News from Taiwan + NJ
Make sure to read up on the latest harvest!
Fall Harvest 2024 Reveal
Hi everyone,
Major news - both our fall harvest oolongs AND 2024’s GABA oolong have arrived! Read on to learn more about these three oolongs – each possesses a distinct flavor profile, I know you’ll find a new favorite!
-Sam
🌦️ weather report
The weather this fall has been ideal for a delicious harvest. In 2023, droughts led to a reduced yield, particularly during the winter harvest. However, 2024 has provided excellent conditions for tea growing and processing. We've experienced sufficient rainfall, no droughts, and a relatively mild late-summer typhoon season, all contributing to a promising harvest.
🍵 fall tea collection
Every year, I like to remind folks that the fall harvest is severely underrated. While spring and winter harvests are the competition seasons, if you’re an avid tea drinker like myself you know to not sleep on the fall. Usually, the fall harvest teas are more robust in flavor - they possess a higher polyphenol and amino acid content that creates a more bitter, yet healthier tea. That being said, this year’s fall harvest oolongs are surprisingly smooth. If you drank them in a blind taste test, you may even think you’re enjoying a winter harvest brew.
🥬unroasted green oolong
This year’s fall green oolong is particularly umami. It’s unusually smooth for a fall harvest, thanks in large part from the good weather. When brewed, the broth is juicy and tastes like vegetables with the slightest bit of bitterness at the finish. It has some floral undertones, and is quite sweet when the hot broth cools down. It’s truly the child of 2023’s winter oolong and 2024’s spring oolong - not too vegetal, not too floral.
Tasting notes: spinach, asparagus, fern
🌰red oolong
Our red oolong, produced just once a year, is inspired by the classic Dong Ding style from the renowned Lugu growing region. This version puts a fresh spin on tradition, grown at a higher elevation and just as delicious. Coffee lovers may appreciate its long, lingering aftertaste and subtle astringency.
Fun fact: This is our top pick for cold brewing! We recommend using 2 heaping tablespoons of oolong per quart of water, steeped overnight in your fridge. For a more intense “sipping oolong” to enjoy on the rocks, feel free to add extra tea.
Tasting notes: pecan, dried pear, burnt sugar
🍠GABA oolong
Our newest edition of the beloved GABA oolong has arrived! Known for its distinctive flavor, this tea is one of our most popular oolongs. The 2024 GABA offers a rich, fruity broth, evoking the indulgent taste of a luscious fruit pie with a lingering, sweet aftertaste.
This GABA was produced back during the 2024 spring harvest, however in order to sell tea in Taiwan under the GABA name, the tea must first undergo testing to certify it meets the minimum threshold of GABA content (150mg/100g leaves). The GABA content for the 2024 harvest has achieved a concentration of 193mg/100g leaves. The leaves have undergone an extended 3-day anaerobic fermentation process and are finished with a 4-hour roast.
Tasting notes: persimmon, biscotti, raisin
Spring Harvest 2024 Reveal
Hi everyone,
Spring harvest has arrived! Keep reading to learn more about our latest teas and get a sneak peek at our forthcoming xxperimental 🫡 I hope you love these teas as much as I do!
-Sam
🍵 spring tea collection
It’s time to celebrate! We have three (3) oolongs you have all come to know and love PLUS one (1) special throwback. If that’s somehow not exciting enough, I have one (1) XXPERIMENTAL to really get your heart pounding 😍.
🍄🟫 unroasted green oolong
This unroasted green oolong has a bold personality and lives up to the hype for those who believe Spring is the most prestigious harvest season. This season's oolong is reminiscent of Spring 2022, with a strong umami flavor. It has a savory deliciousness similar to gyokuro, appealing to our Japanese tea enthusiasts, and it reminds me of artichokes. The broth feels vibrant and thick, coating the mouth and leaving a delightfully sweet, lingering aftertaste. After enjoying winter's calming, subtle green oolong, let this spring harvest stir you back to life!
Tasting notes: Artichoke, lily, brazil nut
🍫 black oolong
Our milk oolong’s roasted sibling is here! With a thick, almost syrupy broth, this oolong is juicy, sweet and smooth. I find the black oolong to be the most comforting in the line-up. It’s so easy to drink. Anyone just starting out in the world of high quality loose-leaf teas will be obsessed in no time. This particular batch of our black oolong would be absolute aces if prepared as a milk tea.
Tasting notes: Cacao, summer squash, agave
⛽🍻double red oolong
Crafted to our specifications once a year, our double red oolong was our first experimental tea, created in collaboration with our Master Tea Maker in Shanlinxi. Honoring classic charcoal-roasted oolongs, we achieve our desired flavor profile by precision roasting this oolong in an oven over multiple sessions. Similar to the famed tieguanyin, this oolong can be aged for decades with proper care.
Heavily roasted oolongs such as this one are typically left to rest for a few months so the flavors can continue to mature and settle into themselves. We usually say ~ 6 months.However there is no reason to wait—you’re welcome to join me in drinking it now 😀
This year’s double red oolong offers deep, roasted barley notes with a hint of fruitiness. Due to the heavy roast, the flavor extraction comes in phases as the leaves open up in hot water. The aroma is bold, the broth is smooth, and the slightly astringent aftertaste lingers.
To experience the full spectrum of flavor this oolong has in store for you, I recommend multiple steeps using a gaiwan. However, it also makes a fine glass of tea when brewed grandpa style. Anecdotally, I’ve found that many coffee drinkers love this oolong’s bold, expressive flavor.
Tasting notes: Roasted barley, walnut, apple peel
🍯bug bitten oolong
For those who are new to this category of tea, bug bitten oolongs are uncommon coming from high elevation farms, wherecolder temperatures tend to deter the requisite friendly insects. It also takes painstaking effort to harvest only the bug-bitten leaves, but the unique honey-scented aroma is quite the reward.
We have an incredibly small batch of this one available. We were hoping to see tea jassids in January of 2024, however due to their absence we decided to bring in the last lot from January 2023 for everyone to enjoy.
Snag this one before it’s gone, you’ll love it ;)
Tasting notes: Honeysuckle, yali pear, bamboo shoots
🔜XXPERIMENTAL NO.8
I can’t wait to share more when our latest experiment arrives. I’m bursting at the seams with excitement for this one. We tried something we haven’t done before… it's an oolong from Alishan… it has a bit of a roast… I’ll let you wonder what it might be 😏
And with that let’s enjoy some pictures from the farm that I shot on 36mm. I look forward to hearing which of the spring lineup is your favorite!
Winter Harvest 2023 Reveal
Hi all!
Happy Winter harvest! Today’s letter will be longer than usual as I’ve recently returned from a few weeks in Taiwan. This year’s Winter harvest was a blast to help produce! There’s nothing like being at the farms during harvest to appreciate how much work goes into making a single cup of tea. I have so much admiration for all of our farmers.
Read on to get a first look at the newest teas & more!
🏜️ weather report
Winter harvest this year went off without a hitch. In Alishan we harvested late October and completed roasting the black oolong on 10/31. We spent the evening drinking the latest harvest of milk oolong as the aroma of our black oolong slowly roasting filled the air! Waking up the next morning to take the black oolong out of the roaster for a first taste was next level.
In Shanlinxi, we harvested on the farms November 3rd-5th. To produce the best winter teas in this region, it’s best to harvest a week after the last rain. Initially we were set to harvest the second week in November, however after seeing scheduled rain on Oct 27th, it was decided to harvest sooner in order to optimize for quality and hydration of the leaves. With a chuckle, Uncle shared this secret recipe of his and lamented that everyone who harvested before the 27th wouldn’t have a tea as delicious as his... and boy is it tasty!
🍵 winter tea collection
This year’s winter tea collection includes three teas from the winter harvest and one special find… with more to come. As always, I promise that each tea in our lineup is both unique in flavor and processing. You’ll likely want to try them all, as so many of you usually do!
In addition to 2023’s Winter harvest oolongs, I have a truly limited release to share. This one was sourced from a new farmer located in Pinglin and was made from the Summer harvest. There is no guarantee that we’ll ever have this particular tea again (read on and you’ll figure out why...) so make sure to try it before it sells out!
🥬 Unroasted green oolong
Drink this tea. It is superb. Personal opinion: Winter harvest is the best season. IYKYK. This year we had the pleasure of participating in making Uncle’s green oolong. In a blind taste test on Day 1, I was delighted when we unknowingly selected Uncle’s as the best of the samples from nearby producers. We were blown away with its impressively smooth mouthfeel and luscious vegetal taste, and felt super lucky to have access to such high quality oolong. At midnight on the final day of harvest when we tasted the final batch, we were blown away by how it turned out. Zero bitterness. Juicy, vegetal broth. Addictive. I’ve been drinking this tea daily since harvest and know you’ll love it too.
How we made it: Each day harvest began early, with pickers in the fields by 6am and wrapping up before the midday sun grew too intense. When enough baskets were filled we’d drive the fresh leaves ~30 minutes down the mountain to the processing facility one truckload at a time to begin the withering process. As the longest step of making oolong, withering & oxidation takes roughly 12 hours. It was often past midnight before we could first taste the day’s tea. Finally, the tea leaves would head to their final step to be rolled into balls. Usually this would take another 4-5 hours of intense manual labor and the skilled orchestration of specialized equipment. Workers would roll and then dry, roll and then dry, until the tea achieved ~2% hydration and could be packed into vacuum sealed air-tight bricks. For our unroasted green the process stops here, however for our roasted teas like the red, double red, and black oolongs, they’d head off to the roaster!
Tasting notes: Butter lettuce, snow pea, water chestnut
🥛 Milk oolong
It’s a fan favorite. We’ve been sold out of milk oolong for a few months and I’m sorry! For everyone who loves a slightly floral, creamy oolong you will not be disappointed with this year’s batch. It’s back and it’s the same comforting, delicious broth with the Liu family’s special oxidation style giving it a flowery, mouth-tingling feel you’ve come to crave. Stock up & drink up!
Tasting notes: Sugar cookies, wildflowers, cream
🍫 Black oolong
Our creamy, roasty, chocolaty sibling of milk oolong is here! This Winter’s batch is a luscious oolong with notes of dark chocolate, brioche, and honey. With a broth that feels richer and more substantial than Spring’s lighter amber liquor, folks who love a classic black tea will be delighted to find this familiar flavor profile in a non-astringent offering! We’ve roasted this batch for just about 15 hours, slightly longer than Spring’s 10-hour roast. While very similar in profile, I always find the Winter harvest of the black oolong has a little more body. This one reminds me of smooth dark chocolate – you know the fancy stuff that is a touch fruity with just the slightest hint of acidity? Yum.
Tasting notes: Dark chocolate, brioche, honey
🍯 🍑 Bug bitten black tea
I’m not sure what to say other than you’ll need to smell it to believe me. This special limited release of bug-bitten black tea oozes honey and bright fruit aromas. Our newest producer combined tieguanyin, jinxuan, and qinqxin leaves into a black tea that is rare and laborious to produce. Because only leaves bitten by tea jassids could be used, this summer harvest batch of tea is limited in quantity. As with all tieguanyin leaves, brew it hot at 212℉ to get the full flavor and help the leaves open up. If you’re more into aromas, go lighter on the leaves. If you’re looking for a robust broth, add more leaves. You’ll be able to steep this tea for 6+ rounds. I already regret not bringing back more! 🙈
Tasting notes: Honey, red guava, peach
🥫 INTRODUCING PORCELAIN CAN #2
A few years back we stumbled across Eli’s porcelain cans and collaborated with him to produce a special batch just for us. This winter I’m ecstatic to share the latest version with you! Using a smoother, whiter porcelain, this vessel feels lovely.
You may be asking, “What do I do with a porcelain can?” Well, happy to share! Paired with our beaker it's the perfect tea drinking kit! Brew in the beaker, drink out of the can. Fin.
If you’ve already got a favorite tea mug, don’t be afraid to let your imagination run wild. Vase? Pen holder? Soup bowl! It’s cool, you’re going to want one.
Porcelain Can #2 is a limited batch. When it’s gone, it’s gone forever…
And with that, I think it’s time to let y’all get to the shopping part! Have any questions about the teas or gifts for the holidays? Send me a message 🤘
-Sam
Fall Harvest 2023 Reveal
Hey everyone,
Welcome back! I hope y'all had a great summer. Here at BANGtea I've been busy cooking up a number of surprises... the first of which I'm excited to share with you today!
Get your hot water ready because three (3) new oolongs are available and gosh, they are tasty.
-Sam
⛅ weather report
Nothing notable to report, no large typhoons impacted harvest - it was a pretty regular fall season. Instead of talking about the weather for a bit, I thought we could take a dive into some lightweight tea science!
A brief overview of Polyphenols and Amino Acids… and why it relates to Fall harvest
Each season produces oolongs with wildly different characteristics. Drink enough green oolong from season to season and you’ll start noticing the differences! While there are many variables that influence the final flavor of a tea, there are two essential compounds in the tea-leaf chemistry that we pay attention to when making oolongs; polyphenols and amino acids. Weather dependent, these two compounds are present in varying quantities during each season and affect the taste and character of the finished tea.
Polyphenols are naturally occurring compounds found in leaves from the camellia sinensis plant that offer numerous health benefits like acting as an anti-inflammatory and promoting cardiovascular health. They also play a pivotal role in shaping the tea leaf’s transformation process.
In the tea world, we pay attention to these levels as they are indicative of a tea leaf’s "willingness" or suitability to be transformed into tea. It’s worth noting that camellia sinensis cultivars with high polyphenol content are often ideal candidates for transforming raw tea leaves into a finished oolong (e.g. qingxin, jinxuan, and many others that are predominantly grown in Taiwan). But why? These compounds contribute to the tea's complex flavor profile, floral notes, and the ability to withstand the rigorous oolong processing methods, which include withering, rolling, oxidizing, and roasting. Typically the summer and fall harvests possess the highest polyphenol levels, making them some of the most nutrient-rich oolongs you can consume!
Amino acids are responsible for the bitterness of your brew. Warm weather during summer & fall increases the amino acid content in raw tea leaves. As a result, the oolongs produced during these seasons have a more bold and bitter taste. This is precisely why many tea drinkers favor spring and winter harvests that have lower amino acid levels and yield more delicate, smoother oolongs.
So which tea should I try? Well, it’s up to you! Fall teas are not recognized as the most impressive teas of the year, however they are incredibly nutritious… and I think delicious . For years I’ve been advocating for more folks to drink Fall oolongs. They are a sleeper hit if you like a strong, bold brew. I usually start my morning with our Fall green oolong to wake up & then shift into the Winter harvest green oolong my afternoon pick-me-up.
🍵 fall tea collection
This year we produced two teas during the Fall harvest that occurred at the tail end of August/beginning of September. Both are intense (read the blurb on amino acids & polyphenols to learn why), both are tasty, and I think you’ll enjoy them in different ways!
🥬 unroasted green oolong
This year’s Fall green oolong is delicious. With a thick broth, it’s easy to brew lightly or more bold. The overall profile is savory – a bit broth-like, with just the slightest dryness and tingly feeling on the tongue allowing you to continue enjoying the flavor long after you’ve finished your cup! Not too floral like a Spring oolong and not too smooth like a Winter oolong, this Fall unroasted green oolong is just right.
Tasting notes: Kale, edamame, mountain herbs || Shop Now
☕ red oolong
This oolong is bold and has some serious zip! Based on your brewing method, our red oolong is always a chameleon – let it steep for a long time and you’ll have an intense brew, excellent for iced tea or a cold brew. If you prefer shorter steeps, you’ll be able to experience more depth and nuance of flavor, bringing out its nutty and fruitiness. If you’re curious about red oolongs, we’ve modeled ours off the Dong Ding style that is grown in the nearby famous growing region. Consider this a twist on a classic, grown at a higher elevation and equally delicious. If you’re a coffee drinker, you may love our red oolongs long, lingering aftertaste and mild astringency.
Tasting notes: Pecan, coffee grounds, red plum || Shop Now
🍠 Spring pt.2 GABA oolong
After a long wait, GABA is back in stock! Thanks so much to everyone for being so patient. This GABA was produced back during the 2023 spring harvest, however in order to sell tea in Taiwan under the GABA name, the tea must first undergo testing to certify it meets the minimum threshold of GABA content (150mg/100g leaves). Good news yet again, our GABA content for the 2023 harvest has achieved a concentration of 193mg/100g leaves.
The leaves have undergone an extended 3-day anaerobic fermentation process and are finished with a 4-hour roast. The broth is thick, sweet, and reminds us of a sweet potato or baked apple. The mouthfeel is juicy; the tea overall reminds us of a baked fruit pie without much crust. If you’ve been a fan of our GABA in the past, you’ll want to try this year’s batch. For us, the 2023 spring harvest batch has exemplified our ideal GABA in taste & body.
Tasting notes: Sweet potato, brown sugar, baked apple || Shop Now
Spring Harvest 2023 Reveal
Hi everyone!
Exciting news all around, spring harvest has arrived! Below I’ll share some of my brief thoughts on the teas, I truly hope you will love them! Within this batch there is surely a tea for everyone, it’s just a matter of which one will become your favorite of the season... or perhaps year? Stay tuned for more news from me in the coming weeks and months - and if you have any ideas, thoughts or recommendations please send them my way!
-Sam
🏜️ weather report
It was a tough start to the year with a severe drought across the island pushing back harvest dates and contributing to an overall lower yield. Back in 2021 Taiwan made headlines when drought caused reservoirs and Sun Moon Lake to hit record lows. 2023 hasn’t been much different. That being said, similar to 2021 this year’s harvests are unique and delicious in their own way, just less to go around!
🍵 spring tea collection
This spring we have five (5) teas total – three (3) classics, one (1) XXPERIMENTAL, and one (1) secret tea that’ll be released in another month or so! Spring is widely accepted as the highest quality, most highly prized leaves of the year. It’s something really special to be able to enjoy the taste of a season and I hope you enjoy the flavors of 2023.
🍐Unroasted Green Oolong
If you know, you know. This green oolong is first-class! I find this batch to be particularly refreshing, and have noticed it almost reminds me of cold pressed unfiltered evoo. With incredible depth the broth is juicy, structured, and coats the mouth, while leaving a slightly dry sensation on the tongue. Relative to last year’s spring harvest, this tea has a less floral nose and possesses a subtle sweetness.
Tasting notes: sand pear, green banana, snow pea
🍯 Black Oolong
Fact: Everyone loves this oolong. For those who are new to the jinxuan cultivar, this tea was developed by the Taiwanese Tea Research Extension Station to present creamy, milk-like qualities and flavors. When we roast our jinxuan and transform it into our Black Oolong, the result is an incredible chocolatey, honeyed broth. This harvest tastes like a really fruity, super dark single-origin chocolate, the fancy kind 😏.
Tasting notes: cacao, tupelo honey, hazelnut
🍑 Double Red Oolong
Crafted to our specifications only once per year, our Double Red Oolong was our first XXPERIMENTAL tea created in collaboration with our Master Tea Maker. Described in a word, this year’s Double Red is balanced. The aroma packs a lot of roast and is a bit heady with an almost camphor-y or sulfurous presence that lingers in the nose. While drinking, the broth is smooth on the tongue, has a sweetness in the throat, and finishes off sour– a signature of this style of tea. Usually we encourage folks to let this oolong rest for a few months to calm down, however this year it’s open season from day 1!
Tasting notes: Grilled apricot, toasted walnut, jujube
XXPERIMENTAL NO.7
XXPERIMENTAL NO.7 is an incredibly light roast on our favorite unroasted green using qingxin oolong leaves from our farm on Shanlinxi. During the tea making process, we siphoned off a portion of the finished product and decided to continue the roasting process. In all, we roasted this batch for a total of five hours, 2 hours at 70°C, a quick rest, then 3 hours at 75°C. If you’re doing a double take, you’re right! We experimented a few years back and ran this test in the Winter. This year we’re using leaves from the Spring to see if we can bring out even more of that dry mouthfeel by using baseline leaves that will be a bit more floral from the get-go. Without spoiling the surprise, we think this tea is a little sweeter than it’s unroasted counterpart 😊
Winter Harvest 2022 Reveal
Hi all,
Happy Winter Harvest!
But first, many of you will be glad to hear that we've restocked our Spring '22 Milk Oolong. I know it's a fan favorite -- y'all love your creamy, flowery oolongs... so it's back! Head on over to the shop to pick some up before I sell out again.
...and while I have you, give the gift of BANGtea this holiday season-- stock up for yourself and your most favorite people in this world!
<3
-Sam
🌤️ weather report
Winter harvest began mid-late October in Alishan with the farm over at Shanlinxi following shortly after. This season we have nothing super notable to report. The weather was good, we made it through typhoon season without any major storms. All is cheery on the tea growing front!
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🍵 Winter tea collection
I personally enjoy winter harvests the most for their richer, heavier broths and more vegetal flavors. For this winter season we've produced three (3) oolongs for your tastebuds to enjoy! Two classics and one new XXPERIMENTAL.
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🥬 unroasted green oolong
Yes. Please. This oolong is balanced, light and crisp. It has a juicy broth that lingers in the mouth, as opposed to a roasted green oolong that'll linger in your throat. It also tastes so incredibly clean, which is one of my favorite characteristics in Uncle's teas. Whenever I drink this oolong I have such an easy time imagining the tea plants clouded in fog, surrounded by evergreens and a bamboo forest.
If you're a green tea drinker or love green oolongs, this is such a smooth tea. It's truly a treat.
tasting notes: artichoke, mixed greens, spruce tips || shop unroasted green oolong
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🌰 black oolong
This year’s winter harvest black oolong is quite the contrast from spring. With a much thicker broth, we’re tasting more rich flavors like chestnut and dark honey, along with the usual chocolatey, cacao. We’re already anticipating drinking this one when the snow really starts piling up outside.
Our black oolong is always made using the jinxuan cultivar, a variant of the tea plant that was developed by the Taiwanese government to exhibit buttery, milky flavor. We love roasting this cultivar because it transforms into possibly one of the most smooth teas you’ll ever drink.
This tea is really a crowd pleaser-- newbies find this tea extremely approachable, while seasoned veterans love the delicious complexity the ever-so-slightly acidic broth delivers. Trust us, there is a reason this one is a bestseller!
tasting notes: chestnut, honey, cacao || shop black oolong
🍃 XXPERIMENTAL NO.6
I've been cooking this one up for a while now, but needed to be patient. I wanted to see what happens when we take my favorite winter harvest of a green oolong and attempt to make a cross between a baozhong and a white tea. The result? An ethereal, delicious tea.
For XXPERIMENTAL NO.6 we've created an unrolled, strip style green oolong using qingxin oolong leaves from our farm on Shanlinxi. Once harvested, the leaves underwent minimal oxidation and proceeded to the dryer. We processed them in a quasi-strip style with stems still intact to minimize enzymatic interactions that’d incite flavor change. During the drying process, we reduced temperatures to 80°C to ensure the leaves kept their lovely fragrance & flavor. While this green oolong may look like a hot mess, it has a delicate, light & refreshing broth! We chose to refrain from any additional roasting to keep the finished tea juicy on the palate.
Think of this tea as an unadulterated oolong with minimal interference all around.
shop XXPERIMENTAL
Fall Harvest 2022 Reveal
Hi all,
Happy first days of Fall!
I'm wishing you excellent sweater weather and all the pumpkin spice your heart can handle. This past weekend I made my first batch of pumpkin jam from my favorite spot in Boston, Sofra. I make this pumpkin jam every year and put it in black tea or coffee, on toast, in pastries, with pork chops... really it goes with anything. It cooks up super fast and everyone will think you're fancy. Enjoy!
More importantly, we have new teas to discuss. Let's get down to it!
weather report
Leading up to harvest temperatures were pretty consistently in the high 70s to low 90s and happened to be slightly cooler than the 2021 season. Fall harvest overlaps with the tail-end of Taiwan's typhoon season that runs from May through September. If you're in Taiwan during these months you'll often experience short, intense bursts of rain, sometimes daily. Thankfully, leading up to harvest we had decent weather and were able to complete processing before a Category 5 typhoon formed near Taiwan on August 30th.
Fall tea collection
This season we've produced two (2) oolongs for your supreme enjoyment. I say this every time Fall harvest comes around: if you're not drinking it, you're missing out. These oolongs will be your dependable "house" brews for daily drinking.
unroasted green oolong
A diamond in the rough! This year's Fall harvest has brought us a deliciously juicy green oolong that is mild, but not as ethereal or delicate as a baozhong style. In a blind taste test, you might think this tea was grown and picked in the Winter. It lacks the slight bitterness that we usually experience in a standard Fall harvest green oolong, but I'm not complaining! If you're new to oolongs this would be a great start to your journey. If you drink a lot of oolongs, your wallet will thank you for this price point.
tasting notes: Zucchini, asian pear, watercress || shop unroasted green oolong
red oolong
If you've been fortunate enough to spend time in Taiwan, the aroma and taste of this oolong will take you right back to a hot summer day wandering around Taipei drinking an iced, lightly roasted oolong. This red oolong oozes a classic flavor reminiscent of a light roast Dong Ding and is decidedly the younger sibling to our double red. This oolong has a juicy, smooth broth with the roast lingering towards the finish. I'd place the sweetness closer to a burnt marshmallow or brown sugar. I love it!
tasting notes: Apricot, burnt marshmallow, walnut || shop red oolong
Ready to stock up on some of the new teas? Head to the store & as always, reach out to me if you have any questions!
<3
-Sam
Spring Harvest 2022 Reveal
Hey everyone,
It's time! Spring harvest oolongs are here. Keep reading for an overview of the harvest & make sure to head to the store and pick some up!
<3
Sam
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🌤️ weather report
2022 spring harvest experienced excellent growing conditions and as a result the teas are delicious. Well balanced, smooth, overall the word elegant comes to mind. If you remember last year's spring harvest that occurred during a drought, these conditions were quite the contrast!
This year the harvest itself went well, no rain in sight that might negatively affect or slow down the transformation process. From our tea master's perspectives, this spring harvest was one of the strongest in recent years. Growing & tending to the tea plants is only half of the equation. Which brings us to the exciting part, what oolongs have we produced!
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🍵 spring tea collection
This year we have prepared 4 teas for you, each unique in their flavor profile & processing style. To provide some balance, we've developed two roasted & two lighter oolongs. Because the teas are so distinct, it's hard to pick a favorite. I think you'll need to try them yourself to decide :)
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🥬 green oolong
My, my, my. I love green oolongs. I love this batch. I've been drinking it daily for the past few weeks. The dry leaves smell sweet like candy and when brewed the broth is rich and full. It's not too floral, nor sleepy or medicinal like our winter green oolongs. I'm a fan, I think you'll be a fan. This oolong is a premier example of the style.
tasting notes: candy, microgreens, artichoke || shop green oolong
🔥 double red oolong
This oolong is intense and we only produce it once a year in the Spring. If you like whiskey or scotch, you'll enjoy the robust aroma and smooth broth when brewed. and because it's so heavily roasted, it always takes a few months to settle down. With that in mind, pick some up now and give it a taste. Then let the leaves settle into themselves for a few months and give it another go. I think you'll be surprised with how the tea matures. We've created this oolong especially for those folks who enjoy a heavier roast & aging their teas :)
tasting notes: brown sugar, resin, pomelo || shop double red oolong
🍯 black oolong
Everyone loves our black oolong. Truly, haven't met a soul that thought it wasn't anything short of delicious. Last summer I drank this tea daily. It pairs exceptionally well with pie 😇 Something about the mild acidity and smooth, juicy flavor made it perfect for hot summer days. Spring always tends to be a little bit lighter than the winter, this harvest agrees. I always recommend this one when someone is new to whole leaf teas!
tasting notes: malt, agave, squash || shop black oolong
🥛 milk oolong
Ahhh the milk oolong. This is for my group of devout milk oolong drinkers! You know who you are :) I think I mentioned this a few months back, but I brought in a small batch of the winter milk oolong to taste & planned to wait until spring to see which harvest I liked more. Usually I prefer winter harvest as it's generally more medicinal and less floral, however this year my pick is spring! The dried leaves truly smell like a sugar cookie. When brewed the broth is full and smooth. Rather than a pungent milk smell, I feel like I'm getting a creaminess that's balancing out the floral notes. 🤤
tasting notes: sugar cookies, wildflowers, cream || shop milk oolong
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And there's your overview! Which tea are you looking forward to? If you have any questions, feel free to send them my way!
Drink more tea!
- Sam
p.s. We have one more special tea coming our way, but due to recent rains, we're holding off until the time is right to finish processing. Stay tuned for our 5th and final spring harvest tea coming in another ~ month!
INFO: GABA Oolong
Welcome to the world of GABA oolong. Below I’ll share a brief overview of GABA, GABA oolong, and associated benefits. I’ll also link you to some research if you want to check out the science behind it all.
First and foremost, what is GABA?
Short for gamma-aminobutyric acid, GABA is an amino acid that naturally occurs in the human brain, plants and other animals. In humans, GABA functions as an inhibitory neurotransmitter that blocks messages between the brain (namely the amygdala) and other parts of the central nervous system. This typically results in decreased feelings of anxiety, stress, and fear. In other words, GABA has the ability to calm our primal fight-or-flight response and improve our ability to process information (1) in the here and now.
As luck would have it, GABA is one of the many beneficial nutrients found in the tea plant. That puts it in the company of better-known substances like L-theanine (an amino acid that helps promote relaxation) and caffeine (a defense mechanism for the tea plant that serves as a natural stimulant). Most of the time, GABA levels in the tea plant are not concentrated enough to have a noticeable effect on our brains. Fortunately, a straightforward technique allows us to augment these levels.
How do we increase GABA content in tea leaves?
Generally speaking, when transforming raw, freshly-picked tea leaves into an oolong tea, we allow oxygen to act as the primary catalyst of fermentation. Over an extended period of time, amino acids and other compounds present in tea leaves interact with oxygen, altering the overall composition of the raw tea leaf.
In the late 1980s in Japan, tea researchers studying theanine accidentally discovered that tea leaves stored in anaerobic conditions wound up with higher levels of GABA. These days this uniquely prepared tea continues to grow in popularity, but production is still limited predominantly to Japan and Taiwan.
Today a tea is allowed to be categorized as GABA only if the GABA content is higher than 150mg/100g leaves. Any lower and the tea likely will not possess the same health benefits and cannot be packaged with a GABA label. As a heads up, some teas are marketed as GABA without meeting this standard.
Why do people like GABA oolongs?
This is an easy one! The flavor. GABA oolongs have a tremendously delicious flavor profile. Most often we hear GABA teas have a unique sweet/savory flavor reminiscent of sweet potatoes, pumpkins, or persimmons…all of which are exciting to discover in a tea.
Drinking tea with high levels of GABA has a number of purported health benefits (2) such as…
Increased focus
Lowered blood pressure
Relief for anxiety, depression, and insomnia
Hangover prevention and relief
If you’re interested in reading more about GABA, check out the links below.
Sources
2 United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Safety Review of Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA)
Interested in Mrs. Qiu’s GABA oolong?
Our GABA is the result of a multi-year search to find an impressive representation of the style. Only in its fourth year of production, Mrs. Qiu’s GABA tea has already received recognition in competition. This GABA uses the qingxin cultivar, is grown on Alishan, and is produced only once per year during Spring harvest. The leaves have undergone an extended 3-day anaerobic fermentation process and are finished with a 4-hour roast. The broth is rich and possesses a persimmon-like flavor. The dry leaf smells of delicious baked goods, and the wet leaf presents an ethereal scent of rose.
Winter Harvest 2021 Reveal
Hello friends,
Happy holidays! Just in time for all your winter-y needs, we have a fresh batch of teas for you :)
Read on to learn more about the three teas up for grabs-- can't wait to hear what you all think of them!
Love,
Sam
P.s. stay tuned for our first teaware collaboration coming up in a few short weeks!
Winter Tea Collection
Three teas to snag, three teas to love. This mini-collection is all about compare/contrast. Available for the first time ever, we’re offering two qingxin unroasted green oolongs with ~ equal oxidation. The only difference? Terroir..and some stylistic choices when transforming the raw leaves into oolong. Happy drinking!
(1) Alishan green oolong
shortbread// wildflowers// hearts of palm
Selected for it’s clear, crisp flavor, this tea exemplifies the high mountain style of Taiwanese oolongs. On the Alishan farm, this field of the qingxin cultivar is grown adjacent to our jinxuan plants, and while it does not have the creamy/buttery intensity of the jinxuan, it is incredibly smooth and balanced. When drinking this tea I feel it hits in the smooth/floral/medicinal flavor range — the farm definitely gets more sun than the Shanlinxi tea fields, which I believe impacts the tea by making it ever so slightly more floral vs. vegetal.
Overall the tea smells like buttery shortbread and when brewed is smooth, has a hint of fruitiness, and posses a long, well-balanced and lingering aftertaste. YUM!
If you’re a bit milk oolong fan you’re going to need to try this one… and really if you’re a fan of Uncle’s green oolongs, you’ll want to try this one to compare/contrast the impact that terroir and processing style has on flavor!
(2) black oolong
malt // agave // fig
Praise the tea masters, the stock has been replenished! If you haven't tried our black oolong before, now's the time. Made from the jinxuan cultivar (intentionally developed to for creamy, buttery qualities), we've transformed the leaves into a smooth, malty, figgy black tea via a pleasant 10-hour roast.
This tea is really a crowd pleaser-- newbies find this tea extremely approachable, while seasoned veterans love the delicious complexity the ever-so-slightly acidic broth delivers. Trust us, there is a reason this one is a bestseller!
(3) unroasted green oolong
pear // dried lemon peel //artichoke
If a tea was my child, this would be the tea. All day, any day I will drink this unroasted green oolong. It's light, just slightly more delicate in flavor and body than the super nose-forward spring harvest. It tastes more like vegetables than drinking flowers (personal preference ).
This year's winter harvest has a lovely, crisp and fruity smell. If you like to steep it a little bit heavy, it produces a thick vegetal broth with subtle lemon peel notes.
I like to think the body of the tea is a direct impact of the local flora -- the growing region is uniquely is surrounded by evergreens and bamboo forests. Oftentimes the fields have a layer of fog hovering over them, giving off a misty, magical feel!
Fall Harvest 2021 Reveal
hello friends,
I love the fall. The weather is perfect, you can wear sweaters, and people don't look at you strange for drinking hot beverages all day long. You know what else? I LOVE the fall oolong harvest.
Each fall we produce two teas that are basically a greatest hits album 📻. We make an unroasted green oolong and our signature red oolong. They are both delicious and both worth your time.
Read on to learn more about them & order some today!
- 🤘Sam
🌤️weather report
It's crazy how the time has flown. Since spring harvest, we've had intermittent rain, nothing detrimental or affecting the plants in a negative way, but certainly some more healthy precipitation than the drought we were experiencing earlier in the year. The two weeks leading up to the fall harvest we experienced warm weather and sunny skies. Shortly after harvest we fell into typhoon season in full swing, with rain on most days. Seriously some great timing! No major hitches here, and the quality of the tea is top notch as a result!
🍵fall tea collection
We have two (2) delicious teas on the menu & you should really just pick both of them up! I say it every year and I'll say it again, oftentimes the fall harvest is nearly always overlooked... but it shouldn't be when you're working with incredibly talented tea farmers! If you're into value investing this is the harvest for you 😆. You get an incredible tea, usually a tinge more bitter than spring/winter harvest, but at an incredible price.
These are your every day drinkers. You just can't go wrong.
🥦 unroasted green oolong
Usually the fall green oolongs tend to be a little on the bitter side and have a strong aftertaste that really coats your mouth/throat. Personally, I love them. The more mouthfeel the better. This year I'm actually feeling like the tea is a bit lighter and higher quality! 🤩 It's more vegetal, smoother, quite a bit broth-like that we usually experience with winter teas. I've been very pleased with the harvest and drinking it non-stop, I think you'll love it too :)
tasting notes: Butter lettuce, palm hearts, gardenia || shop unroasted green oolong
🍑 red oolong
As one of the original teas that BANGtea launched with, I'm excited to share this year's batch of red oolong! The very first time I tasted Uncle's red oolong I was blown away. It was such a distinct flavor profile, different from many Dong Ding oolongs I'd had from the nearby famous growing region. What stood out most to me then & still now, is the depth of this tea's character. Pending your brewing style this tea can be light and fruity or you prefer to steep it longer you'll find yourself with a heavier, toastier liquor that leaves your tastebuds tingling.
tasting notes: Brown sugar, walnut, apricot || shop red oolong
Spring Harvest 2021 Reveal
hello friends,
The time for spring harvest teas has come! Read on for the full collection, now available on the site here. They ROCK! We'll begin shipping on June 7th.
I'm starting to run low in stock with most oolongs, so I'd preface your shopping experience today by saying -- if there was a tea that you loved, you may want to stock up now before it's gone forever.
Finally, you know the deal -- all teas are hand picked, all organic, unavailable anywhere else in the world, etc. this is the good stuff!
Excited for you to enjoy this batch!
- 🤘Sam
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🏜️weather report
The past few months have been a bit rough with Taiwan experiencing severe drought in notable tea growing regions like Sun Moon Lake. As a result, overall tea yield has dropped and at one farm we began harvest a little later than usual, giving the tea plants more time to grow. This all being said, drought does not necessarily mean low quality tea, and we're exceptionally excited to be bringing you a slightly smaller, yet highly curated collection of the best spring oolongs.
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🍵spring tea collection
We have four (4) delicious teas on the menu & I think you'll have a hard time picking just one... I love them all! In general, folks prize spring harvest above other seasons and the teas are more competitive in competition and to acquire due to their nigh bombastic flavors at times :D
🥬unroasted green oolong
mmmmmmmm! High mountain greens are likely my favorite category of oolongs, especially when they lean vegetal in flavor...which also means that I'm super picky. Every harvest this is the first tea I taste, and when I tasted this one I was so excited! I brew my oolongs strong, but if you're looking for something more delicate but still possessing flavor, you'll be able to achieve it with a lighter brew here.
tasting notes: fiddlehead, gardenia, artichoke || shop unroasted green oolong
🍫black oolong This oolong is SUCH a crowd pleaser, and this season does not disappoint. This harvest's flavors are a little deeper, even a touch earthier than in previous seasons. The spring always has a slightly lighter body than it's maltier, winter sibling, making it a great tea for hot summer days & an excellent cold brew!
tasting notes: cacao, agave, plum || shop black oolong
🔥double red oolong
There's so much energy trapped in this one. You can approach this in two ways -- (1) snag some and let it rest for a few weeks and enjoy when the leaves have calmed a bit OR (2) buckle up and enjoy the ride. This is our most intense tea in the collection and not for the faint of heart. If you enjoy strong flavors or dong ding oolongs, this might be your jam.
tasting notes: grilled pomelo, papaya, cacao nibs || shop double red oolong
🧪XXPERIMENTAL NO.5
.....and of course we're messing around with teas. When are we ever not! I'm on a hunt for the perfect high mountain black tea, here's the latest attempt ⚗️
For XXPERIMENTAL NO.5 we've created a black tea created using qingxin oolong leaves from our farm on Shanlinxi. This time around we've harvested our gem of spring tea leaves and brought them to about ~80% oxidation before roasting them straight away for ~40 hours. Processed in a strip style, this black tea is smooth, a hint fruity, supremely easy to drink straight, and maybe your latest addiction?
|| shop XXPERIMENTAL NO.5
🍯💎 Bug-bitten Oolong Reveal
hello friends,
something good happened. no... something GREAT happened.
TL;DR: a rare visit from the tea jassids (bugs that are very good) has transformed (nibbled on) some of our Alishan qingxin winter harvest crop resulting in a green oolong that has a delightful & unusual honey-scented aroma.
You’ll love it 🤤
If this sounds all familiar... you're right! These are the same jassids that nibble on the tea leaves that produce both oriental beauty and gui fei oolongs. They roam around the island noshing on tasty tea plants, but don't usually make their way this high up into the mountains. However once every few years it happens and well, the resulting tea is truly something special!
Let's double-click
Our Bug-bitten Oolong is a winter harvest green oolong hailing from our farm on Alishan. To create this tea, a swarm of tea jassids, also commonly called leafhoppers, made their way to our of qingxin oolong garden and attacked a large amount of the plants. In other words, these leafhoppers were feasting on our tea leaves.
🦗 When the tea plants were attacked, they threw up a line of defense by producing a compound to repel the jassids. This compound is precisely what gives the tea it's unique honeyed aroma and flavor!
️✌️ It's important to note that the leaves are hand harvested-- it's a very slow process as we only collect leaves that have been bitten by the jassids. As you might expect, yield is tremendously lower than a regular harvest and much more labor intensive. We are so thankful we were able to snatch this small batch to enjoy!
🌱 Tea jassids only come to organic gardens, because yuck who wants to eat chemicals!
️🕰️ We can't predict when the jassids will arrive, only that so far we've seen them make their way high up into the mountains every 2-3 years.
✨ Taiwan is also home to a few other varieties of bug bitten teas that tend to be grown at lower elevations. The most famous of which is the delicious oriental beauty tea (東方美人). Who knows, maybe we'll add more bug-bitten teas to the line-up in the future!
this is an extremely limited batch release.
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What's next? Spring harvest is still a few months away -- pending weather, harvest usually begins in mid-late April and we can hope to have the teas in hand by the end of May.
In the meantime, we have a really strong collection of delicious oolongs for you to enjoy!
Sam
INFO: Decoding Tea Labels
Overview
You should know what you’re drinking. Whether it’s to track down similar teas in the future or to justify pricing, once you enter the premium oolong game there is a baseline set of information you should have before purchasing any tea.
Below I’ll walk through these pieces of information-- which just so happen to be on all our packaging labels ;) -- and I’ll share why these attributes are important clues to understanding your oolong’s identity. Enjoy!
Origin
Also known as terroir, the specific location or distinct ecosystem where the tea is grown. We’re looking for country, county, and mountain. If folks don’t want to share the specific tea garden’s address, I can’t knock ‘em for that - it’s one of our trade secrets.
Cultivar
The cultivated variation of the camellia sinensis plant used to create your oolong. Each cultivar has specific qualities or traits that make it more suited to particular climates, processing styles, and goals (for example, high yield).
The Taiwanese government has been particularly active over the past 40 years in conducting significant research to develop new tea cultivars. Some famous examples include the jinxuan varietal, prized for its creamy, milky flavor (which we use for our milk oolong and black oolong), and ruby #18, a spearmint flavored black tea that is a hybrid of an indigenous taiwanese and assam tea plant.
Elevation
The metered height above sea level where the tea is grown. Elevation impacts flavor.
Low-lying tea growing regions tend to be hotter and more humid, causing the tea plants to grow faster and result in more frequent harvests. Depending on the origin and cultivar selected, these teas are more often processed into delicious black teas or commodity teas.
High mountain tea growing regions tend to sit at or above the cloud layer, causing dramatic swings in both temperature and direct sunlight. As a result, the new growth takes longer and the leaves and the resulting teas have less astringency than their lower-elevation siblings. Tea plants grown at high elevations have infrequent harvests, sometimes only 3-4 harvests/year.
Oxidation
This is the critical and defining characteristic of transforming tea leaves into an oolong tea. Sometimes oxidation is referred to as ‘withering’, which is certainly a more inclusive term as it is possible to create oolongs in oxygen deprived environments e.g. GABA tea is created by using nitrogen instead of O2.
Once tea leaves are detached from the tea plant, oxidation commences. Two things are happening here: (1) the leaf slowly dehydrates as moisture is released, causing the cell walls to break down and make the leaves more pliable, and (2) without the cell walls to act as natural barriers, the enzymes present in the leaf are able to interact with raw plant material, transforming themselves and the plant material into flavorful compounds that we love to drink!
It’s worth remembering that creating an oolong is an art form, so our tea masters will be looking to control or regulate the oxidation process by way of time and sun exposure in order to achieve their desired flavor.
We mark our oxidation level by %. An oolong that has been oxidized 10% has barely experienced flavor change, whereas an oolong that is at 90% is both considerably dehydrated and has allowed the active enzymes to interact with raw plant material for a considerable amount of time. Different strokes for different folks!
Roast
In order to halt the flavor changing process, we’ll flash-roast the tea to kill off the active enzymes. This is called ‘kill green’ or sha4qing1 (殺青).
Beyond that, depending on the flavor profile we’re striving to achieve, we may choose to continue roasting our tea leaves. We can roast tea leaves in any style (green, red, or black oolong). The trick is how long & at what temperature.
Flavors
Because we aren’t drinking these teas together in person, I provide tasting notes to act as a simple tool selection process. They are ~ vibes ~ and certainly not gospel :) Feel free to come up with your own!
Water and temperature tend to greatly affect flavor, so if you’re ever looking to experience a tea as closely as my tasting notes, just know I use poland spring water whenever a new harvest arrives :D
Oolong names and their meanings
When naming our teas, we lead with processing style so that you have an immediate understanding of which section of the flavor spectrum to expect.
A green oolong will be more marine, floral, or vegetal.
A red oolong will be more like a toasted wheat/hay or nutty.
A double red oolong extends into leather, tobacco, or a stout beer.
And a black oolong tends to be more malty or chocolatey.
Winter Harvest 2020 Reveal
hello friends,
as winter harvest is my favorite season of the year, i've been eagerly awaiting these over the past few months!
if you've never had a winter harvest before, you can expect smooth, vegetal flavors as opposed to the more energetically floral oolongs we see in the springtime.
so, without further adieu, let's take a look at the 4 new teas in our line-up!
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weather report ️
the winter harvest for each of our farms occurred ~ 2 weeks apart. we harvested at the Shanlinxi farm around November 5th, and in Alishan on the 20th.
honestly, there wasn't anything super notable in the forecast! weather was solid, harvest went off without a hitch at both farms, humidity levels were ideal during withering & roasting, etc.
overall, this selection of oolongs is pretty textbook on what to expect from the winter season!
so, what do they taste like? read on!
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introducing the winter collection
i have 4 totally unique oolongs for you!
green oolong // flavors: zucchini, gardenia, pine nuts // this is the OG winter harvest tea to try
black oolong // flavors: cacao, malt, squash // this is everyone's best friend 🥰
milk oolong // flavors: sugar cookies, wild flowers, papaya // this is the popular kid 🥳
xxperimental no. 4 // mmmmmmmm... this is a 5 hour roasted green oolong 🤩 if you're into grain teas like Korean barley tea or Japanese genmai cha, color yourself intrigued.
holiday gift sets
for everyone who has been requesting BANGtea merch - your prayers have been answered! check out the giftshop for some goodies including...
stop by the holiday shop to get your favorite people a present or forward this email to your family so they know what you really want for Christmas
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thanks for shopping small this holiday season. i hope you love these teas half as much as i do ️
-Sam
Fall Harvest 2020 Reveal
hello friends!
fall has arrived along with some new teas fresh out the roaster! while you wait for these to arrive in the mail, happy mid-autumn festival 🥮 🎉
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weather report 🌤️
each year we see variation in flavor due to a number of factors including..
general temperatures
rainfall/humidity during new plant growth
rainfall/humidity leading up to harvest
and so the challenge for our tea masters is to determine just how far off the conditions are from the *ideal* and then adjust the oxidation and roasting process accordingly to give us delicious oolongs.
some harvests present a larger challenge to overcome, others are more straightforward.
for this year's fall harvest we had pretty superb weather! it rained when it needed to, we had stable levels of sun, the temperature wasn't too hot or too cold -- and the three days leading up to harvest in the beginning of September was sunny with low humidity-- ideal for tea processing!
so, what to expect flavor-wise? read on!
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introducing the fall oolongs 💫
we've produced 2 new teas this fall, both from our farm in the Shanlinxi high mountain growing region.
as many of you know, I often wax poetic about how underrated fall oolongs are. you can find some truly, truly delicious flavors at more reasonable prices than winter/spring. try these two -- they should be your daily drinkers!
green oolong // artichoke, dried lemon peel, magnolia
red oolong // brown sugar, resin, dried jujube
<-- green oolong
overall, it's quite balanced as the leaves continue transitioning from spring's floral notes to winter's vegetal body. as it's a little less bitter than last year's batch, i've been brewing it pretty hot, 210°- 212°F and enjoying it grandpa style. this tea is my personal morning wake-up 🤩
red oolong -->
we generally produce this style once per year in the fall (the batch from summer was a bonus). this batch is the best I've tasted in 3 years, no joke -- and absolutely SLAMS, especially in a gaiwan. fingers crossed we produced enough to last us all the full year 🤤
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so the million dollar question is, are you trying one or both? 😜
🖖
- Sam
p.s. we still have some xxperimental no. 3 in stock! snag it before it's gone forever 🔒
Summer Harvest 2020 Reveal
hello friends!
so summer harvest, eh? yeah, we thought it wasn't happening too.
but then we got a call from Uncle, and he was like "the summer harvest will be good this year, I'll let you have some." and well, these days we're desperate for some good surprises.
first I'll tell you a quick bit about summer harvest.
then we'll look at the two new teas you can buy.
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pt I. where I tell you about summer harvest high mountain oolongs and if they are even good.
you tell me! you've probably drank a lot of summer harvest high mountain oolong without knowing it. think about every time you've had an oolong from a shop that doesn't share harvest or producer details, or sells an oolong tea blend. in all likelihood, those teas were from a tea producer in an off-season (summer/fall).
why is that? summer teas lack nuanced flavors that colder seasons are able to achieve and tea consumers prize. on average, summer teas are more astringent or bitter, have a lighter body, and can be steeped fewer times than their winter/spring counterparts. with their more subdued flavors, they make great bases for a tea blend or tea infused with flowers. as a result, they are generally viewed as a lower quality tea. because summer teas (and to some extent fall teas) have a long tradition of not being notable, they are inexpensive... which is phenomenal for those who do enjoy these flavors.
why is this the first year we have summer harvest? easy, the weather finally cooperated! it's not rocket science :) summer harvest is highly dependent upon the weather being a bit more mild, in order to get decent flavors. this year the weather was tolerable, so I have some really solid summer oolongs to share with you!
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pt II. the part when we look at the teas you can buy
I was going to release 4 teas this harvest, but alas DHL has lost half my shipment. I don't even want to mention what those other teas were, or you'll be super upset if they never arrive. so for now you'll have access to two delicious oolongs, both from our farm in Shanlinxi. what is that in baseball, batting 1000? go sports!
what to expect from our 2020 summer harvest oolongs:
these teas have a light body. high humidity and high temperatures prior to harvest are going to cause the leaves to grow fast and with fewer opportunity to store up extra nutrients aka. flavor.
these teas taste great! consider them your new daily drinkers.
these teas aren't in the same echelon as our spring/winter oolongs. but who cares! they taste good and that's all that matters. they are straightforward, mellow, and extremely relaxing on a hot summer day (or if you're me, night).
they are also cheaper. that's right, no qualms tellin' it like it is. so stock up because once they're gone, they're gone.
the green oolong. it's unroasted, it's very balanced, it's refreshing. it's not too bitter, I think it should be steeped pretty heavy, and it reminds me of the tenderest baby spinach with a light floral aroma.
the red oolong. it's our standard 20 hr roast that we usually make once a year in the fall. it reminds me of brown sugar boba tea with a touch of toasted hay. 🤤 drooling here. do i need to say more?
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in conclusion, don't write off summer teas entirely until you've tried these. they're quite good! if you have any questions please reach out!
can't wait to hear which oolong you like more! 🖖
<3 Sam
Spring Harvest 2020 Reveal
hello my friends,
good news! our first tea harvest of 2020 was 🤩🤩🤩. keep reading, I'm going to pack this letter with as much good news as possible.
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weather report 🌤️
direct from the tea masters mouth, this year's harvest had perfect conditions.
cooler weather in the weeks leading up to harvest caused the plants to develop thicker leaves, resulting in more flavor in the brew. the rains also held off, giving us the ideal temperatures and humidity for tea harvest and subsequent processing.
spring is widely regarded as the most highly anticipated tea harvest of the year, so without further adieu, let me introduce the line-up ;)
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new teas 🍾
I promised you 3 teas, and I'm delivering you 4. underpromise and overdeliver, that's what they say 😘
green oolong // spunky, tastes like candy, snap peas, spruce tips \\
milk oolong // subtle, tastes like sweet cream, bartlett pears, wildflowers \\
black oolong // robust, tastes like cacao, red plum, tupelo honey \\
double red oolong // intense, tastes like cognac, burnt caramel, tropical fruits \\
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...but which tea is the best? 🤨
c'mon, that's an impossible question to answer. the teas are all so different! guarantee you're going to dig them, so stock up.
if you're into the double red oolong, i'll give you my usual advise and say that you may want to let it rest for a few months before drinking, it ages fabulously. it always has a bit of a bark right after roasting, and will settle into its flavors nicely. that being said, if you need a thrill right now, throw down your gaiwan and get after it-- this one can handle 8+ steepings.
the black oolong is down right insane this season. i really enjoyed the winter harvest, but with a fuller body to the liquor I struggled to drink it in large quantities. the spring is just slightly more floral and will melt your face it's so good.
and if you're like me and you love your green oolongs, plz give a round of applause to Uncle, the tea master responsible for nailing it yet again. this oolong literally smells like candy 🍭
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what's a "milk" oolong? 🥛
commonly referred to as 'milk' oolong in foreign markets for it's creamy, buttery texture and flavor reminiscent of milk, this oolong is a cultivar developed by the Taiwanese tea research entity (TRES) and called jin1xuan1. if that sounds familiar, it is! this is the same cultivar/farm/tea plants that we use to produce our famed black oolong.
both our milk oolong and black oolong are harvested at the same time and roasted at the same temperatures + duration, yet their appearance and flavors are wildly different. how? it's all in the oxidation process. we let the milk oolong oxidize for ~25% and the black oolong hit ~90%. the oxidation process breaks down the cell walls in the tea leaf causing flavor change and making the leaf more pliable and susceptible to heat. outcome? the milk oolong tastes more floral and vegetal, whereas the black oolong is malty and chocolatey. delicious!
finally, it's important to note that there's a bit of a counterfeit market for milk oolongs. because the milky characteristics are so highly desired, many tea producers and distributors will add fake flavors to the teas. so here's a tip, if you ever find yourself smelling a milk oolong and it's fragrance is a little too good to be true, do some digging into the supply chain - you may not be drinking just tea leaves. and while you all know it, it's worth sharing again here, all my teas are organic and tested within Taiwan. this stuff is pure 💎
i have a small amount in stock right now, but don't worry, a larger shipment is en route. i'll ping everyone when it arrives ✈️
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virtual tea anyone? 📞
it's been an absolute blast getting to meet many of you over the past few months. if you ever want to hang and talk tea, just drop me an email and we'll get it on the books!
Until the next update 🖖
_Sam
p.s. here's a pic of the black oolong fresh out the roaster
