Lishan Cui Luan Oolong

Lishan Cui Luan Oolong is a delicate high mountain oolong from the famous Lishan terroir. Grown in Cui Luan at an altitude of 1,600 metres, it produces a wonderfully floral liquor. The fresh taste is full of alpine meadow flavours with creamy notes and a clean aftertaste.

Brewing guide: 2.5g in 250ml water at 90°C for 2-3 minutes

£5.00£17.50

(10-50g)

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Origin:Cuiluan, Ren'ai Township, Nantou County, Taiwan
Elevation:Lishan, 1,600-1,700m
Cultivar:Qing Xin 'Green Heart' (青心)
Harvest time:May 2022
Sourcing:From the farmer via Taiwanese Tea Master

Description

Lishan Cui Luan Oolong (梨山翠巒烏龍) is a delicate high mountain oolong from the famous Lishan tea growing area. This particular tea comes from Cuiluan located in Ren’ai Township of Nantou County. It is made from hand-picked leaves of Qing Xin ‘Green Heart’ (青心) cultivar plants that are grown at an altitude of 1,600-1,700 metres. It is a complex tea, delivering classic high mountain oolong flavour full of floral alpine meadow notes. This tea is grown by Mr Huang and was picked and processed in May 2022. We source it from Mr Huang via our Tea Master in Taiwan.

Lishan (梨山) is an exceptional terroir located high in the mountains of Nantou Province and Taichung City. It is known for producing some exceptional traditional gao shan high mountain oolong teas. Lishan has a number of sub-terroirs and this one hails from a location named Cuiluan (翠巒), or Emerald Mountain Range. It lies on Hehuanshan mountain range and the garden enjoys a west-facing aspect on a steep slope. With many high mountain areas in Taiwan not receiving enough rainfall in 2021, some areas still managed slightly more than others. This is the case with the general Cuiluan area in 2021, the teas here are much better this year than from some other parts of Lishan. Cuiluan generally is not considered the most prime location of Lishan, hence the teas from this area enjoy more competitive pricing while still delivering the intense high mountain flavour that this terroir is known for.

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 Lishan teas as well. The leaves of this Lishan Cui Luan Oolong are hand-picked and come in a classic tightly rolled leaf shape. The oxidation level is approximately 15-20% and this tea does not undergo any baking. If you are interested in other terroirs, make sure to try our Qing Xin teas from Alishan, Meishan, Shan Lin Xi, Long Feng Xia and our competition grade Alishan Oolong.

This Lishan Cui Luan Oolong comes in tightly rolled leaves with an attractive green colour. When brewed these unfurl into large leaves consisting of a tip plus 1-3 leaves. The produced liquor is bright and clear with an attractive heady floral aroma. The taste is supremely smooth, without any harshness, just as expected of this type of tea. The predominant floral taste is reminiscent of an alpine flower meadow with additional notes contributing a buttery and lightly grassy note. Overall it is supremely clean and very fresh with a good level of sweetness running throughout the taste. The tasting starts more on the highly floral flavour, gently progressing to a grassy edge and finally finishing on the deeper creamier notes. The lasting yet clean aftertaste still delivers more of those fine floral flavours.

We suggest brewing this tea at 90°C for 2-3 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!

Location of the tea garden in Cuiluan: