2017 Taiwan Nature Farming Wuyi Hong Shui Oolong | Wu Yi Hong Shui Wu Long - cake 100 g - Option: Cake 100 g

Elders in Taiwan always speak very highly of the Wuyi cultivar and how it makes a fantastic aged tea. If you stay long enough and show genuine interest in their wisdom of the leaf, very often a jar of precious aged leaves will be taken off the highest shelf and a nectar would be infused from it proving without a doubt that their words were not just lore. It therefore simply made sense that it was processed into tea cakes. Organically-produced Spring leaves were processed into gently rolled tea instead of ball-style so they would compress into a better cake. Then, as it is our usual practice, we have a marked preference for a spring produced tea as opposed to other seasonal offerings. Taiwanese Wuyi tea plants make fantastic darker teas. Our Hong Shui Oolong has a bold presence in the cup yet it is a complex and opulent tea that requires several infusions to reveal all of its different layers of taste, texture and aromas. You will be charmed by the beautiful, deep, reddish-brown liqueur that will captivate the nose with a whirlwind of aromas of spices, fruit compote, roasted nuts, and some more sensual fresh tobacco leaf notes.

Not only is Hong Shui style tea similar in character to Wuyi style teas but, in this case, there is a further element that links us directly to the Rock teas of Fujian: the cultivar used to make this tea. They come from bushes that are direct descendants of Wuyi trees brought to Taiwan from northern Fujian before the Japanese rule. This is a very rare cultivar in Taiwan today as it has fallen into disuse since the recent prevailing trend towards fragrant teas. The Taiwanese plants have evolved very differently from their Chinese ancestors in the last century. Still, one will detect the mineral component as well as the tangy quench of stone fruit in the aroma and taste. The tannic structure is smooth yet brisk with a pleasant attack which is refreshing and dry.