Shanlinxi High Mountain Qing Xin Oolong Tea, Lot 1016

The Shanlinxi tea terroir is dear to us. We like to say that this superb high mountain tea region is just up the mountain from us. On a clear day, we can easily distinguish its profile from our facility and the lit factories along the top Longfengxia ridge at night time. We are very proud to say that Shanlinxi has developed into one of the highly reputed growing areas in our own Nantou County, and rightfully so as the popularity of Shanlinxi teas grow from year to year due to its distinctive character, high quality and value. This year we were a bit anxious at what would come out of the gardens and factories due to the prevailing drought conditions all throughout the island. Luckily, being situated along the western coastal range helped it a bit with a bit more rain than tea areas further inland. Lot 1016 does not disappoint and is certainly one of our most reassuring and pleasant surprises of the season. This spring’s iteration comes from the same producer as last year’s Lot 921 and, like last year, was made especially for us with a slightly higher oxidation level using plucking of younger shoots. You will notice a good presence of buds in the infusion. This is not the usual standard as smaller leaves means lower yields for the producer and require more care in the ball-rolling process to not crush them to dust. For us it means a wonderful multi-layered experience which will reveal a creamy buttered corn at first, then fresh balsam notes and a flowery finale as if your were eating tender wild flowers. Shanlinxi oolong distinguishes itself from other Gao Shan oolongs in that it features clearly defined balsam notes that make it particularly appealing to the palate and nose. Many say that the luxuriant fir tree forests surrounding the gardens have something to do in conveying this fresh evergreen feeling in the cup.