Organic Mi Xiang Jin Xuan Black Tea, Lot 811

This tea is all about following your instincts as a tea producer. Without purposely trying to break the rules, the making of this tea is not hindered by conventions in the tea trade. Sometimes, in a traditional tea growing country like Taiwan, there is a ”common wisdom” that is well entrenched amongst tea makers which can hinder the true potential of a particular cultivar or the expressive range in the quality of a terroir’s output. We believe this tea has successfully transgressed these barriers for the benefit of tea enthusiasts everywhere. To those who know Yuwen, our Tea Master, it comes as no surprised that she would choose tor work with Jin Xuan for this black tea. She is particularly fond of this cultivar’s expressive range in texture and flavours. Usually, Jin Xuan blacks are made during the warmer summer months since spring crops are commonly used for fragrant oolongs as they command a higher price. Summer black teas are often unbalanced and harsh due to their stronger tannins. To counter this, here we not only have a spring picking but also one made from very young shoots of the very first sprouts from a well-maintained organic garden. This very low-yield picking – which would not be considered commercially feasible by Taiwanese standards – was transformed by hand using a natural withering process and gentle rolling to highlight all of the precious concentration of organoleptic compounds found only in young shoots. The first cuppings revealed another unexpected, but welcomed, contribution: a well-defined “mi xiang” (literally: honey aroma) character brought about by the plant’s own defensive chemical reaction to aphids feeding on the young leaves. This elusive occurence is becoming rarer amongst tea fields in Taiwan due to the extensive use of pesticides. It is also very uncommon during the cooler months. Thankfully, the unusually warm winter we’ve had this year would have contributed to the phenomenon and Mr. Yu’s luscious organic leaves found to be irresistibly welcoming… The result is a tea that also breaks conventions in its taste profile. It finds little references in other Taiwanese Jin Xuan black teas. It’s buoyant silky texture makes a flowing foundation to creamy exotic fruits (longan, white peach), wild longan honey of Taiwan, pastoral wild flowers and a wintergreen freshness. A unique, free-spirited delight. For those who tried our previous Lot 811, this Lot 829 was made the same way with leaves from the same garden but from the second spring picking and reserved for participation in this year’s AVPA Teas of the Wold Competition in Paris where it received a Silver Medal!