Liugui Camellia Formosensis yesheng 'shancha' 2021

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Shancha in translation means “mountain tea”. This name is used in Taiwan to refer to the original wild variety of tea tree, which, by DNA research in 2009, proved to be the original endemic Taiwanese species (related to Camelie sinensis). The combination of this Taiwanese variety and the Assamese variety of tea tree (Camelia sinensis var. Assamica) gave rise to the famous Taiwanese cultivar Ruby Red (TTES 18).

We offer you the opportunity to taste the original Taiwanese variety in its wild, wild form, processed into the style of lücha (green tea). Tea trees grow wild in a national park in the Liugui area of ​​southern Taiwan. The exact location of these trees is not publicly known, as their harvesting is prohibited. Our tea comes from trees growing in a remote area, 2 hours of hiking from the nearest road, at an altitude of 1500 m above sea level, from a master who has an exception for their collection and processing.

Although the tea is called ‘lücha’, green tea, the moment we look at the leaves and the degree of their oxidation, it is clear to us that it is not so completely a tea that we would normally include in this category.

In some ways, this tea is similar to Sheng pu-erh. The material is collected from large trees in the woods, which in itself is a very long process and it takes another two hours to carry it on the shoulders on foot from the hills. During this time, the leaves are already partially oxidizing. Before processing, they are allowed to settle for a short time and then the tea is deenzymed by hand on a hot wok, as is usually done with green tea and pu-erh.

Even in the dry state, the leaves have a very intense, playful aroma, in which we can find cocoa strudel, tomato soup with cloves, molasses and more.