Cultivar: Qingxin Oolong

Harvested by hand on November 4th, 2024.

Origin: Yong Lung and Dong Ding, central Taiwan.

Process: Light to Medium oxidized rolled Oolong with a slow roast with charcoal. Very few stems.

1. The view

The dry leaves look dark green. The brew is bright and orange. The open leaves are mature or small. They open up well, but not fully after a first 6 minutes brew. They show signs of oxidation on the edges and a deep roasting. 

2. The scents

The dry leaves first have a roasting scent, then a sweet forest scent. It's a mix of raw nature and roast. The brew has a balanced mix of cereal, malt and ripe fruit scents with the woody roast scents at the end.

3. The taste

A sweet dryness with a good mix of sourness and bitterness provides a powerful and yet mellow structure for the taste of this Dong Ding Oolong to unfold in the palate up to the throat. Great Dong Ding taste.

Conclusion: This tea comes from the same Yong Lung farmer who roasted his Oolong rather lightly with charcoal. Since winter yields are lower, he combined both plantations from Yong Lung and Dong Ding (where we have this Concubine) into making this tea. These 2 plantations are just 1 km apart and were harvested on the same day. Both plantations had been resting in fall in order to improve the quality of the winter crop. The roast is stronger that in spring, but lighter than a typical 'competition Dong Ding'. It's at equal distance between the two, in my opinion.