Category: Oolong

It’s not a beautiful tea garden, but it’s pure and nature ecological well balance tea heaven.

KP’s ecological tea garden is in the deep mountain area where is few hours drive from the nearyby city.  The tea garden is surrounding by nature forest and far away from any sort of pollutions.  In his ecological tea garden, there are three (3) tea tree cultivars, i.e. Tie Guan Yin, Jin Xuan and Mei Zhan.

Jin Xuan is an unique tea tree cultivar from Taiwan, it is also known as TTS#12.  It was introduced and named in 1980 after 43 years research.  Now Jin Xuan tea trees are planted in Taiwan, China, Thailand and Vietnam.

Is Jin Xuan Oolong an aromatic tea? 

No, the pure and nature dired Jin Xuan oolong does have very unique flavour, it is a mixture of flora, mung bean and creamy notes.  The flavour from dried leaves is not very strong, but once it’s being waken up in a warmed tea pot or cup, you will be amazed by its intense flavours.

Some people interpreted its unique creamy flavour as milky flavour and named it as ‘Milky Oolong’ in English.  Because of this English name, so now a day there are aromatic Milky Oolong tea that has been scented with milk extract to satisfy buyers who like very strong and sexy milky flavour.

Whether you like pure and nature flavour or scented with extra flavour extract is a matter of choice.  After all, you are the boss of your own body and health.

Brewing Suggestion:  1g : 50-75ml water / temperature: 95-99 Celcius / Infusion time: 1 min. – 45 sec. – 1 min. / Multiple infusions: 6-8

Eco-Jin Xuan Oolong Tea

Look: hand-picked, 1+2 leaves

• Processing: Mid. fermented with very mild roasting process by wood fire with Long Gan wood.  In order to maintain its unique aroma and flavour, therefore it is important to roast it only in the mild manner.  The extra wood-roasting process allows this tea to be stored in normal room temperature but not necessary to keep it in deep freezer.
• Flavour: The dried leaves have fine green note from oolong tea.  Once is being waken up in a warmed teapot, amazed by its mixture of flora, mung bean and delightful creamy flavour

Taste: mild, sweet, smooth, gentle

Olfaction: Fine and gentle

Multi-infusions: 6-8

An excellent choice of afternoon tea in this mild and warm spring day.

Origin: Fujian, China / Type: Jin Xuan/ 100% pure & nature quality / 2.5g:150ml / 95-99°C / multiple infusions >6-8

Friend asked me on Twitter which tea do I normally drink when feeling stress out.  I told him, I don’t specifically choose which type of tea, instead I simply follow my instinct on that moment or whatever comes into handy at that moment.  In this cloudy and greyish late spring morning, the thought of old Shui Xian came into my mind.  I only have very limited quantity but why not give myself a good treat.

The first impression: long shape hand-picked quality, traditionally processed with heavy oxidation and fermentation.

Old Shui Xian

Why I call it ‘Old’ Shui Xian?  Because I have it for more than 12 years already.  So I have at least a clear and honest idea of how old is it.

Choice of matching tea ware: ceramic Gaiwan and cup, so I can enjoy the warmth when holding the cup in my hands.

The flavour from dried leaves is very very mild, but once it sat in the warmed Gaiwan, it woke up in very sexy and entice manner with its sweet blending of flora and caramel flavour.

Brewing: 3g in water temperature 95-99 Celsius; brewing time: 1 minute – 45 seconds – 1 minute

Enjoy the fine and smooth taste when the warm energy is rising on my back.

Origin: Fujian, China / Type: Shui Xian / 100% pure & nature quality / 2.5g:150ml / 95-99°C / multiple infusions >6-8

Oolong tea is the most sophisticated tea among the six tea types because it is made through very complex manufacturing processes. Not all semi-fermented teas can be named as Oolong tea, because Oolong has specific quality criteria to evaluate its flavor and taste.

The leaves can be picked and processed in four seasons, and each season has its unique charms and energy:

• Spring Oolong – young an fresh with charming flora aroma like refreshing young girl
• Summer Oolong – Hot and spicy like a sexy woman with easy changing temperament
• Autumn Oolong – After through the warm summer, the complexity of flora and fruity notes are emerging. As an assertive mature woman.
• Winter Oolong – After being through many changes from the bitter and sweet seasons, like a mature lady who absorbs the glory of flora, fruity and nuts flavor from her rich living experience. She is wise and gentle.

Treat her like treating a lady and then enjoy her sexy complexity in your imagination, feel the extraordinary flavor and taste on your tongue.

“How organic is true ecological?” Well, I think this photo is more convincing than thousand words or a piece of organic certificate. This is the photo of tea picking from the ecological tea farm in Fujian. Not only it’s in the middle of wildness, far away from human populltion; but also the owner insist

1. Only use the natural fertilizer, free from pesticide; but still we submitted samples for pesticide analysis in Belgium accordign to the EU Pesticide standards
2. Respect and maintain the harmony balance with Nature. Do not use any chemical products to remove grass or stimulate the growth
3. Allow tea trees search for the growing strength in natural manner, so do not trim the tea trees since the farmer took over the long-time abandoned tea farm.
4. Implement collective stateownership with the community who live in the mountain; the daily income of tea pickers is ensured regardless the quantity they pick, because we believe the picking quality is more important than the quantity
5. Only pick ONCE a year without considering the high cost, the risk and ROI. So only limited quantity available
6. Respect the old Chinese traditions; semi-manual processes and afterwards fine re-processed through the wood fire roasting process

1. Tie Guan Yin Oolong
2. JinXuan Oolong
3. MeiZhan Oolong

More information for each ecological Oolong Tea is to follow later.

This is a rice-aroma flavoured Ding Ding Oolong that my student bought from Holland to the lesson last night, the shop has mistaken the height of mountain to 1200mt, actually the the correct information of Dong Ding Mountain should be 743mt.

I did not say too much when I first smelled a very strong rice-aroma from the dried leaves, I chose to give the tea a chance to speak to me when I tasted it later.

• I woke up the tea with warm water without drinking as I normally do.  The rice-aroma was weakened but still there some notions of it and the note further dropped in the 2nd infusion.  The rice-aroma was vanished in the 3rd infusion and we could then evaluate the true flavour and taste afterwards
• The rice aroma does not match with the natural aroma and flavour from Dong Ding Oolong.
• the first impression about the taste is ‘not bad’ because of the gentle sweet taste, but the taste was pretty flat that we missed the complexity from the after taste

So what do we learn from this tasting last night?

• Today Wikipedia and internet actually offer many information
  

  Natural traditional semi-fermented with roasted Dong Ding Oolong

  that allow us to double check the information.  If the shopper could double check the information about Dong Ding Mountain, then s/he could avoid the mistake on the label about the height of mountain. When we write story for tea, we should at least get some facts correct.

• Dong Ding Oolong is one famous traditional seimi-to-heavy fermented and being roasted Oolong tea from Taiwan, using 1 heart (young bud) with 2 or 3 young leaves hand-picked quality. It first started from ZhangYa, FengHuang and YongLong villages and now is spread species in LuGu area.
• Repeatedly roasted by charcoal made from Long Yen wood gave it a special roasting flavour and taste.  But these days there are light fermented with light roasting with electrical oven, and aged roasted Dong Ding Oolong, so there are many choices under one name.  No matter what it should be made from Qing Xing tea tree cultivar from LuGu, Nantou, Taiwan.
• Dong Ding Oolong has very powerful natural ripped fruits and/or flora notes (Lizhe) with mild caramel flavour and taste.  The complex flavour notes and taste can be intensified if we kept the same infusion as in the first infusion, therefore we normally reduce the infusion time slightly (+/- 45 seconds); afterwards we back to the 1 minute infusion. The flavour and taste are synchronized and continued for several infusions.
• Only weakened strength tea base can be easily reprocessed by additional flavour additives. The basic cost structure of good quality nature tea is much higher than the tea base used for the flavoured tea.
• Traditional Dong Ding has powerful natural flavour and taste with good strength, no additional flavoured additives are needed

Even though flavoured teas do not meet with my personal preference, but I do recognize for people who do not have too much knowledge about tea, not to mention about Oolong tea from Taiwan, can be easily attracted to this rice-aroma flavoured Oolong. I do, however, think shopper/s should be honest to label information for each tea with correct information.

Origin: Nantou, Taiwan / Type: Qing Xin / 100% pure & nature quality / 2.5g:150ml / 95-99°C / multiple infusions >6-8

After the Chinese Moon Festival, it’s time for the picking of Autumn Tie Guan Yin.

Among six tea types, Oolong is the one requires the most sophisticated and complex processing procedures and experience.  If we said how the withering process has been managed set the right starting tone for the beautiful tea melody, then the traditional fermentation and post-roasting process definitely are the key for a perfect dropping note.  Many people like the flora and refreshing green notes from the Spring pluck, but there are more experienced tea lovers prefer the deep and yet smoothness flavor and taste from the Autumn/Winter pluck.

The traditional heavy fermented and roasted Oolong, such as Tie Guan Yin, actually is very suitable for the aging storage.  Here is a perfect idea to make a “Honey Tie Guan Yin” self to prepare the coming winter season:

Tea: > 5 years aged traditional Tie Guan Yin, can also try with the traditional fermented & roasted Dong Ding Oolong

Honey: suggest to use wild honey

Method:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf0wUB5sCSk

1. First to warm up the wok
2. Gently stir fry tea leaves and then mix the honey into tea
3. Keep the gentle stirring process till you see the color of honey is changed to a rich amber tea color
4. 1.5kg tea leaves can produce +/- 0.7kg tea honey
5. Keep it in a jar and store it for a year, that allow the flavor and taste of honey and tea fully blended in.

Is it happy people create fine tea or is it because the fine tea bring the happiness to people? That is not the question to ask.  Simply with a joyful mind and heartedly gratitude to the amazing natural wonders from the Nature and those hard working people, the change of mind and thought will accelerate the flavor and taste of tea into another level that enrich your life through a cup of pure and fine tea.

Origin: Fujian, China / Type: Tie Guan Yin / 100% pure & nature quality / 2.5g:150ml / 95-99°C / multiple infusions >6-8