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Shan Lin Xi High Mountain Oolong Fall 2020
In the end, each seasonal crop has its own unique combination of contributing factors that give it a slightly different aromatic and flavor profile than other seasons. We really enjoy experiencing these seasonal variations from the same plot of tea processed in the same basic way. We encourage our High Mountain Oolong fans to follow suit in order to more fully understand this type of tea and how it can vary from season to season.
Li Shan High Mountain Oolong Fall 2020
The fall harvest of high elevation farms is somewhat of a well kept secret in terms of the value for the money. Like all High Mountain Oolong growing regions, the local market price is more than a third cheaper than spring and winter harvests. But the fact remains that the difference in these harvests in only a few months apart! Different growing seasons have clearly noticeable influences on the constitution of the new leaf growth, and as a result — of the character of tea that is made from them. However, while the differences are notably significant, they are not at all drastic!
Alishan High Mountain Jin Xuan Oolong Summer 2020: Buttered Love
This batch of Alishan High Mountain Jin Xuan Oolong summer 2020 harvest has a very pronounced buttery character. Starting with the leaves put into the pre-heated tea judging cup, they exuded a pronounced buttered toast/popcorn aroma. But the flavor profile is replete with an uncanny buttered popcorn note, it's almost unbelievable! How can tea leaves do this?! It's not only buttered popcorn either! There are distinct floral and vegetal notes that balance out the incredulous and delicious buttered popcorn flavor. OK, enough repetitive description! Click here to get your share.
Tie Guan Yin Oolong Spring Tea Is Here!
Over the course of our chat, catching up on spring harvest, competition, and other tea related topics, we realized that this artisan of Traditional Tie Guan Yin Oolong is the single most patient and painstaking tea maker we know. The amount of time and serious labor he puts into making a very minimal amount of tea is just so far off the charts of any other type of tea production we've seen. Oh, and he won first place prize a year and half ago, amidst top 2% and top 10% prizes that he is awarded consistently in the Muzha Farmers' Association Traditional Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea competition.
The Lugu Farmers' Association Dong Ding Oolong Tea Competition
Above is a snapshot of the final stage of judging being conducted by our most respected tea professionals in Taiwan. Each of these individuals has generously offered their time and expertise on numerous occasions, accommodating our questions about their work. Respect!
Taiwan's Top 10 Most Famous Teas
Taiwan is home to some of the finest tea in the world, particularly in the Oolong category. Yet, not all Taiwanese teas are widely recognized or understood by name. So here is an overview of the top ten most famous teas from Taiwan.
Taiwan Tea Picking Competition
The Lugu Farmers' Association organized a groundbreaking event in an effort to maintain a high quality standard of hand-picked tea in Taiwan. After developing the world's largest Oolong Tea competition (est. 1976), and nine years of producing the Nantou Global Tea Expo, our mentor Tony Lin (林獻堂) said that this is his latest effort to preserve the quality of Oolong Tea in Taiwan.
Harvesting Loose-Leaf Tea By Machine VS. By Hand
The marketing trends of modern tea production in Taiwan have, for a number of reasons, resulted in a clear discrimination of the quality and value of tea that is harvested by machine compared with tea harvested by hand. These initial reasons have been conveyed to foreign purveyors of Taiwanese teas, who consequently represent the product as such today. Much less conveyed is the fact that tea production methods have evolved significantly in Taiwan in recent decades. This calls for a current assessment of the state of the industry today.
Comparing Seasonal Batches Of Loose Leaf Oolong Tea
The inspiration for this post began when we first tasted our spring batches of tea this year. Especially for the three teas that we'll take a look at here, we immediately thought upon tasting each of them, they are noticeably different from last winter's batch. So first, let's list the main points to observe in comparing seasonal batches from the same source of tea.
A Guide to Unroasted Taiwan Oolong Tea
Taiwan makes some of the best teas in the world, especially of the Oolong variety. Given the breadth and scope of teas the island produces, it can sometimes be confusing exactly what tea to buy. To help you out, we've compiled a simple guide to Taiwan's unroasted Oolong Teas to help you find your "cup of tea".
Red Oolong Tea: Gem Of Taiwan's Southeast Coast
Red Oolong offers a smooth, balanced, mildly sweet, rich but not quite bold flavor profile, with elements of fruit compote, pumpkin pie, and a hint of dried flowers. This ultra-friendly character, combined with the fact that almost all Red Oolong is cultivated naturally on the southeast coast of Taiwan, facing the wide open Pacific, where the sky reminds a North American of the northern west coast, is no wonder why it is rapidly gaining popularity on the international market. Once again, Taiwan leads the way in Oolong Tea innovation!
Video of Modern Oolong Tea Making
We are excited to share this video we recently made that shows all the steps involved in making Oolong tea. We were inspired to make this simple documentary film after we contributed an extensive, detailed article to WORLD OF TEA on the machines that have been invented in Taiwan for modern Oolong Tea processing.