Batch 91 of the Eco-Cha Tea Club is an Alishan Jin Xuan Oolong Tea that received Gold Medal Award in the Meishan Farmers' Association spring 2023 Jin Xuan competition. Jin Xuan is separate from the main Qing Xin Oolong competition. Qing Xin Oolong is the original tea strain from China that is used to make High Mountain Oolong Tea, unless otherwise specified. We shared this same award winning tea as batch 22 of the Tea Club about six years ago. It's a worthy category to represent as one of Taiwan's specialty Oolongs, and we are happy to have a chance to share it again. For the full scoop on tasting notes and the tasting video, click HERE.

In early spring, we expressed our wish to represent the quality standard from the Meishan Farmers' Association by offering it to the the tea club this year with our friend who is top player in the tea competition industry. So when he chose a batch of Alishan Jin Xuan spring tea to prepare for competition, he procured double the amount in order to be able to share it with us. He then had the leaves destemmed, and roasted them three times to achieve the desired quality standard. He entered it into competition and achieved Gold Medal Award!

Meishan Township produces the largest amount of Alishan Tea, and is the second largest of Taiwan's Farmers' Association Tea Competitions. It's also a general consensus in the local industry that the Meishan tea growing region produces the best quality Jin Xuan Tea. Jin Xuan (Tai Cha #12) is the most commonly grown tea cultivar, and perhaps the most popular Taiwanese tea strain among the global tea community. It's most often referred to as Milk Oolong in English, and has gained its fame for its creamy, milky qualities — especially when made as a lightly oxidized, unroasted Oolong. This cultivar can also be made into other types of tea that are equally commemmorable.

This is our main inspiration to share this batch of tea. We want to represent it in the form that has become the quality standard of the most prestigious Jin Xuan Tea competition. This standard is a significantly oxidized, light-to-medium roast Oolong Tea. This processing method offers a buttery, pastry character that is smooth as well as stimulating on the palate. This quality standard not only offers a distinctly different flavor profile from the popular high mountain tea style of a greener, unroasted Oolong. It also represents a higher level of expertise in the making of this tea type. Partial oxidation and roasting are artisanal skill sets that have put Taiwan on the map as the world's top quality Oolong Tea. Pictured below is "Three Dragons Bridge", which we have designated as "the gateway to Alishan Tea Country"!

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