“I liked this tea. But I really failed to pin down the flavor notes in it. It was malty, somewhat bitter, and somewhat astringent. It also had some complex notes. I really didn’t pick them out....” Read full tasting note
Our “Wild Elephant” black tea is wild-grown from a robust Assamica varietal called Elephant (象) which was imported from Burma in the first half of the 20th century to compete with Japanese black tea varietals growing in Taiwan. The original producer of this tea (Mister Guo) traveled to Burma himself to gather the seedlings from local Burmese growers and brought them back to Taiwan. For decades this “Elephant” black tea was relatively popular in Taiwan but by the 1960’s this style of tea was losing favor. In the 1970’s Taiwan voted to leave the UN and lost access to the huge overseas Black Tea market, which led to the decay and complete abandonment of this plantation.
Not until 2011 did the Guo family return to this land and start the process of managing and re-building the processing facilities on this now nearly century old plantation. For decades the tea trees grew wild without intervention, which made the process of organic certification very easy to achieve! The tea trees are healthy with deep root systems growing in a natural bio-diverse environment. The robust mineral sweetness present in the tea and it’s ability to be infused many many times without losing power is a testament to it’s growing conditions and unique history.
Harvest: Winter 2015 / 冬 二零一五
Varietal: Elephant (Burma) Assamica / 象
Elevation: 600 M
Region: Puli / 埔里
Oxidation Level: 85%
Roast Level: 0
Aging Potential: High
Certified Organic
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