New Year's Blessings On The Newly Planted Garden
We took this photo on New Year's Day last week, when we visited this newly planted garden that will be harvested for the first time this spring.
This farmer first showed us how Dong Ding Oolong Tea was made about 20 years ago.
We plan to procure tea from this new young crop that is surrounded by forest and cultivated sustainably.
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Eco-Cha Tea Club: Competition Grade Dong Ding Oolong Tea Tasting Notes
These leaves were harvested by hand from the residential farm that is our ongoing source of Dong Ding Oolong Tea. They were also de-stemmed by hand and roasted extensively to meet the competition standard. The brewed tea has a bold roasted character that is balanced out by a rich, smooth textured and complex flavor profile. It is reminiscent of fire-roasted yams and butternut squash.
Eco-Cha Tea Club: Competition Grade Dong Ding Oolong Tea
This month's edition of the Eco-Cha Tea Club is from the same day's harvest of spring tea that our source received the Top 2% Award out of 750 odd participants in the spring 2019 competition. This month's batch of tea was prepared the same way as the award winning tea — removing the stems by hand and undergoing repeated roastings to meet the standard of quality set by this local competition. Only residents of this small community of traditional tea makers are eligible to enter this competition. But this is the heart of Dong Ding Oolong Country, and this community boasts the densest population of traditional Oolong Tea artisans in Taiwan, and probably in the world!
Eco-Cha Tea Club: Alishan Late Spring Oolong Tea Tasting Notes
The complex aroma of the brewed tea leaves has subtle hints of a bug bitten character, but not very obvious. The sufficient oxidation offers a fresh scone scent, with a touch of honey, making us think that there is some influence from the Green Leafhopper. It is very likely that this note is subtle due to the fact that it had rained very near harvest time, which is said to dilute or dissipate the chemical compounds that are responsible for this character of flavor. The texture is smooth and balanced, with delicate complexity.
