2012 High Mountain Roast

This tea from our partner farm in Puli, Taiwan is a little pricey for a 2012 tea but the reason is a good one. Generally, aged teas in Taiwan that you can acquire are ‘accidentally aged’ or of lower quality material that never got sold so was put away to be aged. Taiwanese teas are generally meant to be consumed fresh so the art and science of aging teas here is a recent one. This tea is an example of trying to get aging right.

This tea was harvested in 2012, oxidized more than the average high mountain oolong, lightly roasted, placed in a clay jar on the mountain for 8 years and has just recently been released for sale. Its flavor has just begun to ‘turn’ so is an interesting mix of the sweet/sour notes of an aged high mountain oolong with a touch of still fresh crispness. It is still in the ‘awkward’ phase of aged oolongs but is a great learning experience for understanding what ‘properly’ aged teas taste like in their aging journeys.

Elevation: 1300m

Status: Tested Agrochemical Free(Starting Organic Certification This year)

Cultivar: Qinxin

Oxidization: 100%

Season: Spring 2012

Method: Hand picked, processed on site, very small batch

Region: Puli, Nantou