Alishan High Mountain Jin Xuan Oolong Tea

This winter's batch of Alishan High Mountain Jin Xuan Oolong is a prime representative of Jin Xuan's claim to fame. It has the buttery/milky character that has popularized this strain of tea. These leaves brew a light, silky smooth mouth feel with a delicate but substantial flavor profile that carry a "butteriness" from start to finish. The milky notes are in the aroma, on the palate, and especially in the finish. It's a very friendly introduction to High Mountain Tea that is bound to please newbies as well as experienced drinkers of Taiwan's finest.

Jin Xuan, or Tai Cha #12 is a Taiwanese cultivar that continues to gain popularity both here in the local farming industry and among tea lovers all over the globe. It is highly versatile in terms of adapting to variations in climate and growing conditions, and it can be made into virtually any type of tea. We've enjoyed Jin Xuan tea leaves made into Green Tea, Black Tea, unroasted Oolong, and roasted Oolong. In short, it works across the board. Jin Xuan has become most popularly known as a minimally oxidized, unroasted tea that offers a flavor profile that has given it the nickname "Milky Oolong" due its smooth buttery character and aroma.

This batch of tea comes from Ruili Village in the Meishan Township of Chiayi County, Taiwan. We mostly source our Alishan High Mountain Oolong from same farm. The neighboring villages of Ruifeng and Ruili have increasingly become popular sources of Alishan High Mountain Oolong in the last 10-15 years in the local industry. Originally, Alishan tea was originally made famous by the newly developed area on the south-western foothills of Alishan, with the most famous place name being Shizuo. This area is along the main tourist route leading to Alishan Scenic Area, and the local tea industry flourished and developed as a result. While quality tea is still produced in this area, it has become somewhat over-popularized and over-developed.

When farms are run privately, there is more care and responsibility that goes into the management of them. This, combined with smaller factories results in smaller quantities of tea leaves being processed on a daily and seasonal basis. This smaller batch factor allows for more customized processing, and is also typically done by the farmers/owners themselves, who take more pride in their processing methods and quality of their product.

Mug: 8g tea in 300ml 100°C water. Steep for 4 minutes. Re-steep. Adjust to taste.

Cold Brew: Use 5g of tea per liter of water. Brew tea at room temperature for 2-3 hours, and enjoy. Or you can put your cold brew bottle in the fridge to brew overnight and be ready to drink the next day.

Gong Fu: Start with a 1:15 leaf to water ratio, e.g. 10g of tea leaves for a 150mL teapot. Use boiling temperature water and brew for about 50 seconds. Increase brewing time with each successive brew. The leaves can be brewed 6 times.