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
