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Style: Ti Kwan Yin Oolong
Origin: Fujian Province, China
Description: Fujian Province is the primary source of world class Oolongs. To create an Osmanthus Oolong, Ti Kwan Yin tea leaves and Osmanthus flower blossoms are placed together after harvesting, balled up in cloth and then vigorously rolled together. This process breaks and bruises the tea leaves, allowing the aroma and oils of the Osmanthus to enter the structure of the tea leaves. This also results in more broken leaves than you would find in our typical Ti Kwan Yin teas. Then the tea and Osmanthus flowers are baked together at 60ºC for 14-16 hours. After the baking process is completed the Osmanthus flower has become brittle and brown and is entirely removed from the tea by process of wind and sifting machines. Once the tea is finished, it is vacuum packed to maintain freshness and store the beautiful scent of the Osmanthus fresh.
Tasting Notes: The aroma of the Osmanthus is a perfect complement to the lightly roasted Oolong it accompanies. The flavour of a typical Ti Kwan Yin bursts forth - bright, lush, floral, fruity, and delicate, paired with a deeper sense of toasty floral nectar sweetness. The first steep is rich with the gentle Osmanthus florals. Hints of pear and a light dust of cocoa play through the steep. This tea would pair beautifully with a fruit platter.
Brewing Instructions: 3g per cup. 80-85ºC. Steep for 2-3 minutes.
To steep using the Gong Fu inspired method, use 6-8 grams of leaf and steep at 80-85ºC. for 30 seconds to a minute. Re-steep multiple times.
The mountains of Fujian province in China are the origin of the exquisite Oolong tea. Known as wulong or black dragon tea, it is distinguished by its long and twisted, almost serpentine rolled leaves. Oolong is the most complex and intricate tea to produce and it is believed to promote good digestion and longevity. Due to its popularity, Oolong is no longer exclusively manufactured in China or Taiwan - India also produces a wide range of Oolong teas from their terroirs, resulting in a variety of flavour within the processing tradition.
One of the most internationally recognized Oolongs manufactured in China is named Ti Kwan Yin, for Kwan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. Legend has it that emperor Kangxi prayed to Kwan Yin for her to help restore his health. The goddess answered his prayers and later appeared before him in a dream, where she brought him to a mountainous area and showed him the tea slopes and the poor living conditions of the farmers there. She asked that the emperor help the farmers gain prosperity by officially establishing the region as a tea-growing one. Thus, emperor Kangxi declared the tea from these slopes to be famed, and the area’s tea industry, along with Ti Kwan Yin’s flavour, blossomed.
Pu-erh is a fermented tea produced in Yunnan Province. It is the only tea that uses microbial fermentation to process and oxidize the leaves. If done in the traditional manner, the tea is pressed into brick forms after the first stage of fermentation, where it would continue to ferment and deepen with flavour as it aged. These bricks are sometimes stored within the rinds of fruits to ferment, like mandarin oranges or lemons, to take on some of the flavour and sweetness of the fruit.
For many years these tea bricks were used as currency, and it is still common for people to invest in the tea today. Pu-erh exist in two forms – ‘Raw’ Pu-erh, which comes in brick or cake form, and ‘Cooked’ Pu-erh, which is processed as loose leaf. This age-old fermented tea has great health benefits and is highly valued in parts of Asia, and its unique flavour is starting to gain more traction outside China.
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