Roasted Tsui Yu Oolong Tea

These well roasted tea leaves offer a bold flavor profile that makes this tea a perfect coffee alternative — particularly for folks who are trying to cut down on their caffeine intake! Roasting tea leaves releases the caffeine from the leaves, lowering the caffeine content in the brewed tea. 

The brewed tea has a hearty, balanced character with notes of roasted pecans and walnuts. There is a hint of smokiness in the finish, combined with sufficient complexity and a touch of sweetness that makes it quite satisfying.  This tea type is a great daily cuppa that you won't tire of easily, and it's easy on the wallet!

These leaves were allowed to oxidize significantly more than our unroasted Tsui Yu Oolong tea, in order to achieve optimal results in their roasting. This added time and skilled attention put into to the making of this tea are what make it an especially good value. It is an artisanal tea made from economical resources — making it a prime example of sustainably sourced tea!

Tsui Yu Jade Oolong is a hybrid that was registered at the Taiwan Tea Research Extension Station (TRES) in 1981. It was designed for making oolong teas, and is capable of variable oxidation levels. It is known for its flowery aroma which takes on a toasted nutty character if the leaves are roasted post production.

This batch of tea leaves comes from the most active tea roaster we know. This man enters virtually every oolong tea competition in central Taiwan. He won 3rd Place out of 6,777 entries in the winter 2018 Lugu Farmers' Association Dong Ding Oolong Tea Competition. This is the largest oolong tea competition in the world. He won first prize in the Nantou County Tea Trade Association Dong Ding Tsui Yu Oolong tea competition winter 2013. The competition tea was processed to make a semi-oxidized roasted tea in the style of Dong Ding Oolong Tea. Our Roasted Tsui Yu selection is made in the fashion of this competition's standard. He has also repeatedly won first prize in the Nantou County Tea Trade Association Jin Xuan Dong Ding Oolong tea competition. This is a region that is comprised of some the best tea makers in the world. He is a highly motivated and progressive individual - making him an exemplary figure in his field.

This batch of tea was grown at 400m elevation, which means the farms are on relatively flat ground, allowing for machine-cut harvesting. The machine is a hand-held type of hedge clipper wielded by two people, one on each side of the row of tea bushes. A vacuum attachment collects the harvested leaves in a cloth bag. While machine harvesting results in a portion of the leaves and stems being cut, this expedient method allows for timely harvest in the late morning hours that ensures the solar withering is done the ideal time for the initial wilting phase of the leaves. Machine harvesting provides more control over these daily conditions simply because it is faster, and does not require scheduling a team of pickers.

Mug: 6g 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: Barely cover the bottom of your Gongfu teapot with tea leaves (about 8-10g for a 175 ml pot). Use boiling temperature water and brew for about 50 seconds. Increase brewing time with each successive brew. The leaves can be brewed 6-8 times.