Review: Organic High Mountain Oolong Tea review by Amanda Wilson
January 19, 2014
We really like how Amanda Wilson's (My Thoughts Are Like Butterflies) reviews combine detailed tasting notes with the feelings that each tea invokes. Always thorough and interesting to read, here's Amanda's take on Eco-Cha Organic High Mountain Oolong Tea.
"The aroma of this tea is enticing, not overpowering and heady but like a spring breeze bringing distant aromas through an open window, this tea makes me want to go outside and explore."
"This tea is great for sipping Gong Fu style and reminds me of early Springtime, it also is soothing to my angry stomach so that is a huge plus."
"I suggest giving their website a view, they give lots of useful information about their teas which I certainly appreciate."
Batch #50 of the Eco-Cha Tea Club starts off 2020 with a freshly harvested Alishan High Mountain Oolong Winter Tea from our ongoing source in Meishan Township. This very small batch of tea was their final day of winter harvest. The leaves were not yet fully mature, and offer a fresh, distinctly aromatic and complex flavor profile.
The photo above is this month's batch of the Eco-Cha Tea Club undergoing solar withering on November 11, 2019. This was the final day of winter harvest for our source of Alishan High Mountain Oolong Tea, and we were able to procure enough of this very minimal batch to share with our Tea Club. This date was 3 days after Li Dong (立冬) in the lunar calendar, and the winter harvest of High Mountain Tea had for the most part been completed in central Taiwan.
This summer 2017 crop of naturally cultivated and well bug bitten and matured leaves were processed as a traditional Oolong, which mainly means that they were well oxidized. The work that went into oxidizing these leaves was considerable as well as skillful. The leaves needed to be worked, and they got worked well! The result is a full-bodied, substantial brew that offers a very satisfying balance that starts with a mild smokiness, leading into a fruity body with mineral notes, and finishing with something reminiscent of old school Charms lollipops. It really does have a distinct plum powder/confectioner's sugar finishing note that is cushioned by that smoky mineral base. It's a mouthful!
