Description
While the heavily oxidised (around 70%) oolong „Oriental Beauty“ is relatively well known in Europe, it is extremely unusual that an Oriental Beauty of this quality gets to leave the shores of Taiwan. This is because tea of this quality is produced in very small quantities: In a short picking period starting in the middle of June, the grower has to find the sections of his garden where a special little leafhopper (a jassid) has fed on the sap of the young buds and leaves. As the plants defend themselves against the insects they release compounds which help develop and concentrate flavours within the leaf. Using his unique skills the tea master then tries to produce a tea worthy of entering into the annual Hsinchu County Oriental Beauty Tea Competition. Such competitions are a serious business and only exquisite teas are entered. This exceptionally flavoursome Oriental Beauty made from the cultivar Qing Xin Da Pan is an outstanding example of an exquisite, competition standard artisanal tea.