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"Mixiang Red Oolong" means "Honey-Fragrance Red Oolong" in Chinese. Red Oolong is something of a rage these days in Taiwan as it's not really an oolong and it's not a black tea... it's something in the middle. So with this tea we are looking at a darker-than-normal oolong. It's a cousin of one of our favorites we've carried for a long time called "High Mountain Honey Oolong" and shares the all-important bites of the leaf-hoppers as this is the Summer crop. However this one is allowed to oxidize more into darker territory. The liquor is darker, it's got nice body, it's flavorful and fragrant.
This season's selection is a very nice tea. Baked cinnamon, super clean and organically grown in a pristine area on a small-family farm. I think you will enjoy it!
NOTE: Our usual Lishan farmer chose to take a break this Summer (2023). Can't blame him, year-round tea farming is hard work! So, we are introducing a new Summer-crop Red Oolong from our organic tea farm partner off the South-East coast in Taitung county. Procurement is a little more expensive than last year as this is an organic farm.
Cultivar: Qingxin
Location: Taitung County
Elevation: 800M
Harvest: Summer 2023
Brewing:
The Easy Ways
Coffee cup - Add one teaspoon to one cup of hot water (195°/90°c) for 4 minutes. Strain and enjoy. Repeat up to three times.
Coffee press - If you have a coffee press or a nice traditional western teapot you want to enjoy, just double the above - 2 teaspoons to 2 cups of fresh hot water. Or with practice, you can use less tea and longer brewing times.
NOTE: Tea balls and similar brewing methods are not recommended.
Standard Gaiwan (about 130ml or half a cup of liquid)
Warm up your gaiwan with hot water first, pour it out, then add 3-6g of dry leaf, depending on how strong you like your tea. Fill your gaiwan covering the leaves with fresh hot water (195°/90°c), pour out this "rinse", then add a second round of water. Cover your gaiwan and wait for 30 to 45 seconds. Pour everything into a decanter through a strainer, let it cool to a comfortable drinking temperature, then enjoy. Repeat this process several times, gradually increasing the steeping time by 5-10 seconds for each infusion. You can find a good decanter HERE, a good strainer HERE, and some nice cups to share tea with friends HERE.
Traditional Chinese Teapots
Depending on the size of your "gongfu" teapot, the old-school advice is to loosely cover the bottom of your teapot in High Mountain Oolong dry leaf. Follow the same perimeters of gaiwan brewing. Teapot brewing is highly individual so use this as a starting point and develop your own style based on what you like to get out of each tea. You can find suitable teapots at all price ranges HERE.
On-the-Go Grandpa-Style
When I'm out working, I like to use an drinking thermos like a Yeti. The key to these is to use less dry leaf. I use about 1/2 teaspoon or 3g. You can use boiling water but let it set for around 5 minutes until you cover it with your lid. It should be at a good drinking temp for quite a while now. When you're dry, just refill and repeat all day long.
You can order a 10 gr. sample in the pull-down menu below or get better pricing with higher volume.
More info on Taiwan's leaf-hopper bitten teas can be found HERE
