Cui Luan Bug Bitten "Mandarin Jade" Oolong Tea - 2017 Spring

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Blood Orange, Citrus, Creamy, Floral, Freshly Cut Grass, Osmanthus, Spinach, Vegetal
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by icantcookit
Average preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 g 4 oz / 120 ml

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  • “How could I resist another bug-bitten green oolong, especially when the name suggested it’d be fruity? Of course, this made it into my cart in 2017. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F...” Read full tasting note
    83

From Taiwan Sourcing

The Cui Luan region of Ren Ai county started oolong cultivation in the 1980s, just when the high mountain jade oolong began to take rise. Nearby to Cui Luan but at a lower altitude was the tea area where the famous Chinese tea company “Ten Ren” acquired their high mountain material in the early days. These tea plantations are not easy to reach since they are located in the very heart of mountains accessible only by long winding steep dirt roads, and thanks to that the region has avoided over-development.

This is the hardest tea for us to decide whether to get or not for this spring collection. We were very interested into this tea’s special character thanks to the bug-bitteness, and this character is very rare for teas at this elevation. Like our Cui Luan “Emerald Drop” from 2016 winter, both teas obtained such a unique result “thanks” to the relatively warm weather. What made us felt difficult to decide about this tea is that it has a higher oxidation than most of the “jade oolong” you might expect from a high mountain tea, and because of the weather of this season, most of the high mountain teas will have a tiny bit of “bitterness” (as we already had a lot of this teas this season).

But for its special taste, we think this tea should be worthwhile enough to be presented to you. This is not just because of the unique flavor, but also because of its higher oxidation, this tea should have an aging potential unlike most of the jade oolong in the market, even though we are confident enough to say that all our jade oolongs will be good enough to stand the test of the time. The tea got its name “Mandarin Jade” for its Mandarin orange like aftertaste thanks to the bug bittenness while delivering a subtle jade oolong alike quality.

Harvest: Spring 2017 / 春 貳零壹柒
Varietal: Qing Xin Oolong / 青心烏龍
Elevation: 2100 M
Region: Cui Luan / 翠巒
Oxidation Level: 35%
Roast Level: 0
Best Enjoyed Before: Forever

About Taiwan Sourcing View company

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1 Tasting Note

83
414 tasting notes

How could I resist another bug-bitten green oolong, especially when the name suggested it’d be fruity? Of course, this made it into my cart in 2017. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The wet leaf aroma is of mandarin oranges and flowers. The first steep has notes of flowers (maybe lilac or osmanthus), cream, grass, and a hint of orange, but nowhere near what appears in the aroma. Steep two gets slightly more astringent, but also creamier and more floral, in a lilac/sweet pea way that weirdly reminds me of baozhong. The orange is still really subtle and mixes with grass in the aftertaste. The next few rounds highlight the orange a bit more before acquiring spinach and vegetal flavours around the sixth steep.

At its best, this tea tastes like a floral mandarin orange creamsicle, but I don’t think I have the brewing parameters quite right. I might raise the temperature in my final session to see if it brings out the orange.

Flavors: Blood Orange, Citrus, Creamy, Floral, Freshly Cut Grass, Osmanthus, Spinach, Vegetal

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 g 4 OZ / 120 ML
Tabby

Bug bitten sounds so appropriate with your username, hehehe.

Leafhopper

That’s completely deliberate! I chose my name because I love bug-bitten teas so much. :)

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