This is a unique and somewhat unusual offering. In essence, it is the tea that serves as the base tea to make our High Mountain Gui Fei Oolong, Lot 432. It is the raw material that our resident tea master uses to execute her (now you know the master is a woman) expert baking skills to transform it into the liquid delight our exceptional Gui Fei L-432 is this year. The main component in the taste of this tea is the very noticeable contribution from the fickle green leaf hoppers which paid a visit to this high mountain plantation of Qing Xin leaves in a remote section of the Meishan terroir. Their nibbling of the leaves caused the bushes to react to the bug by increasing polyphenolic content in the leaves to mend themselves after the invasion. More polyphenols means, after processing the leaves into tea, a rich wild honey aroma and sweetness in the cup! To further bring out this sweetness and render a smooth and tangy berry-like fruitiness to the liqueur, the producer will oxidize the leaves to a higher level (around 40%). The result is a very bouncy, joyful refreshing tea with a good presence. It is offered for a very limited time, for the shear enjoyment of drinking it but also to allow curious minds to compare both Lot 432 and this one and connect some dots in understanding how baking alters a tea. We’re curious to hear your thoughts on this!