Li Shan HEAVILY CHARCOAL ROASTED Alpine Oolong Tea
Flavor: Cherrywood smoke, fire-roasted yams aroma. Thick, oily mouthfeel. Dried apricots, roasted pecans, and molasses flavor profile. Sweet/tangy, dry smoky, peaty finish.
Harvest: Hand-picked, medium batch. Fall 2021. Li Shan, Taiwan.
Elevation: 2600m
These tea leaves are from a Li Shan Alpine tea farm, fall 2021 harvest. They were they were sufficiently oxidized to be suitable for extensive roasting.
This batch of tea was oven roasted 3 times over 3 months time, letting it rest between roastings. When it was about 80% of the desired roasting level, it was brought it to the local charcoal roasting master in Li Shan, who completed the task, using Longanwood charcoal.
The aroma that exudes from these leaves during their initial steeping is a rich caramelized, nutty character with a hint of smoke. The tea is complex, hearty, and smooth, with a pleasant balance of bitter and sweet notes in the finish. It's similar to a traditionally made Dong Ding Oolong, but the leaves grown at higher elevation have an even more substantial composition.
These tea leaves were allowed to oxidiize significantly more than a standard High Mountain Oolong, as this autumn batch was processed in preparation for competition. The skillful art of roasting tea is in the ability to comprehend the composition of the leaves before the roasting begins, and to perceive the transformation they go through in the long, slow roasting process. This perceptual ability becomes more essential as the leaves reach their optimal composition.
Mug: 6g tea in 300ml 100°C water. Steep for 3 minutes. Re-steep. Adjust to taste.
Cold Brew: Use 5g of tea per liter of water. Brew tea at room temperature for 2-3 hours, and enjoy. Or you can put your cold brew bottle in the fridge to brew overnight and be ready to drink the next day.
Gong Fu: 9g for a 150 ml pot. Use boiling temperature water and brew for about 50 seconds. Increase brewing time with each successive brew. The leaves can be brewed 6-8 times.