Welcome to the December 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 December 2024 box also marks 10 years of Curious Tea Subscriptions – our first ever box went out to the very first customers in December 2014!
For the lighter side of the selection we start with a very classic Iron Goddess of Mercy Oolong from Fujian Province of China that is crafted in the modern lightly oxidised floral style. The next light tea we selected this month is a Japanese Sencha green tea from the famous Honyama terroir of Shizuoka Prefecture that delivers characteristic vegetal and umami flavours.
For the dark side of the selection we are featuring a wonderful completely handmade Tippy Golden Assam from a small family-run garden that delivers a refined Assam flavour. For the final tea of this month, we selected a smooth pu-erh dark tea that was crafted in 2019 in Menghai, Yunnan Province of China that delivers balanced woody and earthy flavours.
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 December tea subscription boxes.
Tie Guan Yin Iron Goddess of Mercy Oolong
Tie Guan Yin (铁观音) Iron Goddess of Mercy is our premium version of a truly classic Chinese oolong. This one comes from Anxi County in Fujian Province, the birthplace of this very famous and popular tea. This Tie Guan Yin Oolong is an Anxi-style tea, which means that it is lightly oxidised, retaining many of the delicate floral aspects that are a closer to a light green tea without the grassiness or astringency. This type of oolong has become known as a ‘jade’ or ‘green’ oolong due to the light appearance and colour that is reflected both in the leaves of this tea as well as the light coloured liquor. This particular crop of our Tie Guan Yin Iron Goddess of Mercy oolong was plucked in spring, May 2024, in Anxi County of Fujian Province in China.
The tea is named after the Chinese name for a bodhisattva known in Sanskrit as Avalokiteśvara, Guan Yin (观音). Guan Yin is a buddhist bodhisattva usually associated with compassion; it is also known in Japan as Kannon Bosatsu (観音菩薩) and in Korea as Gwan-eum (관음). Other spellings and names for this tea include TGY, Ti Kuan Yin, Tit Kwun Yum, Ti Kwan Yin, Iron Buddha, Iron Goddess Oolong and Tea of the Iron Bodhisattva. The English name ‘Iron Goddess of Mercy’ is a literal translation of ‘Tie Guan Yin’ and is the most common English name for this Chinese oolong.
There are two legends that explain the origin of the name of Tie Guan Yin Iron Goddess of Mercy oolong. One tells a story of a scholar called Wang who discovered a tea plant under Guan Yin rock, brought it home and then cultivated this tea. When he brought this tea to the Emperor as a gift, the Emperor liked the tea so much he wondered where this tea originated. As it was found under the Guan Yin rock, it was decided to call it Guan Yin tea.
Another legend tells a story of a poor farmer called Wei. There was a temple with an iron statue of Guan Yin on the way from the tea fields that Wei walked past every day and he noticed that the condition of the temple was worsening. He decided to do something about it so he took it upon himself to clean the temple and light incense in it twice a week; he proceeded to do that over many months. One night Guan Yin appeared to him in his dream telling him that there was a cave behind the temple with treasure that awaited him. Upon entering the cave Wei discovered a tea plant shoot. He planted it in his field and nurtured it into a large tea bush. This tea plant produced the finest tea, so he shared the cuttings from this bush with all his neighbours. Wei and his neighbours started making and selling this fine tea under the name Tie Guan Yin. As they prospered from it, they were able to fully repair their beautiful temple.
This oolong undergoes a complex production process that results in quite a characteristic tea and is shared with other light Anxi-style oolong teas. The processing goes through the following stages: plucking of tea leaves, sun withering, cooling, tossing, withering with slight oxidation, further tossing and withering, fixation, rolling, drying, sorting and finally packing. As the tea nears the completion of this process, the distinctive colouration of the leaves becomes apparent. This can be seen on the dried leaves, they become quite light in colour on the edges, almost frosted in places. This is a distinguishable feature of a well-made and correctly processed Tie Guan Yin Iron Goddess of Mercy oolong.
The tightly rolled light green, jade coloured leaves of this Tie Guan Yin Iron Goddess of Mercy oolong have a slight green floral aroma. When brewed, the leaves unfurl, producing a pale golden clear liquor with a floral scent. The taste is light, with a pronounced floral profile and refreshing flavours of fresh green vegetables with a buttery note and a little sweetness reminiscent of red peppers. The lasting aftertaste has more floral flavours. This is a light and refreshing tea with a smooth and balanced flavour and no bitterness or astringency.
This oolong is best brewed at 90°C for around 3 minutes according to your taste and can be brewed more than 3 times, increasing steeping time with each next brew if desired.
It is best brewed at 80°C for around 2-3 minutes, with multiple infusions.
You can also discover all four famous Anxi oolongs in our online shop: classic Tie Guan Yin Iron Goddess of Mercy, crisp and zesty Mao Xie Hairy Crab, refreshingly floral Ben Shan Source Mountain and the most floral Huang Jin Gui Golden Osmanthus.
Honyama Yabukita Sencha
Honyama Yabukita Sencha (本山やぶきた煎茶) is a high grade sencha green tea made from the popular Yabukita (やぶきた) cultivar. It is grown in the historic Honyama (本山) terroir that is located in the upper reaches of Warashina and Abe Rivers in Shizuoka at an altitude of 200-300 metres. This tea is crafted to create a classic Japanese tea profile with a complex interplay between grassy and vegetal sweetness and salty and savoury umami notes. It was harvested between 3 and 12 May 2024 and it is sourced by us via a specialist tea merchant in Tokyo.
This is one the three sencha teas in our shop that showcase the three famous mountainous terroirs of Shizuoka Prefecture: Honyama, Kawane and Tenryu.
Honyama is a terroir famous in Japan for producing particularly fine teas that has a tea growing history of over 800 years. The fields are located on steep slopes surrounding the Warashina and Abe Rivers that often produce foggy conditions. This fog and less exposure to the sun acts as a natural way to slow down the growth of the tea plants, resulting in richer and more fully flavoured teas. Additionally, the earlier pickings such as this First Flush picked in early May are more prized. The reason is that with the cooler spring climate the growth of leaves is slower, again allowing for more complex flavours to develop. Once the first picking has been done in the season and the weather is warming up, the plants grow much faster, resulting in less concentration of nutrients in the leaves and thus a weaker tea.
This Honyama Yabukita Sencha is made from the leaves of Yabukita cultivar plants. This cultivar is the most popular and widespread tea plant in Japan and Yabukita plants cover about 75% of Japanese tea fields. It was developed by a tea breeder from Shizuoka in the early 1900’s called Hikosaburo Sugiyama, but it was officially registered only in 1956. The well-performing Yabukita plants quickly proved popular due to their hardiness, ease of cultivation and tea flavours; with time becoming the mainstay of Japanese green tea production. One of the main factors for the popularity of the Yabukita cultivar has been the flavours that they are known for. These plants produce teas with typical savoury and umami grassy flavours and strong aromas that are particularly sought after in Japanese green teas.
This Honyama Yabukita Sencha has neat, long and thin dark green leaves that are neatly rolled. The green liquor has good clarity and a fragrant savoury aroma. The taste is savoury, with a vegetal profile and smooth grassy umami notes. The taste continues with a creamy mouthfeel and further notes of nori, spinach and sea water. The aftertaste is clean, not astringent, with zesty yuzu notes. This Honyama Sencha has all the classic Japanese green tea aspects with a complex yet refreshing taste.
We suggest brewing at 70°C for 2 minutes according to your taste. It can be brewed around 3+ times depending on your taste preferences. This tea will perform at its best if brewed using a good traditional side-handled kyūsu (急須) tea pot specifically designed for brewing sencha tea. In such case, adjust the amount of leaves to 2.5g per 100ml of 70°C water, brewing 40-60 seconds per infusion, repeatedly increasing brewing time until there is no flavour left.
You can also buy this Honyama Yabukita Sencha green tea in our online shop.
Assam Latumoni Golden Tippy
Assam Latumoni Golden Tippy Black is a fine completely handmade Assam from Latumoni, a very small family-run plantation located in Tingkhong, Upper Assam. The careful hand processing in small individual batches results in large, beautiful leaves and a rich yet mellow liquor. This tea was harvested on 22 April 2024 in an exclusive 10kg batch for us from plants grown naturally and without use of chemical fertilisers or pesticides.
The small privately-run plantation only measures approximately 2 acres. It was planted by Sailen and his late father. Originally the leaves from this small plantation like those of many others were bought by the larger factories of Assam to increase their capacity. However, with large corporate gardens having full control over the purchasing of the leaves from small scale farmers and little competition have lead to a significant decrease in the price offered to the farmers. This essentially has created a situation where the small scale farmers were exploited by the large corporate estates. Sailen decided to change the way he was running the plantation, to switch to organic growing methods and to start producing his own artisanal teas.
We work together with a specialist wholesaler in Assam who only works with small scale farmers like Sailen. They do not just resell the farmers’ teas but also provide support and financial help to small scale farmers to enable them to produce great quality tea – such as investing into machinery and providing them with knowhow. This guarantees small scale farmers like Sailen a fair price for their tea and provides investment into their farm to support their family’s future. This is in complete contrast with teas from many large Assam estates where most of the price paid for the tea ends up with the estate and little trickles down to the farmers.
This Assam Latumoni Golden Tippy Black is an earlier First Flush Assam, having been picked in the middle of April. Generally the later Second Flush is the more prized picking as it tends to deliver a bolder flavour that many fans of Assam black tea are looking for. However this earlier harvest delivers some of the classic Assam taste but with a lighter, more elegant twist. The leaves of this tea are carefully handpicked from demarcated sections of the plantation over a short picking period. Therefore each picking can be quite different and this particular batch was only 10kg in total. After picking the leaves are hand-rolled in small batches to avoid breakage and to preserve unique flavour profiles of each picking. Being a bit more tippy than the Latumoni Signature Black, this version delivers a lighter Assam taste.
The dry leaves of Assam Latumoni Golden Tippy Black are large and dark in colour with 20-30% of golden tips. It produces a dark amber liquor with a malty aroma, very much like a classic Assam. The malty taste is smooth, sweet and lightly drying. There are mineral, dry floral and lightly woody notes on the taste. The aftertaste is tangy, mineral, with a hint of tobacco and some pleasant tannins. This tea delivers a classic Assam taste but without the harsher and overpowering tannins commonly found in more mass-produced teas. Being an earlier harvest, this further elevates the taste, making it milder, smoother and more approachable.
We suggest brewing at 90°C for 3-5 minutes according to your taste. It can be brewed a couple of times depending on your taste preferences. Definitely try this one without addition of milk or sugar. Works great for gongfu brewing!
You can also buy this Assam Latumoni Golden Tippy black tea in our online shop.
Menghai Royal Shu Pu-erh
Menghai Royal Shu Pu-erh (勐海宫廷熟普洱) is a Gong Ting ‘Palace’ grade ripe pu-erh. This particular lot was produced in 2019 from leaves harvested in Menghai in Yunnan Province in mid April. It has an approachable profile with smooth woody and earthy notes that are balanced by a creamy and sweet edge.
For pu-erh processing, the initial stage is making the mao cha (毛茶) or ‘rough tea’ whereby the raw harvested leaves undergo a kill-green process, followed by rolling and drying – processing that is very similar to a green tea. This unique processing sets it apart from other teas and means that pu-erh fits within the separate ‘dark tea’ category. If the mao cha is left without further processing, this results in a sheng cha or ‘raw tea’.
To produce a ‘ripe tea’ or shu cha (熟茶), the mao cha undergoes a unique production process, known as wet piling or wo dui (渥堆) in Chinese. Wet piling involves heaping tea leaves in a hot and humid environment into large piles to achieve fermentation. In order for the leaves to ferment properly, the leaves from the bottom are moved to the top every few days. The heat and moisture speeds up the chemical changes within the leaves, reducing astringency and deepening the flavours. The whole fermentation process lasts around 45-60 days.
Both ripe and raw pu-erh tea is most commonly pressed into various shapes (domes, disks, bricks, etc) or can be left loose and the gradual fermentation and maturation process continues further during storage. This Menghai Royal Shu Pu-erh comes in loose form rather than being compressed, which results in quicker ageing, allowing the tea to develop quicker. This means that this tea can be either drunk straight away or, if desired, can be left to mature for longer to mellow out even more.
This Menghai Royal Shu Pu-erh consists of larger leaves that are quite tippy. The liquor produced has a deep, dark colour with a red tint with good clarity. The aroma is creamy and woody. The smooth flavours are deep but without any astringency or bitterness. It has notes that are woody, creamy and mildly stony and mineral on the aftertaste. The aftertaste is long-lasting but clean and smooth. The favours are nicely balanced by sweetness running throughout the tasting. This is a great example of a nicely smooth Menghai ripe pu-erh that makes a great tea for daily drinking or as an introduction to ripe pu-erh.
We suggest brewing parameters of 95°C for 2-3 minutes according to your taste, brewing multiple times. For best results, brew Gong Fu style. When brewed Gong Fu style we suggest briefly washing the leaves.
You can also buy this Menghai Royal Shu Pu-erh tea in our online shop.
We really do hope that you enjoy this tea selection and are looking forward to the selection in our January boxes!
For first month of 2025 we selected two teas from a new country for us: Tanzania! Our boxes will feature a refreshing roasted green tea and a classic orthodox black tea. For the lighter selection we also opted for a high grade Xin Yang Mao Jian green tea from China. For the darker side, we will be showcasing a Darjeeling Oolong from Rohini that features a naturally spicy profile.
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.
