James & Denny review a high-mountain tea from the Shan Li Xi growing region in Taiwan. Acquired via Teamasters, this tea is characteristic of Taiwanese high-mountain oolongs low-oxidation and very fresh.
Category: Oolong
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Teamasters, Featured Vendor
The vendor profile for Teamasters is a part of our Taiwanese Tea Vendor Series, covering a number of Taiwanese-tea specialized vendors that sell to the west.
Based in Taiwan, a French ex-patriate Stephane Erler founded and runs Teamasters. Now one of the oldest online vendors and tea bloggers Teamasters was originally conceived as a tea blog in 2004. Stephane has been steadily consistent throughout the years in creating new content (his output now totals over 1,500 blog posts!). The Teamasters blog has been immensely helpful in my own personal tea education as well as the creation of this site! Now Stephane in addition to his day-job as a western-facing vendor is regularly invited to events around the globe to speak about tea topics and Taiwanese oolongs. (more…)
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Tea from Taiwan, Featured Vendor
The vendor profile for Tea from Taiwan is a part of our Taiwanese Tea Vendor Series, covering a number of Taiwanese-tea specialized vendors that sell to the west.
Tea from Taiwan was one of the first vendors based in Taiwan that sold to the west. Founded by Ross MacIver in the early 2000s, Tea from Taiwan launched their current website in 2005 and has continued to be a reliable and consistent source of Taiwanese oolongs to an English-speaking audience (as well as an information source!). Tea from Taiwan currently features 17 different Taiwanese teas (originally seven), with 12 of their offerings falling into high-elevation territory (>1000 meters elevation). Looking back at older versions of their web store, Ross has consistently promoted transparency in the form of harvest date and elevation for their teas (when I inquired about Tea from Taiwan’s cultivars and elevations, Ross was prompt and forthcoming in his reply). This is a wonderful thing for tea vendors to provide and has improved considerably in recent years. It’s also very commonly overlooked by newcomers to the online tea world or people simply looking for the “best deals” in the intimidating world of premium tea purchasing. (more…)
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Origin Tea, Featured Vendor
The vendor profile for Origin Tea is a part of our Taiwanese Tea Vendor Series, covering a number of Taiwanese-tea specialized vendors that sell to the west. Much to my dismay, Origin Tea has since closed.
Origin Tea’s ‘About Section’ states their purpose clearly:
At Origin Tea we have one goal: To make high quality teas available worldwide at reasonable prices..
An easy statement to make, but a far more difficult one to backup (especially given Origin’s premium high-mountain specialty). Based in Taiwan, Origin Tea is owned and run by Tony. Origin Tea opened up shop in late 2012, using Taiwan’s 2012 Winter Harvest as their initial selection. (more…)
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The King of the 80s: Dong Ding
The year is 1980. Ronald Reagan was elected president, The Empire Strikes Back had just been released, and Dong Ding was at the top of the Taiwanese tea world. Before Da Yu Ling, before Lishan, before Shan Li Xi (all relatively new entities in tea), and even before Alishan, there was Dong Ding. Perched at an elevation above nearly all other tea-growing region in Taiwan, Dong Ding was literally at the top of the Taiwanese tea world. Feng Huang, a township within the traditional Dong Ding tea-growing region, housed one of the highest-elevation plantation in Taiwan (~1000 meters), that marked the modern-day equivalent of 105k Da Yu Ling. This very, very premium tea was processed with the utmost care by top Taiwanese tea farmers and roasters. (more…)
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Camellia Sinensis 1999 Alishan Taiwanese Oolong [Episode 23]
James & Denny review a charcoal roasted Alishan from 1999. Sold by Montreal-based tea company Camellia Sinensis, this is an excellent tea with a ton of longevity. Watch as the leaves slowly unfurl to reveal wonderfully complex coffee and fruity flavors. A nice change of pace from the typical green oolong that represents most of the oolongs currently grown in Taiwan.
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Jushang Taiwanese Oolong [Episode 22]
James & Denny review the unusually fruity Taiwanese Jushang oolong. Sold by Tealet, this marks a nice change of pace from the more typical high-mountain tea and represents the variety that Taiwanese Oolongs offer.
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The Royal Court, Uber-Premium Taiwanese Teas Feat. Zhu Lu, Long Feng Xia, Fu Shou Shan, Da Yu Ling 105k
You are now a seasoned veteran of Taiwanese teas. It has been hard work and you’ve spent alot of time and money, but it’s been worth it. You’ve tasted and mastered the whole lineup… Dong Ding, Baozhong, Oriental Beauty, uber-fresh straight from Taiwan high-mountain teas…Alishan, Lishan, Shan Li Xi, Da Yu Ling. What’s next!? Like a hero fighting through swarms of villains in an awesomely bad 70s kung-fu film you are ready for the royal court, a family of the biggest, baddest, and most premium Taiwanese gaoshan. (more…)
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The Price of Low-Elevation Taiwanese Tea
What is the average price of Jin Xuan? What about Oriental Beauty? Should I be buying in bulk?? Taiwan offers an eclectic and flavorful lineup of oolongs that goes far beyond their wonderful but pricy high-mountain collection. Though the western world remains a distant minority in Taiwanese oolong consumption, in recent years the amount of western-facing vendors has quietly and quickly multiplied. This can likely be attributed to increasing demand, the ever-increasing size of the internet and Taiwan’s close political and economic connections with the west. With a suddenly large pool of online vendors sourcing or shipping from Taiwan, western consumers have an opportunity to make decisions and choices not previously available. Now…let’s go shopping!
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Hehuanshan Taiwanese High-Mountain Oolong [Episode 19]
James & Denny complete a short mini-series on a couple high-mountain teas from Floating Leaves Spring 2013 selection with an offbeat indie high-mountain selection Hehuanshan. Elevation-wise the tea was harvested well-above the high-mountain cutoff at 2,000 meters. For complimentary reading on Taiwanese Oolongs check out the Taiwanese Oolong Compendium, the Price of High-Mountain tea, and the Taiwanese Tea Vendor Guide.