Red Jade Black Tea

US$12

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  • Flavor: Aromatic hints of cinnamon and clove. Full-bodied, complex, substantial character. Refreshing, dry finish.

    Garden: This tea comes from Songboling in Nantou County, Taiwan. It's a historical tea-producing region that has gone through a few major phases. Originally a local specialty tea-producing community, it developed into large-scale tea production with the demand from the tea beverage industry. After decades of large-scale production, it has seen a renaissance of specialty tea making, including Red Jade Tai Cha #18, or Red Jade Tea, which was officially introduced in 1999.

    Harvest: Hand-picked, small batch, summer 2023. Songboling, Taiwan

    Elevation: 300m

  • Red Jade Tea - also known as Tai Cha 18, brews a rich, full-bodied tea with subtle hints of clove, cinnamon and mint in its complex composition.

  • Tai Cha #18 is a hybrid of the Assam tea plant with the wild tea tree that is naturally occurring on Taiwan. It is recorded that the Portuguese were the first to discover this wild tea tree hundreds of years ago. When the Japanese came to this area in the early 1900's bringing with them the Assam plant, this wild tea was being cultivated by early Chinese settlers. So it is said that the hybrid existed long before the Tea Research and Extension Station registered and promoted it less than 20 years ago.

  • Mug: 4g tea in 350ml 90°C water. Steep for 4 minutes. Re-steep. Adjust to taste.

    Cold Brew: Use 4g 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 1:22 (e.g. 8g of leaves for 175mL pot) leaf-to-water ratio Use 90° water and brew for 40 seconds; 30 seconds; 40 seconds; 50 seconds; Increase brewing time 10 seconds with each successive brew. The leaves can be brewed 5-6 times.

Customer Reviews

Based on 19 reviews
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(14)
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R
Riccardo Robecchi
NPS score:
0 (Not at all likely)
10 (Extremely likely)
Not your usual black tea

I received a sample of Red Jade together with other teas I purchased a few years ago. I tried it when I received it, but I didn't like it back then - probably due to wrong brewing technique, as well as undeveloped palate. That's the reason why I left it there for such a long time! I came back to this tea today and found it incredibly complex and layered. I am still not sure I like it 100%, but it surely is one to try.
I brewed 4 g of tea in 120 ml of water at 90 °C using the gong fu method. The first brew (45 s) was very sweet and it had the kind of bitter-sweetness of molasses or chestnut honey; the bitterness was just a tiny hint, which balanced and completed the sweetness well. There was also a hint of something floral - maybe jasmine. The aftertaste is definitely sweet and honey-like. The second brew (35 s) added a lot more of that floral element to it: it was the main thing, overpowering everything else, though the aftertaste remained roughly same and added more woody notes. As I am not a fan of jasmine, I found this less appealing than the first brew, though I appreciated the complexity and evolution.
The third brew was longer, at roughly a minute, in order to experiment with strength. This was more of the same, with the floral element taking the leading role; it was however more muted, and there was an astringent note which I found very interesting as it balanced the floral taste (though it was very probably due to the longer infusion and I guess many won't like it!).
The fourth infusion led to less floral taste and more wood and astringency. The aftertaste also became less sweet.
Overall I am quite happy with this tea and although it is not among my favourites, I think it is well worth a try!

R
Ron Bracale
NPS score:
0 (Not at all likely)
10 (Extremely likely)
Very gentle Black Tea.

For a Black Tea this is very refined and low acid, making it a great tea for anytime durring the day.

E
Elias
Medicinal -cough syrup

It's starting to grow on me, though my first taste of this tea was brewed western style and it tasted like medicine. Second time gong fu was a little more pleasant. I've never had a black tea taste like this and not sure I'd order again m

N
Nathan BONIN
Very good tea

I feel black olive taste or Guinness taste !
Interesting !

C
Capt. Dan
MR

This is one of my favorite black teas! Smooth and a hint of sweetness. The flavor is perfect for my daily iced tea here in FL. I'm a straight up tea drinker, no milk no sweetener just an occasional lemon but this tea is perfect just brew and enjoy. I wish they would sell it in larger quantities though.