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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! View full article →Charcoal Roasted Honey Oolong Tea: Eco-Cha Tea Club
his month's batch of tea is from a crop of naturally culitvated Jin Xuan harvested in the summer of 2017. The leaves were significantly affected by the Green Leafhopper and other pests, so they were stunted and gnarled and far from the standard of quality that is commonly followed. But as our friend who sourced the raw leaves and processed them using traditional Oolong Tea making methods once told us "I'm more interested in odd and unusual tea!" (我現在比較喜歡奇奇怪怪的茶!). View full article →Holiday Gift Ideas
The holidays are just around the corner but don't fret, we've already done your shopping for tea gifts for you! In response to customer's requests, we've sourced a few new exciting items in our store that make great gifts! Hit the link to see our holiday gift ideas! View full article →Caffeine Calculator 3.0: Caffeine In Starbucks Tea
We wanted you to have a quick and easy way to look up how much caffeine is in your cup of tea...whether you're brewing at home or buying on the go. This Caffeine Calculator gives you all that, at the click of a button. View full article →Alishan High Mountain Black Tea Tasting Notes| Eco-Cha Tea Club
Eco-Cha Tea Club's batch #48 is Alishan High Mountain Black Tea. It has a very balanced, integrated flavor profile, and offers subtle notes of a Qing Xin Oolong. The brewed leaves still have a greenish hue, even though the stems are quite reddish, indicating nearly full oxidation. It is an interesting hybrid of tea types, but definitely acts more like a Black Tea made from the small leaf type Qing Xin strain.
View full article →Alishan High Mountain Black Tea| Eco-Cha Tea Club
Batch #48 of the Eco-Cha Tea Club is an Alishan High Mountain Black Tea. Our source of Alishan High Mountain Oolong and Alishan High Mountain Jin Xuan Oolong makes Black Tea from his summer crop of Qing Xin Oolong tea leaves. The summer crop is actually a bumper crop from their spring harvest. The new leaf growth that was too immature to pick at spring harvest is allowed to continue growing to at least half maturity before it is harvested and processed as Small Leaf Black Tea. View full article →Singular Batch Traditional Oolong Tea | Labor Of Love Oolong
This very small fall harvest of naturally cultivated Oolong leaves was painstakingly processed by a father and son team who are top representatives of their local tea industry. The most inspiring fact is that the son is wholeheartedly inheriting his family's tradition, and this small batch of tea is testimony to that.
The name "Hong Shui (Red Water) Oolong" has been a buzzword in Oolong circles in recent years. But the tea makers who have inherited their local tradition say that this is simply a new name for tea processed like their grandfathers taught them. It used to just be called "Oolong Tea"!
View full article →Cui Feng High Mountain Oolong Tea Tasting Notes | Eco-Cha Tea Club
The prominent features of this batch of tea are the growing region, the farming methods, weather conditions on the day of harvest, and the degree of oxidation in the leaves in their processing. These factors offer us a premium quality High Mountain Oolong Tea.
The brewed tea offers a creamy, soft pine aroma with a smooth, savory/vegetal character that is very satisfying. It has a lingering, thick yet mild floral aftertaste, with a touch of heady spice. It's this integrated composition that we have come to appreciate most about High Mountain Oolongs. When there is sufficient complexity, combined with a thick, smooth constitution that actually shines the most after it has cooled down, it rates high on our Oolong score chart!
View full article →Roasted Qing Xin Oolong Black Tea | Double Ten Day Special!
This batch of tea was originally our February 2019 edition of the Eco-Cha Tea Club. And now, the minimal remainder of that batch of Qing Xin Oolong Black Tea has undergone a delicate roasting, offering "another side" of its character. View full article →Cui Feng High Mountain Oolong Tea | Eco-Cha Tea Club
Batch #47 of the Eco-Cha Tea Club was procured from our ongoing source of Da Yu Ling High Mountain Oolong. The proprietor of our local tea packaging facility and tea wholesaler has cooperated with this farmer who manages the farms in both Cui Feng and Da Yu Ling for many years. Our friend has consulted in both farm management and tea processing in order to have reliable produce from two of Taiwan's most prestigious place names for High Mountain Oolong Tea. View full article →The Ultimate Tea Caffeine Calculator: Version 2.0
This tea caffeine calculator shows you precise caffeine amounts based on tea type, serving size, and number of brews. See exactly how much caffeine is in your cup of green, oolong, black tea and more. View full article →How Much Caffeine Is In Tea? Ask The Caffeine Calculator
How much caffeine is in Green tea? Oolong tea? Black tea? With this free caffeine calculator simply select tea type and serving size and you'll see precisely how much caffeine is in your cup!
View full article →Does Tea Go Bad?
The shelf life of tea is a common topic of discussion among tea drinkers. We often see questions such as:
- Can tea go bad?
- How do I keep my loose leaf tea fresh?
- Which teas have longer or shorter shelf lives?
Let's look at some of the factors that affect how long your tea stays fresh.
View full article →How to Store Loose Leaf Tea (Top 5 Tips)
Loose leaf tea is a great way to enjoy tea, but there are some important things to keep in mind when storing it. Where and how you store it can have a great effect on how your final brew tastes. Read on to learn about the five most important things to keep your loose leaf tea fresh and as long lasting as possible. View full article →Tieguanyin Light Roast Oolong Tea Tasting Notes | Eco-Cha Tea Club
Batch #46 of the Eco-Cha Tea Club is a Tieguanyin Light Roast Oolong Tea from Yonglong Village in Lugu, Taiwan. The leaves were harvested in June from a plot of heirloom Tieguanyin tea plants. They were cured in the local traditional fashion of Oolong Tea making. The leaves are at least 40% oxidized, and were roasted for about 14 hours. View full article →Tieguanyin Light Roast Oolong Tea | Eco-Cha Tea Club
The father, now in his mid-70's, planted a plot of "small leaf Tieguanyin" cultivar on his family land in Yonglong Village, Lugu over 30 years ago. A tea merchant promised to procure this tea on a seasonal basis. He was one of the first to plant this heirloom Tieguanyin strain in central Taiwan. It had previously only been cultivated in northern Taiwan, with deep roots in strains brought from China hundreds of years ago. View full article →Competition Grade Dong Ding Oolong Tea Tasting Notes | Eco-Cha Tea Club
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. View full article →Competition Grade Dong Ding Oolong Tea | Eco-Cha Tea Club
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! View full article →Alishan Late Spring Oolong Tea Tasting Notes | Eco-Cha Tea Club
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. View full article →Alishan Late Spring Oolong Tea | Eco-Cha Tea Club
We discovered this batch of tea through our mentor, Lisa Lin, who had already purchased a significant amount of this day's harvest. We introduced Lisa to Mr. Ye a few years ago, and she has been sourcing batches of bug bitten spring tea from him every year since. About a month ago, we were sitting at Lisa's tea table, and just happened to ask if she had bought any spring tea from Mr Ye. She said yes, and promptly brewed some for us to try. We were impressed, and called Mr. Ye the next day to see if any of this day's harvest was still available. He said yes. View full article →Traditional Lugu Oolong Tea Tasting Notes | Eco-Cha Tea Club
The medium oxidized leaves have undergone extensive, repeated roastings that have resulted in a very balanced, integrated character. The initial steepings offer a freshly cut wood aroma with a toasted nutty flavor. This proceeds to open up into a sweeter, more complex profile that is strikingly reminiscent of roasted winter vegetables, including parsnip, caramelized onion and butternut squash.
View full article →Traditional Lugu Oolong Tea | Eco-Cha Tea Club
Mr. Zhang's father cultivated tea on their homesteaded land in Xiaobantian, on the southside of Lugu Township, where he grew up in the midst of traditional tea making. At 20 something, he decided to embody his local tradition by clearing land to cultivate his own plot of tea. For the last 20 years, he has managed his own humble, privately owned plot of tea. Throughout this period, he also acquired seasonal work in tea factories in Lugu, Shanlinxi, Alishan, Fanzaitian, and Lishan. In a word, he learned the ropes of tea making in a comprehensive way, like most tea farmers of his generation. Lugu hosts the highest concentration of tea makers in Taiwan, and is a hub of specialty tea making culture.
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