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WanNa catch those immortals before they cross the sea?
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Eight Immortals, Duck Poo Tea and news about other Phoenix oolongs
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This year, because of the weather, we are getting our Eight Immortals Wudong from a farm that is slightly higher in altitude in order to maintain the quality we have been offering. It is closer to that tourist infested top village (Li Zai Ping) of Wudong, where there is a huge dark rock inscribed with the large characters “Song (Dynasty) Tea”, and naturally we had to pay a higher price than that from our old friend Master Lin. We won’t transfer that extra cost to you though, don’t worry. This new batch of Tea Hong’s Eight Immortals Wudong is going for the same price for you. And if you are getting it before we suspend the online shop while moving across the ocean to Japan, you even get that relocation discount.
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Near the highest point of Wudong a very large dark rock is inscribed with the characters for "Song Tea". It is directly above the living and still yielding tea tree that has been carbon dated to the Southern Song Dynasty. This landmark helps to make this tiny area in Wudong a spotlight for people aspiring to the best tea. Hence a distinct difference in price between the products here and those even from 20 minutes on foot away, but still in Wudong.
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Similarly, Ya Shi Xiang (Duck Poo Tea)* — the new batch of Tea Hong’s Orchid Literati carries an even more luxurious intricacy and lingering floral aftertaste.
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note* I see that some shops call this “Duck Sh*t Tea”, which I think is quite uncivilised, and actually not an appropriate translation for the rustic yet plain original name. If you have to translate that original name, it should be “Duck Poo Fragrance”, or if you have to use the word tea, “Duck Poo Tea”. No one really knows how that name came by. We have given it a name that I think justifies a lot more for the taste profile of the tea.
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Black Leaf, White Leaf, Cassia
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Absence this year
I have bad news though. None of the harvests of Old Bush Song from Danhu passed our tasting requirements. As a result, we cannot restock this — even though it has been one of our most popular items. Please accept my apologies if you have been waiting for it. I am afraid we have to wait till next year.
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We tried. Many rounds of tasting. Many phone calls. Many samples to and fro. Sorry.
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How single is that single origin?
In commercially produced teas, even if it is a single origin product, normally people blend many batches together. Most often that involves the products from different areas in the region and can even involve harvests from different cultivars and variations in processing techniques. The bigger the “region”, the more choices the blender will have. The more the options, the easier it is to tone down the effects when one element in the blend does not work. This way, there is always new supply, even when the year’s weather is not so good.
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No matter whether it is a brand sold in a prestigious department store, or an independent teashop buying from some Chinese mass export company, it is the kind of “single origin” tea one is likely to get. That is why it is rare to see any pristine quality coming out of these sources. We have actually sampled countless pricey selections from big name exporters that are hardly convincing even if the tea is really from Phoenix, let alone Wudong. Most aren’t even the cultivars they claim to be.
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What a single batch means to me
Working directly with the producers for a single batch, Spring harvest only (those trees are picked only once a year anyway), and in very restricted origins, such as specific as Danhu, which is a small village with only a few families, and targeting only tea trees that are of a specific cultivar at a specific age, it is a lot more difficult to get a same quality year after year. Change of weather really plays a decisive factor. Our tea masters will try all the techniques to balance off the bad effects of a less than ideal situation, such as less sun-withering because of no sun for a week but the leaf size cannot wait any longer. It sometimes can work out fine, but often not.
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Such as this year in Danhu.
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The upside is, however, a tea that delivers the true taste qualities that name is supposed to have. Pristine, pure and clearly distinctive. To me, such is the joy of true tea.
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That is also why when a harvest does not work out. I simply skip it.
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Luckily, there is always another variety which harvest that works. There is always the joy of tea. So please bear with us for the absence of two of our best selling teas. There is always hope for next year.
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We shall be introducing another delicious classic Phoenix variety — after the relocation. Many thanks in advance for your patience.
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Relocation sales ends on July 7! (HK time, UST+8)
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True Quality. True Taste.
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