Eco-Cha Tea Club
Ying Xiang High Mountain Black Tea Tasting Notes | Eco-Cha Tea Club
This month's of tea being shared with the Eco-Cha Tea Club is a a first in our experience of sourcing tea in Taiwan for well over 20 years. In recent years, Taiwan's High Mountain Tea Farmers have dedicated a short growing season following their spring harvest to making Black Tea. The original Qing Xin strain along with modern hybrids are cultivated for the production of High Mountain Tea. These strains are generally distinguished from Assam and Taiwan's indigenous wild strain of tea by simple using the term "Small Leaf Type". So Black Tea made with leaves with anything other than Assam or Wild Tea is referred to as Small Leaf Black Tea. This is the first time we've sourced a batch of High Mountain Small Leaf Black Tea that was made with the newer hybrid strain called Ying Xiang #20.
Shanlinxi High Mountain Black Tea | Eco-Cha Tea Club
In the wake of a wave of specialty Black Tea popularity in Taiwan that began with the production and promotion of Red Jade #18 Black Tea about 15 years ago, high elevation Oolong Tea farmers have recently been modifying their seasonal production methods to become more sustainable. Initially, high mountain tea farming methods were based on annual yield — timing the growing seasons and harvests to reap the largest possible annual volume. This basically meant harvesting four times a year, despite the shorter growing seasons at higher elevations. We've listened to many tea farmers relate how it is becoming harder to time these seasonal harvests due to increasingly inconsistent weather patterns over the last several years. This has led to the concept of "three and a half" harvests per year. This "half harvest" is where the recent invention of high elevation Black Tea production comes into play.