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Deep Steamed Yabukita, first flush single cultivar fukamushi sencha, 70g
Cold Energy, Fuller Bodies, Green teas, Japan, Lighter Aromas, Organic teas, TeaUS$25.5狭山 上煎茶 深蒸し薮北
In classic sencha production, the leaves are steamed optimally to attain that richly intense green colour. A fukamushi sencha ( i.e. deep steamed sencha 深蒸し茶), on the other hand, goes through at least double the duration. This yields a yellowish green tea that is softer, less astringent, less bitter, and with a fuller, smoother mouthfeel. The extra steaming time causes more cracks in the cell walls in addition to the leaf cuticle, allowing a significantly higher release of pectins and other soluble salutary contents in the final liquor, which would otherwise be trapped in the leaf however long the infusion time is. This allows for a dramatically smoother texture and rounder body compared to the classic sencha. We have picked a production from the rich dark volcanic soil in the Sayama area by Master Tanaka. The popular cultivar Yabukita manifests itself distinctly in this Spring harvest. Net weight: 70g (2.5oz) in Kraft-alu pillow
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Sayama Japanese black tea Yume Wakaba, 50 g
Black teas, Denser Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Japan, Neutral Energy, TeaUS$25.0狭山和紅茶 夢若葉
Wakocha from volcanic soil made by 17th generation tea master
A limited size production rolled with a wooden roller for lengthening the oxidation duration vs the speed, this exceptional “wakocha” — Japanese black tea — of purely the leaves of the local cultivar Yume Wakaba — ゆめわかば (kanji: 夢若葉) is the prized production by the multiple award winning Master Shimizu. These leaves grown on the dark volcanic soil of the Sayama area carry with them a distinctive mineral character like no other we have tasted. It is also the attention and skills by this 17th generation tea farmer that has made this tea stands out so well to convince us to have it as the first Japanese black tea in our collection.
Net weight: 50 g (1.8 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Muzha Tieguanyin, deep baked Taiwan oolong, 60 g
Fuller Bodies, Oolongs, Stronger Tastes, Taiwan, Tea, Warm EnergyUS$36.8慢火深焙 木柵觀音
Vintage 2023
Over a century of development since the cultivar’s transplant to Taiwan, tieguanyin produced in the beautiful emerald island is quite different from its cousin in China. Not only has the cultivar evolved differently, but also the continual local development of the authentic technique with which it is produced. Grown in the more conducive terroir of Muzha in the Wenshan area, the leaves here afford a deeper oxidation for a more complex profile even after the traditional deeper baking process. We have picked a premium Spring harvest for Master Chen, our close friend, for her impeccable baking skills to complete the making of Tea Hong’s Muzha Tieguanyin as a superior classic.
Net weight: 60 g (2.1 oz) in Kraft-alu pillow -
Cedar Creek Classic, deep oxidation Taiwan oolong, 70 g
Denser Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral Energy, Oolongs, Taiwan, TeaUS$25.0深造青 文火深焙 杉林溪紅水烏龍
Red Liquor Oolong
Other than the famous Oriental Beauty, there is another popular deep oxidation oolong in Taiwan. The locals call it Red Liquor Oolong — Hong Shui Wulong, referring to it being like hong cha, i.e. red tea ( aka black tea ). To include this variety in our collection, we have been screening sources from different parts of the Beautiful Island*, and concluded that the one from the scenic mountain of Da Lun Shan 大崙山 in Shan Lin Xi 杉林溪* by Master Chen has the highest potential. While some use the softer tasting Jinxuan or Four Season cultivars, Master Chen insists the use of the old Qing Xin from his 1500m altitude tea farm for its more complex taste profile after the long oxidation process. We do too. In addition to the oolong way* of deeper zao qing*, the real mastery is also in the baking. It is this precise heating that optimally caramelises and transforms the juice from the tightly rolled tea beads into the complexity in what the tea offers. We have aged it till all the elements are in place for the current uniquely enjoyable taste and aroma.
Net weight: 70 g (2.5 oz) in Kraft-alu pillow pack -
Misty Heights #8, Taiwan’s very own Assamica black tea, 40 g
Black teas, Denser Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral Energy, Taiwan, TeaUS$23.4雲嶺八號、高海拔台版阿薩姆紅茶
Driving south towards Alishan from Yuchi*, the birthplace of black tea in Taiwan, along the mountainous road through emerald forests, in about two hours time, one can stop by a scenic local hideouts: Yunling*. Here, Master Zheng moves naturally through his stepped tea garden on the slope at elevation 1300m, despite his rather round body. One large patch of his farm is populated with a locally improved version of the Indian tea cultivar Jaipuri*. The whole leaf black tea that he produces using this plant tastes so smooth and delicate that one wonders why a similar thing isn’t found in Assam, where the original tea cultivar was transplanted from back in 1923. Maybe it is the beautiful sceneries here, or maybe it is the specialist tea craft, or maybe it is the culture of Taiwan, or maybe a bit of everything, that turns this immigrant plant into this friendly, smooth and yet intricately complex black tea, Tea Hong’s Misty Heights #8, while remaining that uniquely engaging maltiness that makes an Assamica popular.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Floral Pomelo, bouquet style Fenghuang dancong oolong, 40 g
Cool Energy, Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Oolongs, TeaUS$29.9鳳凰單欉 鳳西柚花香
Genuine Yòu Huāxiāng — Fragrance of Pomelo Blooms — is not an easy to offer variety of dancong simply because it takes not only skills and experience to produce well, but also another key factor that is impossible to control — the weather. Ample sunshine before and after the harvest for proper sun-withering is critical for forming its unique, and mesmerising, aroma and palatial accents that echo the tea’s legendary pomelo and honey floral characters. (more similar details in Old Bush Zhilan) Tea Hong’s bouquet style Phoenix oolong Floral Pomelo has been given a further round of light baking and resting for a deeper, more engaging taste, like it used to be.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Old Bush Zhilan, bouquet dancong, 40 g
Cool Energy, Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Oolongs, TeaUS$43.8鳳凰烏崠、丹湖老欉芝蘭香
From the same small farm that produces our beloved Danhu Old Bush Song Cultivar, old Master Lin tends three venerable bushes that his father planted in his youth, now about 80 years old, crafting from them a seductively fragrant Zhilan Xiang. As a dancong bush gains age in its natural environment, the tea from its leaves has the potential for greater complexity taste and aroma. This is a distinctive trait of this oldest form of oolong. That is one reason harvests from older bushes are keenly sought after by connoisseurs. For a bouquet dancong, however, achieving perfection depends not only on the terroir and the mastery of processing but also on the precise weather and leaf condition at harvest. Unlike classic dancong, where there are a few more steps in which the tea master has some room to compensate for less-than-ideal circumstances, the fewer steps and shorter time in bouquet-style processing has less margin for error note. That means some years are distinctively better than others. That is why for a harvest as nearly perfect as this one, it is a blessing.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Fengxi Old Ginger, classic Fenghuang dancong oolong, 40 g
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral-Cool Energy, Oolongs, TeaUS$32.8鳳西 老欉薑母香
Tea Hong's Fengxi Old Ginger offers a floral, fruity profile with a ginger tone, and even a tiny hint of that spicy bite. Its elegant bouquet is luxuriously rich and complex, yet intricate and delicate. This distinctive olfactory presence and its intriguing gingery zest make the tea a unique choice in the classic style Phoenix oolong line up. Jiangmu Xiang, as the tea is called in the romanisation of the original name, has a slightly different origin too: about 10min on the motorbike to the east of Wudong — the Mecca of Fenghuang dancong — in the area of Fengxi, where the original 200+year-old tree has been propagated to the hundreds of production ones. Newer ones are now found elsewhere but we stay with the older clones which yields can give deeper and fuller characteristics of the tea. Like all our classic style Phoenixes, the tea has been rested a few months after harvest before the finishing rebake, and then matured amply before release, as in the proper old tradition.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
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GABA Bouquet, a special white tea, 40 g
Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral-Cool Energy, Organic teas, Taiwan, Tea, White teasUS$20.4天然培育 伽瑪芳香白茶
A very rare white tea
Mr Yu rarely wears shoes and walks in his little tea fields barefooted. He loves the contact with the soil that he keeps so naturally fertile, and uncontaminated. So much so that we smell the sweetness walking into his garden. He brews his own fertilisers and devises various ways of natural pest control. He is so into natural farming that a national university has setup quite a few joint projects with him. He totally worships Nature but his hobby is mechanical engineering. He proudly showed me the GABA deoxygenation tank that he modified and explained to me how it is better in processing the tea. Tea Hong’s GABA Bouquet is an invention by him. I have yet to find another tea with this kind of fruity bouquet, smoothness and even a good umami tone. He tried quite a few times before arriving at this distinctive taste quality. This is a rare batch and we can only restock when everything will work the same in the next production. It’s all dependent on Nature after all.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Wide kraft-alu pack -
Honey Orchid XO 1992, extra old Phoenix Dancong oolong, 50 g
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Fuller Bodies, Neutral Energy, Oolongs, TeaUS$27.8特醇鳳凰單樅 陳年蜜蘭香
A local tea master's special reserve
In the Phoenix Mountain area, where some superrich and those in powerful positions would send their chauffeurs to collect teas from certain tea farms at hundreds of thousands per kilo even when the tea is barely baked after processing, there are certain farmers whose own personal tea is never this “fresh”. They actually store their tea in tight tins for many years before opening it again for their own private enjoyment. This practice is more common amongst older farmers, and in other oolong regions as well. It is believed that Phoenix oolongs having been matured for decades are friendlier to the stomach. Although they would not be as as bright, floral or vibrant as younger ones, they are overall a lot more soothing, calming and indeed, comforting. Tea Hong’s Honey Orchid XO (Extra Old) 1992 delivers a much softer, smoother body with that signature honey sweetness but in the warm humbleness akin to a very fine shu cha Pu’er. If the other fresher Honey Orchid we offer is a Van Gogh, this XO version is a Rothko, metamorphically speaking*.
Net weight: 50 g (1.8 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Bamboo Leaf, traditional green tea, 50 g
Cool Energy, Fuller Bodies, Green teas, Lighter Aromas, Tea, ZhejiangUS$32.7明前極品 竹葉青頂
Zhuye Qingding — a rare shoot leaf green tea
Some people like their green tea soft and sweet, others may prefer a good umami. Yet this leaf shoot tea is neither. Its brisk, lively full body is accentuated with a refreshing aroma and a distinct note of bitterness. After Longjing, of all the other green teas from the Zhejiang region, my personal strongest preference goes to this traditional green tea form of Bamboo Leaf produced in Kaihua. To me it is an alternative to a shot of single malt in the evening, or an afternoon kick of espresso. Maybe more pleasant and invigorating. This style form is produced in a few other tea regions in China. The taste profile does vary from region to region, and even from farm to farm, tea master to tea master. In Emei Shan in Szechuan, the traditional form style name, Zhu Ye Qing, which transliterates as Bamboo Leaf Green, is registered as a brand name by a powerful local tea company. Other farmers and tea companies who have been producing in this same style form are then required by law to sell their products in different names. One of them is Mingshan Shihua. Tea Hong's Bamboo Leaf is a rare quality representing not only the broader taste profile of this style form, but also the intriguing intricacy that gives true quality tea its elevating magic.
Net weight: 50 g (1.8 oz) in Kraft-alu pillow
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Jade Orchid, bouquet Phoenix dancong oolong, 40 g
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Neutral-Cool Energy, Oolongs, TeaUS$21.4雪片玉蘭香
Xue Pian Yu Lan Xiang
One of the most common practices in tea naming in the Fenghuang region is giving a tea the name of the flower which the farmer associates the aroma with. Some of such flowers are fictitious, yet some are real. Like this one, Yu-lan, after the flower tree Magnolia denudata, a.k.a. Yulan magnolia. Jade orchid — as the name "Yulan" is translated — is a tree native to the region where Phoenix is. The tea cultivar itself is relatively new, having been developed locally by a farmer Wei Li Man in the 1980’s. That is why the more popular name for the plant itself amongst local farmers is Li Man zhong, or Li Man’s cultivar. To me, the winter harvest resembles the flower’s aroma more closely so we select only this for Tea Hong’s Jade Orchid. This tea is also available in a small portion as a part of Tea Taster’s Box: Nine Oolong Samplers.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Aura of the Night, bouquet Phoenix dancong oolong, 40 g
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral-Cool Energy, Oolongs, TeaUS$33.2鳳凰單欉 獅頭 夜來香
Yelai Xiang Dancong
The complex, yet bright and lively floral aroma of this tea is associated with a native flower, yelai xiang, aka Chinese violet. It is a vine yielding light yellow small flowers that are especially fragrant at night, hence the name, yelai xiang — the fragrance that comes in the night, from which we have derived our product name. The plant is native in Guangdong province and neighbouring areas. It is the province where the Phoenix region situates. It has taken us some work to get to Lion Head Peak ( see below for more about the origin ) to acquire this best quality representation of the variety. Please enjoy.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Ying Hong Nine, traditional black tea, 50 g
Black teas, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral Energy, Other tea regions, TeaUS$21.4廣東英德春茶 英紅九號
Prodigy Black Tea of Yingde
Although the ancestry of cultivar Ying Hong #9 was taken from the rugged mountains of Yunnan 60 years ago, the tea tree has acquired a very different characteristics in the much milder climate on the rolling hills of middle Guangdong. However, not all farms are able to produce a warm sweet black tea with a rich and smooth body as Tea Hong’s Ying Hong Nine. This patiently withered and oxidised selection is processed in the Guangdong style and optimally baked for its creamy characteristics and fruity accents. A prize-winning quality at great value. Read more:
Net weight: 50 g (1.8 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Honey Concubine, medium deep baked Taiwan oolong, 70 g
Denser Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral Energy, Oolongs, Taiwan, TeaUS$26.9私藏 文火深焙 蜜香貴妃
Guifei Oolong from Cold Peak
Guifei Oolong ( or Honey Concubine Tea, literally translated ) is a medium deep baked, medium oxidation ( 25 ~ 30% ) oolong produced from the Ruan Zhi cultivar in the Dong Ding ( Cold Peak ) area. It is different from the traditional Cold Peak oolong. The leaves of Guifei are bitten by green leafhoppers before plucking. The bug attack triggers a chain of biochemical reactions in the leaves that result in the complex honey notes that typify this tea. It was inspired by the way Oriental Beauty acquires its unique taste profile. However the two teas taste very differently through each’s own unique oolong processing approaches and pluck timing. The tea was invented after the devastation of an earthquake in September 1999, when the farmers had to create more revenue to rebuild their lost homes. «Read more» Baked to perfection by our producer the multiple award-winning tea master Chen Yu Wen, the current batch is certainly one of the best we have ever had from her. Net weight: 70 g (2.5 oz) in Kraft-alu pillow pack
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Huo Shan Yellow Tips, traditional yellow tea, 40 g
Fuller Bodies, Green teas, Huangshan & Anhui, Lighter Aromas, Neutral-Cool Energy, Tea, Yellow teasUS$24.8明前正品 霍山黃芽
Renaissance of a millennium old tribunal yellow tea
For the same refreshing, cleansing sensation as the finest Huangshan Maofeng, ample green tea’s health constituents, yet with the absence of astringency, a yellow tea like Huo Shan Huang Ya ( i.e. Yellow Tips ) is a best choice. This superb first flush selection is produced almost like a Maofeng green tea but lightly oxidised by covering the tea when it is still very warm during processing. The heat converted some of the leaf constituents into simpler sugars. This particular step gives a softer, sweeter and much easier taste but as delightfully quenching and more body. The concept of this technique has been millennium old, yet it is only in recent years that really fine tasting products become available and accessible. Distinctive as Tea Hong’s Huo Shan Yellow Tips is still rare.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack
