Cultivar: Qingxin Ganzhong

Harvested by hand on March 5th, 2024

Origin: San Hsia, Taiwan Process: green tea (tumbling oven dried)

Testing parameters: 2 grams, 6 minutes brew, boiling water.

1. View

Lots of white buds among the dry leaves. They show some inconsistency in size, color and appearance, because the leaves grow a little bit unevenly in this organic garden. The brew has a very clear and light green hue.

2. The scents

Extreme freshness and lightness in this very first batch of the year! This year's first spring harvest on a 5th of March is earlier than last year and indicates a more normal season. It happened on a very sunny day, just before a new drop in temperatures. This is why it has the lightest and finest fragrances. 

3. The taste

The taste is very light, sweet and has a lot fine aftertaste. What makes this green tea exceptional is how sweet it remains even after several minutes of brewing.

Conclusion: Taiwan is known for its Oolong teas since the late 19th century. This green tea appeared after 1949 as Chiang Kai Shek's general's were longing for Chinese green tea that could not be imported from the mainland because of the hostilities between the island and the mainland. That's why farmers in SanHsia started to produce green tea to satisfy the needs of the many mainlanders who had come to Taiwan with the KMT and were used to such tea. This batch is, like last year, the first batch of spring, but it happened earlier and under better conditions. I believe that it's slightly better. The quality of this rare Taiwan green tea comes from the organic purity of the leaves and the very early harvest time. Only 3.6 kg were produced on that day. I highly recommend it!