August 2024 – Gourmet Loose Leaf Tea Subscription | Curious Tea

Welcome to the August 2024 edition of the Curious Tea subscription! Here’s a closer look at the four exciting new teas that we are sharing with our subscribers this month. This month we are showcasing a flight of Taiwanese oolong teas, highlighting specifically the baking process and how that affects the flavours.

For the lighter side of the selection we start with a floral low-grown Four Seasons Oolong that undergoes zero baking, producing a modern ‘green oolong’ profile that follows the modern fashion for this type of tea. The second tea in the light selection is a lightly baked (2/10) high mountain oolong from the famous Shan Lin Xi terroir that showcases the balance and complexity that light baking can achieve while still preserving the floral aspect.

For the dark side of the selection we chose a traditionally roasted (5/10) Tie Guan Yin from the famous Muzha terroir that delivers a fruity yet floral taste and is a fine example of a more traditional, heritage style of tea crafting. The final tea that also is on the darker side is a Shui Xian Water Sprite Oolong that is baked on the higher end of the medium spectrum (7/10). Produced from the same plants as the Four Seasons Oolong but in the style to emulate classic teas from Wuyi Shan in Fujian, it produces a roasted mineral profile.

This month’s teas
Light boxes Shan Lin Xi Light Baked Qing Xin Oolong Discovery boxes
Mixed boxes Four Seasons Oolong
Muzha Tie Guan Yin Oolong
Dark boxes Shui Xian Water Sprite Oolong

Our Discovery subscription boxes contain 10g taster pouches of all of the above mentioned teas. If you are a subscriber you will benefit from a 10% discount on all teas from our tea shop!

Let’s get into further detail on these teas featured in our August tea subscription boxes.

Four Seasons Oolong

Blog - Four Seasons Oolong

Four Seasons Oolong (四季春) is an aromatic, lightly oxidised oolong grown in Mingjian Township, Nantou County, Taiwan. It has a floral profile with a smooth taste and a lightly creamy finish, creating a refreshing and satisfying everyday drink. We source it direct from the farmer in Taiwan and this particular batch is from a spring crop, picked in March 2024.

Four Seasons Oolong is named after the cultivar that is used to make this aromatic tea, Si Ji Chun (四季春 – Four Seasons Spring). This cultivar started appearing in Taiwan in 1980’s. It is said that one farmer near Taipei noticed a tea plant in his garden growing much quicker than others, so he planted cuttings from that particular bush more systematically. He was able to harvest leaves from those plants throughout the year, including during winter time when many of the tea plants are normally dormant or growing at a very slow rate.

The leaves of the Si Ji Chun cultivar plants have a fresh and light flowery spring-like aroma year round, hence the full Chinese name that translates as Four Seasons Spring. Even though some prefer to use the full ‘Four Seasons Spring’ name, we find it can create some confusion as to when the actual tea was harvested. Hence we opt for the still popular shorter version of Four Seasons Oolong.

Nantou County, Taiwan

Si Ji Chun has become very popular in Taiwan, as well as other countries, such as Thailand and Vietnam. It favours low altitude conditions but also provides farmers with a consistent crop throughout the whole year. These are very versatile plants. The most popular style is to make a lightly oxidised oolong such as this one, but it is also used to make more complex teas, including darker and roasted oolongs, unusual aged teas and as a floral base for scented teas like Bergamot and Jasmine.

This Four Seasons Oolong consists of quite young spring leaves that have been machine harvested to keep the costs down. The leaves are tightly rolled into bright and darker green pearls that unfurl with each infusion. It possesses a wonderful aroma that is most reminiscent of honeysuckle (jasmine or lily of the valley according to others). It has a smooth and light liquor with a floral profile. The overall flavours are light and very refreshing. The floral taste has lightly sweet notes that combine well with a creamy finish. It makes for a comforting light drink in winter but also works extremely well for cold brewing in summer.

Taiwanese Four Seasons Oolong tea is best brewed at 90°C for 3-4 minutes according to your taste and can be brewed multiple times, increasing steeping time with each next brew if desired.

You can also buy this Four Seasons Oolong tea in our online shop.

Light Baked Shan Lin Xi Qing Xin Oolong

Light Baked Shan Lin Xi Qing Xin Oolong (杉林溪青心烏龍) is a beautifully satisfying high mountain oolong from the famous Shan Lin Xi (Sun Link Sea) tea growing area located in Nantou County of Taiwan. This spectacular oolong is made from hand-picked leaves of Qing Xin ‘Green Heart’ (青心) cultivar plants that are grown at an altitude of 1,400-1,500 metres. This tea is grown by Mr Chen and was picked and carefully processed in April 2024. It was then slowly baked in May 2024 to produce a complex liquor that is buttery, sweet and floral. We source it from Mr Chen via our Tea Master in Taiwan.

Shan Lin Xi (杉林溪) is an exceptional terroir located high in the mountains of Nantou Province. Although Alishan as a terroir may be more famous, it is without doubt that Shan Lin Xi produces high mountain (Gao Shan) oolong teas that are also considered to amongst the best from Taiwan. Shan Lin Xi can be literally translated as Pine Forest Stream from Chinese. However it is also commonly known as Sun Link Sea, an English phonetic approximation of the Chinese Shan Lin Xi, a process referred to as phono-semantic matching in linguistics. So both Sun Link Sea Oolong and Shan Lin Xi Oolong refer to teas from the same terroir. The gardens of Sun Link Sea terroir range in altitude between approximately 1,000 and 2,000 metres. The picturesque mountainous landscape is also home to Shanlinxi Forest Recreation Area, a popular destination for nature hiking that is known for its giant forest trees and waterfalls.

The vast majority of oolong teas grown at high altitude in Taiwan are made from the Qing Xin ‘Green Heart’ (青心) cultivar plants. This is true of most Sun Link Sea oolong teas as well. This particular Shan Lin Xi Qing Xin Oolong is also made from hand-picked leaves of Green Heart cultivar plants. They are picked in mid-April, and come in classic tightly rolled leaf shape. The oxidation level is approximately 15-20% and unlike our standard version from Shan Lin Xi that is unbaked, this undergoes a careful, slow and light bake. The approximate scale is 2/10, resulting in a liquor that is a little more complex and definitely more comforting than the unbaked version of this tea. This kind of light baking is a popular way of making the flavours more concentrated and complex. It also has the added benefit of making the tea more stable, improving the shelf life and keeping it fresher for longer.

This Light Baked Shan Lin Xi Qing Xin Oolong comes in tightly rolled leaves, which are mostly large but also vary in size. The dark green leaves have a creamy floral aroma. When brewed they unfurl into large leaves consisting of a tip and the top 1-3 leaves with a slightly duller appearance due to light roasting. The produced liquor is clear and bright, with a pale golden colour and a floral and lightly baked aroma. It produces a comforting liquor with a bright, floral and sweet flavour. It delivers satisfying notes of baked pastries and alpine meadow flowers. There is a butteriness and sweetness throughout the taste. The aftertaste is lasting, delivering similar flavours, while becoming a little more herbal. This is an excellent example of a lightly baked high mountain oolong that really showcases how careful baking changes the flavours in tea.

We suggest brewing this tea at 90°C for 3-4 minutes according to your taste. It can be brewed 3+ times depending on your taste preferences. To get the most out this tea, consider using a gaiwan or a traditional clay pot to benefit from the complexity of flavours from repeated multiple infusions. For gong fu brewing we suggest using 6g per 100ml at 95c. Optional 2-3 second rinse, 1st infusion 25s, add 5s to each further infusion. Gong fu style brewing should get many, many infusions from this lovely tea!

You can also buy this Light Baked Shan Lin Xi Qing Xin Oolong tea in our online shop.

Muzha Tie Guan Yin

Muzha Tie Guan Yin Oolong (木栅鐵觀音) is a complex traditional oolong from the famous Muzha tea growing area of Taiwan. This is a traditionally roasted oolong tea that has been expertly crafted to produce a balanced, lightly roasted profile. Grown at an altitude of about 600 metres, this particular batch was handpicked and baked in April 2024. We source it from Mr Chang via our Tea Master in Taiwan.

Tie Guan Yin Oolong is a particularly famous Chinese tea that originates from Anxi County of Fujian Province. Traditionally this kind of oolong tea should be roasted. The roasting process is also known as baking and such teas sometimes have the word charcoal in their name. However recent fashion in China means that most Tie Guan Yin oolongs produced there are very minimally oxidised. This style of ‘green oolong’ is increasingly popular due to bright floral flavours and there is much demand for these lighter style of teas. Hence it is often difficult to find a good traditionally roasted Tie Guan Yin Oolong from China. The roasting process requires great skill on part of the tea master and is time consuming. Many prefer to offer less time-intensive lightly oxidised teas instead. Our minimally oxidised Tie Guan Yin Oolong from Anxi is a prime example of this new modern style.

This Muzha Tie Guan Yin Oolong by comparison is a great insight into the more traditional and classic way of producing this oolong. The heritage processing methods have been kept alive and well in Taiwan ever since the original Tie Guan Yin plants and processing techniques were brought from Fujian over 100 years ago. The most famous Tie Guan Yin from Taiwan is undoubtably that from Muzha in northern Taiwan, just outside of Taipei. Here the heritage processing methods are still used to produce teas that are famous for their complexity. The Muzha area sits just outside of Taipei City, next to Maokong that is famous for its cats and teahouses. It’s is quite easy to reach by public transport and cable and if you find yourself in Taipei, we can throughly recommend spending the day exploring the area and the teahouses there.

Most of the Tie Guan Yin in Muzha is produced from various cultivars. There is a small amount of plants that are descendants of the original plants brought from Anxi still being grown. But these produce a very small yield and are generally very hard to grow. This means that farmers grow a variety of cultivars, including Tie Guan Yin, Wu Yi, Jin Xuan and Qing Xin. Most teas are made from Jun Xuan or Qing Xin but quite a few farmers would make a tea blended from various cultivars in order to achieve a desired taste. Interestingly, in Muzha, the cultivar the tea is made from is not that important, but the style of processing is. In that regard, the Muzha Tea Farmers’ Competition allows teas made from any cultivar to be entered (we also stock a Competition Grade version). So in this case, the Tie Guan Yin name very much refers to the style of this tea!

The leaves of this Muzha Tie Guan Yin Oolong are rolled, oxidised to about 10-15% and are medium baked, around 5/10 in strength. The liquor produced is bright and very clear with a comforting roasted aroma. The roasted profile exhibits complex multi-layered but balanced flavours. The roasting is not overpowering, but instead it compliments the flavours of the tea. It has a mineral flavour with sweet, fruity, woody and floral notes. It also delivers a comforting aftertaste with a tangy mineral edge.

It is best brewed at 90°C for 2-3 minutes according to your taste and should be brewed multiple times, increasing steeping time with each brew if desired. We find that a longer initial steep of 3 minutes followed by shorter steeping times for subsequent infusions to be best for bringing out complexity of notes. For best results we recommend brewing this tea gong fu style, 6g per 100ml at 95°C with an initial 2-3 seconds rinse followed by 1st infusion of 25s. Then add 5s to each further infusion.

You can also buy this Muzha Tie Guan Yin Oolong tea in our online shop.

Shui Xian Water Sprite

Blog - Taiwan Nantour County Shui Xian Water Sprite Oolong

Shui Xian Water Sprite Oolong (水仙烏龍茶) is a an expertly roasted take on a classic Wu Yi Shan Shui Xian Oolong. Utilising a local Taiwanese cultivar this ‘Water Sprite’ or ‘Narcissus’ oolong undergoes light oxidation and medium baking to carefully showcase a balance of floral and roasted notes in a nod to the Chinese classic Shui Xian tea. Sourced by us from the Tea Master who carries out the roasting process, this tea was harvested and baked in April 2024.

This tea is named after the famous Shui Xian Oolong from Wuyi Shan that is renowned for an orchid aroma and a floral, roasted character. This name actually refers to the specific Shui Xian cultivar that is used in producing these teas. Our tea shop features a Lao Cong Shui Xian as well as versions from other regions, such as Dan Cong Shui Xian and the highly unusual Zhang Ping Shui Xian that comes pressed into square cakes. Unlike these teas from China that all utilise the Shui Xian cultivar, this Taiwanese version is made using a local ‘Four Seasons’ Si Ji Chun cultivar. Si Ji Chun (四季春), which translates as Four Seasons Spring in full, first appeared in Taiwan in the 1980’s. It favours low altitude conditions and provides farmers with a consistent crop throughout the whole year. The leaves that are plucked from Si Ji Chun plants have a fresh and light flowery aroma year round, perfect for producing expressive teas.

Shui Xian Water Sprite Oolong utilises the leaves of the Four Seasons cultivar that are lightly oxidised (15-20%) and are then expertly roasted. Consequently the underlying aromatic floral notes of this cultivar are perfectly balanced with the roasted profile. This interplay of flavours achieves a character that is highly reminiscent of Shui Xian oolong teas from China. This tea is a great showcase of the skills of the Tea Master as she was able to achieve an imitation tea that, in our opinion, outshines many versions of the original – especially considering the price!

This oolong has dark twisted leaves with a roasted aroma. It produces a golden liquor with a floral and roasted aroma. The smooth and tangy taste has a similar floral, roasted profile. The complex processing also brings out some lovely notes of honey, wheat and fruits. It has a refreshingly smooth character with a lasting tangy fruity aftertaste. Roasted mineral top notes at the very finish complete the rounded, complex taste.

It is best brewed at 90°C for 3-4 minutes according to your taste and can be brewed multiple times.

You can also buy this Shui Xian Water Sprite Oolong tea in our online shop.

We really do hope that you enjoy this tea selection and are looking forward to the selection in our September boxes!

For next month we selected a Kenyan green tea from Tumoi that is crafted from the unique purple leaf tea cultivar plants that delivers a fascinating colour changing liquor. The second light tea we selected is a classic Huang Ya yellow tea from China’s Huoshan that provides an insight into this rare special tea type. For the darker side of the selection we chose another Kenyan tea from Tumoi, a classic golden black tea that has a classic but sophisticated Kenyan black tea profile. The last tea we selected our Dian Hong Black Pagoda, one of our long-time customer favourites, that has a supremely smooth Yunnan red black tea profile and highly approachable character.

If reading this has made you curious about our teas, but you don’t yet subscribe to a monthly tea selection, you can sign up for our tea boxes in just a few clicks. We ship worldwide from London, UK.

We always love to hear from you, so if you have any questions, suggestions or just want to chat about tea, email us at contact@curioustea.com, via our Facebook page or via Twitter.

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