Alishan "Ink Jade" Dark Roasted GABA Oolong Tea - Winter 2017

Ink Jade, often known as “Dark Jade,” is one of the most precious types of jade in the world. And this tea, our latest GABA tea selection, is like it, and it is deliciously precious.

Made from a now very rare “Cui Yu” varietal, the name of which literally means “Green Jade”. This GABA tea offers a completely different character from other GABA teas. Since Taiwan Sourcing’s mission is to discover and preserve the diversity of Taiwanese tea, we are offering three teas that were being made from the Cui Yu varietal. Cui Yu was a varietal cultivated starting at the end of the last century, but eventually fell into dis-favor by most Taiwanese tea farmers. As a result, Cui Yu is a varietal rarely found in the modern market.

Using the Cui Yu varietal to produce GABA has resulted in a unique. It is surprisingly strong, meanwhile it is also comfortably soothing to the body. With a proper heavy roasting, the “Green Jade” has transformed into a even better jade kind – “Ink Jade” that is powerful enough to be a talisman for your teapot or mug.

GABA stands for Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid, and the content of this tea is aournd 400 mg per 100 grams which is higher than most of the GABA tea in the market. Through a series of research, Japanese scholar Omori Masashi ( 大森 正司 ) confirmed it has a very powerful antihypertensive effect thanks to its extremely high content of γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) compared to other teas. The GABA content adds a thick layer of baked sweet potato taste to the tea and is proven to offer the drinker a soothing or relaxing feeling. GABA processing (which involves shade growing and then nitrogen sparging) which was developed by the Japanese and later perfected by the Taiwanese. The result is a tea that tastes great, at once stimulating and soothing to the nervous system.

Harvest: Winter 2017 / 冬 貳零壹柒
Varietal: Cui Yu / 翠玉
Elevation: 1000 M / 壹仟 公尺
Region: Alishan / 阿里山
Fermentation Level: 30% / 分之 卅
Roast Level: 5 / 伍 分