start with a 1:15 leaf to water ratio, e.g. 10g of tea leaves for a 150mL teapot. Use boiling temperature water and brew for about 50 seconds. Increase brewing time with each successive brew. The leaves can be brewed 6 times.