Pinglin Certified Organic "Anxi Forest" Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea - Winter 2022

Organically grown Tie Guan Yin varietal in Pinglin, we found this new plantation by surprise. Pinglin has been a place to grow unique varietal that could not be found easily in Taiwan. So far we only have one plantation at Caopingtou for Tie Guan Yin varietal, leaving us not much option to choose from. Fortuntaely, Peter, the farmer boss whose family had been at the deep valley of Pinglin for decades, were inspired by our vision and operations around the island, and therefore we were able to obatin this tea.

"How is it?" Asked by Peter who was brewing this tea while petting his lovely Poodle. The tea was a imitation from him to re-create the fermentation process we had been proud of. Interestingly, the result proved that Peter is from the tea processing family as he was able to replicate our core quite precisely that it was very subtle in the differences just by trying our teas for a few times. 

"This is kind of specially made for you guys. Wish you will like it." Said Peter as we were sipping at the night of Pinglin. We gladly took this tea in as part of our collection this season and asked our roasting master Mr. Zhuang to give it a proper roasting. A roasting style that is more than green but less than burnt to provide a balanced flavor. Not to mention Mr. Zhuang upgraded his charcoal material to Taiwan Acacia wood this season, giving the whole tea a whole new boundary to be discovered.  

This tea bears lots of similarities like its Anxi counterpart in a matured way. The special milky character of Tie Guan Yin tea was ripely realized on this tea, and the aging potential is there for one to discover. We proudly present you this "Anxi Forest," as it shall remind tea lovers the joy of encountering Tie Guan Yin for the first time. Enjoy our friend. 

Harvest: Winter 2022 / 冬 貳零貳貳

Varietal: Hong Xin Wai Wei Tao (Tie Guan Yin) / 紅心歪尾桃 

Elevation: 500 M / 伍佰 公尺

Region: Pinglin / 坪林

Fermentation Level: 35% / 分之 參拾伍

Roast Level: 3 / 參 分

  Brewing......

  Most tea lovers know about Anxi’s nuclear green tie guan yin teas. Not my cuppa, however now I have some distant more clean, clearer relative of that region. I brewed 6g in 110 ml pot for nice effect. It’s a strong tea so I liked quicker steeps to guide the tang and the body out smoothly. it carries some charm from the mainland yet elucidates the integrity of Taiwan.

 Took an old dog by surprise, this Tie Guan Yin made by Peter is a proof that traditional withering technique may be still a thing in Taiwanese market.