This is a tea that was featured in our Facebook Live Video series for two days, and we are very grateful that it was processed so successfully with the help of friends. An old dog was there to supervise and ensure every single step was done correctly. We applied traditional oolong processing to a high elevation material, and we succeeded again like our “Citrus Noon” from Gaofeng!
This Qing Xin oolong is grown at the location of an alluvial fan in the Jiayang area. The name of that alluvial fan is called “Devil Isle.” This tea plantation was established on this alluvial fan more than 20 years ago! The tree trunks have grown very thick, very quickly (indicating the the root system is incredibly healthy especially compared to conventional growing method where fertilizers must be added to the soil often). In fact, most of the heavily fertilized Lishan don’t show such healthy condition! As a result, we think such growing trait was also contributed by the special soil condition it is. After all, this is the only tea we know so far that was planted at an alluvial fan, which carries with it a very unique terroir that you can immediately sense.
You might also notice the elevation of this tea was quite “low” compared to the regular Lishan tea, that’s because the alluvial fan is located “beneath” the regular road which has a steep drop for around 200 meters. The alluvial fan is also surrounded by the water of Deji Reservoir, so making the environment extremely humid and difficult to do tea processing correctly. Such conditions have made accessing this area extremely difficult, but has been well protected from the pesticide and fertilizer runoff from the higher up Lishan areas where much of the cabbage and tea is grown conventionally.
With great focus in detail and passion to create the second remarkable high mountain tea (the first place was taken by “Citrus Noon” from Gaofeng since it was harvested earlier), the tea went far beyond our expectations! The devil is finally in the detail of the high mountain oolongs again!
We are offering two versions of this tea, the only difference is in the final process of refining. One version is “Run Dry” and the other is “Light Roast”. To learn more about these final processing styles click here!
What a creative name!
@Bluegreen Isn’t it? Taiwan Sourcing teas have some really whimsical names
Agreed! I enjoy Taiwan Sourcing’s names as well.