Nanpu Natural Farming "Crimson of the South" Oriental Beauty Oolong Tea - Winter 2020

This is a sister tea of "Orient Lake" because they were processed on the same day. The lack of production from Tianhu area forced Mr. Chen, a good and resilient friend of us, had to call his workers to this plantation at Nanpu Community, an area that locates inside Beipu area to get more material from a single day of labor. 

Like plantation at Tianhu, this land was abandoned by its owner for decades now. The owner was simply too old to do anything with this land, so it was lent to Mr. Chen for better use. Mr. Chen reserved the surviving tea trees of this land, and did not realize how special the varietal is until we consulted our other good friend Mr. Hsu, who had plenty of experience with varietal in Emei and Beipu areas. According to him, this is an already extinct varietal called "Red Heart Dah Pan" (紅心大冇) since it looks like its Qing Xin Dah Pan cousin, but taste quite differently.

This varietal was widely used as the maternal lineage for the new breed of TTES as black tea component. Due to unknown reason, it eventually disappeared from the market for decades, so when we realized it is the "Red Heart," we could not describe our surprise. Compared to Qing Xin Dah Pan, Hong Xin Dah Pan has a more feminine character, so it will have a more stimulating profile than Qing Xin varietal. Like "Huang Gan" and "Huan Xin," this is another legendary varietal we discovered in its original place. Sadly, those two varietals were eventually destroyed for other development.

Due to another super low harvesting quantity, we were able to pay full attention to every detail of the tea, and therefore brought back the most authentic Emei or Beipu experience available. 

Harvest: Winter 2020 / 冬 貳零貳零

Varietal: Hong Xin Dah Pan / 紅心大冇

Elevation:  300 M / 參佰 公尺

Region:  Beipu / 北埔

Fermentation  Level:  74% / 分之 柒拾肆

Roast Level: 1 / 壹

 Waiting for it!

One of the best Oriental Beauties I’ve ever had.  Floral and honey character, juicy - bright then layered.  Starting with lower temp I brewed a vivaciously viscous fruity first round.  We were all “wowed” by the clarity and direct impact of the sweet aromatic and flavorful joy this tea has.  Brewed for many rounds increasing the temperature to bring out lots of honey sweetness alongside spices and velvety full body.  A total gem and unique variety of tea plant.  Potent in the mind and body, timeless reminiscence.

 As an old dog is typing this word, he became melancholic. All these abandoned varietal were unique to their own traits. Most of them have the flavor and rhythm no other varietals may recreate. Seeing the reborn of this varietal in our collection was both touching and sad. An old dog does not need to describe the exact taste and flavor to let you know how precious this tea is to us as a Taiwanese. Sometimes tea like this shall be preserved rather than consumed.