Lu Ye “Suan Mei Xiang” Hong Oolong

In November 2022, we set off again to search for hidden tea treasures in Taiwan’s tea mountains. For the first time, we went to the Taitung region, to the town of Lu Ye, which is located between two mountain ranges in the southeast of Taiwan. “Hong Oolong” is produced here, a heavily oxidized and medium-roasted tea, the procedure of which was introduced by the Taiwan Research and Experimental Station in 2007 as a new style of tea suitable for this area. The climate here is very favorable for growing tea and many farmers here run their gardens in a natural mode. Our first steps led to Mr. Lin, who grows several interesting cultivars in his gardens and is also a great experimenter and seeker of “new ways” in tea processing. This tea is a bit of a phenomenon. At first glance, it looks like a typical Hong Oolong. After smelling the dry leaves (or the small dark beads in which the tea is rolled), the typical roastiness, the smell of Christmas cookies is again felt, but a light aroma of dried or rather pickled plums appears in it. The infusion is golden orange, bright and lively. The taste is pleasant, sweet, soft, gentle, full, but! a slight acidity and aroma of sour plums (Suan Mei) appear. At first, this taste surprised us when tasting it, but the tea made us sip again and again and the combination of sweetness, subtle sour traces, plum aroma and delicate chocolate began to really enjoy us. When we told Mr. Lin that we were initially surprised by the acidity, which is commonly considered a flaw in dark teas, but that we gradually came to like this character, he said that it was his new method and intention to achieve this taste and it was evident that he was duly proud of his method. I think some of you will love this tea, others will hate it, but we are happy to include it in our offer and definitely recommend it for tasting. In terms of overall effect on the body, the tea is very pleasant and gentle, suitable for early evening or evening drinking. The tea comes from a garden managed in a natural regime.

Harvest time: September 2024

Area: Lu Ye, Taitung County

Cultivar: Wu Yi, Ying Xiang