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 😊

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!

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

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