FALLING IN LOVE WITH TAIWANESE HIGH MOUNTAIN OOLONGS

I am ashamed to admit that I don’t think I have ever tried a Taiwanese oolong before – despite studying them for years online and in books! My knowledge of Taiwanese oolongs ends just before those hands-on and try-it-yourself modules, which is a great shame as after my recent tasting, I have come to the conclusion that they are probably one of my favourite tea categories out there.

I recently received a selection of teas from Mud and Leaves, along with one of their absolutely gorgeous gaiwans, and I couldn’t have been more chuffed. Patrick, the shop owner, is one of the loveliest people ever, and it was so easy to communicate with him online. He listened to me and helped me figure out what I wanted, and I truly appreciate his patience.

Along with five oolongs, I also received a black tea, which I want to talk about first simply because it was one of the best black teas I’ve ever had. It is called the HongYu Ruby 18 Black Tea, and one of my favourite things about it is that the leaves are insanely long, and in the exact same condition that they would have been picked in. Finally, a company that doesn’t seem to confuse loose leaf with CTC!

Once brewed, the tea became a dark golden colours with a malty and sweet flavour, and even after brewing it for a little longer than I was meant to, it still didn’t taste astringent. The taste was very smooth and easy, and the leaves opened up to these beautiful large black ovals. The smell was very delicate, and yet the flavour was full-bodied and almost quite rich.

The black tea came in a beautiful shiny red packaging, with the oolongs coming in smaller, golden-coloured suction-packed materials. The HongYu had a thin mouth feel, very smooth and light, and was a great way to open up the palette to the oolongs.

Brewing this tea incorporated the first ever time that I had used a gaiwan, and after struggling a little for the first few seconds, my fingers quickly found their place and figured out where exactly they should be placed. I gave the tea leaves a quick rinse to open up the leaves and as such, the flavour, and then used water that was around 90C.

I managed to get six relatively strong brews out of just one pot of tea, which is easily one of the largest re-brewing quotas I’ve ever had. It was pretty impressive that the tea was still flavoursome and rich by the end, although I wouldn’t have wanted to push it to a seventh brewing (plus, that was a lot of tea to consume!).

I rarely find that tea companies tell you the exact levels of oxidation and roasting that a particular tea has undergone, quite possibly because most of them blend their teas together. And so, it was lovely and refreshing to discover that this tea has an oxidation rate of 85% and a roasting rate of 0%, leading to its deep, malty flavour. I’m a strong believer in the idea that the more information you give a consumer, the better the product is – and in this case, I couldn’t be more right.

The tea itself was grown in the Sun Moon Lake area in Taiwan, and the ‘Ruby 18’ variety of camelia sinensis, officially known as ‘Tai Tea #18’, was developed in Taiwan during the 1980s. It is actually a hybrid of the Wild Formosa tea tree (native to Taiwan) and the Burmese Assamica tea tree, which is pretty crazy, and really cool! This unique type of tea was then processed as HongYu Black Tea, and is absolutely delicious!

ShanLinXi High Mountain Oolong, Winter 2019

Origin – Grown in ShanLinXi at 1300m

Oxidation – 20%

Roasting – 0%

Preparation method – 5g of tea in 150ml of hot water, brewed at 95C, with one quick hot rinse of the tea before brewing. Steeped in hot water initially for about 50s.

Appearance – Medium dark green rolled balls, becomes almost a neon green-yellow liquid.

Smell – A little like genmaicha, almost nutty.

Taste – Very fresh, warming. Full-bodied and rich. Flavours get more complex with more brewings – this one I did five of. Slight nutty and almost earthy flavour.

Mouthfeel – Had a relatively thick mouth feel, feeling like a high density tea. It had an almost ‘mineral’ mouthfeel.

Overall thought – There are several benefits of drinking a high mountain oolong tea, with the first being that it produces a moderating effect by settling the spirit and calming the mind. Especially when drank in a ceremonial way with the gaiwan, sniffer cup, and several of my small drinking cups and teapots, the oolong was a centring device to which I could use to gain an almost meditative state. With a delicious and relaxing taste, the whole experience came together to create a warm and calming environment.

HeHuanShan High Mountain Oolong Tea, Winter 2019

Origin – Grown in HeHuanShan at 1800m

Oxidation – 20%

Roasting – 0%

Preparation method – 5g of tea in 150ml of hot water, brewed at 95C. Steeped in hot water initially for about 55s.

Appearance – Tightly rolled dark and light green balls, liquid becomes a pale jade when brewed.

Smell – Quite fragrant, almost toasted scent (despite obviously undergoing zero roasting).

Taste – Slightly more subtle than the previous tea, with undertones of sweetness and earthiness. Almost dark toffee, with a very subtle nuttiness.

Overall thought – I feel as though this oolong would go really well with a warm meal, with the warmth of the beverage balancing out the warmth and sweetness of the tea. Another benefit of oolong teas is that they can help to break down fat molecules into smaller elements to aid in better digestion, and drunk with heavier fatty meals, the tea can actually help to detoxify and neutralise acidity in the stomach. Could you imagine a better pairing?

Golden Concubine Oolong, Spring 2020

Origin – Grown in Lugu at 1200m

Oxidation – 30%

Roasting – 25%

Preparation method – 5g of tea in 150ml of hot water, brewed at 95C, with one quick hot rinse of the tea before brewing. Steeped in hot water initially for about 45s.

Appearance – Smaller and tighter rolls than the previous teas, with a slightly bronze look. Becomes a dark gold when brewed.

Smell – Quite fruity, almost floral.

Taste – Almost sweet, fruit, honey.

Aftertaste – Sweet and delicate, very pleasant.

Overall thought – One of the coolest things about this tea is that it’s a bug-bitten tea, from the insect called the tea jassid. These bites result in the plant producing a honey-like taste, making the tea even more pleasant. It is because of this that this tea is grown without any pesticides to encourage the bug bites, and is hand-picked in the summer after the jassids have had their fill.

Lishan High Mountain Oolong, Winter 2019

Origin – Grown in Lishan at 2200m

Oxidation – 20%

Roasting – 0%

Preparation method – 5g of tea in 150ml of hot water, brewed at 95C. Steeped in hot water initially for about 55s.

Appearance – Small dark green balls become a neon yellow colour when brewed.

Smell – Quite dark and almost nutty.

Taste – A rich and full-bodied flavour with a smooth texture. Subtle honey notes which seem to become more poignant around the third brewing. Oak-y.

Aftertaste – Quite rich, dark. Very pleasant.

Overall thought – Considering the fact that Lishan High Moutain Oolong is one of the highest quality oolongs in the game, it’s not hard to understand why people love this tea so much. Whilst I could imagine this oolong as a great day-drink to have with meals and snacks, I personally think that it would be best enjoyed on its own, with no side flavours to distract the main tastes of the tea.

Alishan High Mountain Jade Oolong Tea, Winter 2019

Origin – Grown in Alishan at 1000m

Oxidation – 20%

Roasting – 0%

Preparation method – 5g of tea in 150ml of hot water, brewed at 95C, with one quick hot rinse of the tea before brewing. Steeped in hot water initially for about 55s.

Appearance – Small green leaves of a paler tone than some of the others, the balls were quite small.

Smell – Fresher than the last tea, sweet. Almost like garden flowers.

Taste – Quite light, delicate, sweet.

Aftertaste – Soft, pleasant.

Overall thought – This tea was grown at the lowest altitude, and yet is probably my favourite out of them all. When I first held a tasting of all of these oolongs, the girls that attended it all had their own favourites, for different reasons. But half of all of the drinkers said that this tea was their favourite – and its not hard to see why. With quite a delicate and sweet flavour, it would be great to drink at all hours, with zero downfalls. Relatively low in caffeine, it is a stimulant that is completely safe, helping to enhance brain function, alertness, and focus. What more could you want?

Gaiwan

Having watched endless videos of tea masters effortlessly brewing gorgeous teas within a gaiwan, and spending tea ceremonies in awe as the experts delicately and flawlessly poured tens of tiny cups with their own gaiwans, I have had this deep feeling of longing to own one myself.

Finally, after months of searching online, I came across the perfect gaiwan for me. A delicate, beautiful porcelain piece from Mud and Leaves, it was entirely handmade using traditional porcelain and glaze recipes in Jingdezhe, rendering it much thinner and finer than factory pressed teaware.

I received the gaiwan and lid, a delicate saucer, and a gold-rimmed sniffing cup, all of which come together to form one of the most beautiful tea sets I have ever received.

One of my favourite things about the gaiwan is that when the oolong first goes into it, it makes a gorgeous twinkling sound. The colours of the teas as they brew can be clearly seen against the smooth white porcelain, and each tiny detail of leaf and colour can be inspected.

The gaiwan has the studio signature at the bottom of it in a matching golden sheen to the sniffing cup, which has a gorgeous gold rim. I will be honest and say that I only realised it was a sniffing cup about three brews in – before that, I had been pouring the tea directly into it to have a sip – but as I did not own a sniffing cup until then, I was pretty ecstatic to try it out for the first time. It was great for understanding the more complex notes within a tea, and also means that I now have a complete teaware set for future ceremonies.

When the hot water and subsequent tea is poured into the gaiwan and sniffing cup, the porcelain is so thin that you can actually see the liquid through it! It is pretty cool to see, and all comes together to create an all-round tea experience. I can only imagine the sheer amount of hard work that has gone into creating such a flawless porcelain set.

Packaging

With such a beautiful and delicate gaiwan set, it’s no wonder that the packaging was also gorgeous! I received the set in a beautiful pale jade padded box, wrapped with a thick paper, ensuring that it wouldn’t get damaged along the way.

It came with a cute little letter in a tiny envelope with a thanks from the company, which was a lovely touch. All of the little details came together to create a teaware set that had been borne from an incredible amount of hard work, passion, and knowledge – and to be completely frank, Mud and Leaves is easily one of my favourite tea businesses out there.

They also sell so many other beautiful items on their website, such as Shan kiln ruyao, Yixing teapots, Nixing clay pots, Dehua porcelain, and other accessories and tools, and they are all of an incredibly high quality. Quite honestly, I want everything!

The website also has detailed brewing guides and backgrounds for all of the teas that they offer, and the backstories behind some of the teas are incredible! Being able to understand exactly where a tea comes from really makes the whole experience that much more special, and understanding a little more about the history of each tea means that you can visualise exactly which conditions your tea would have grown up in, and how they would have been processed.

I think it’s pretty obvious by now that I am in love with Mud and Leaves tea and teaware – but to understand fully, why not check them out yourself? And when you do, I actually have a coupon for you to use!

Recently, I was lucky enough to receive an absolutely gorgeous crane tea cup from the wonderful Etsy shop, TeaZone. I have always loved cranes as they are one of the coolest birds in the animal kingdom, and so was super happy to receive a cup with this little mascot on.

In Chinese mythology and art, cranes are very important. They symbolise immortality, noble character, and good fortune, and due to the fact that the bird is monogamous and stays with their partner until death, it is also seen as a symbol of long-lasting love and loyalty in marriage. There is one particular story in Japan that I love, and am reminded of every time I take a sip from this gorgeous tea cup.

In Japanese legend, there is a story called The Grateful Crane. In this story, a man called Karoku left his house to go to town, when he stumbled upon a crane who was caught in a trap. He begged the man who had set the trap to free the crane, but the man refused. And so, Karoku gave him all of the money he had been saving up for a purchase in town, in order to release the bird.

The next day, a beautiful girl turned up at Karoku’s house, begging him to let her stay the evening. The next day, she outright asked if she could become his wife, to which the guy was pretty taken aback. The girl said, ‘if I cannot be your wife, then I shall die.’ In the end, Karoku finally agreed to marry the girl.

Later, his wife told him that she would like to weave an item on his loom in the storeroom, but told him that he must not disturb her. She worked away for many days and nights, and eventually came out of the room, skinny from lack of food, but with a gorgeous cloth in her hand. She told Karoku that he must sell it at the castle, to which he did, receiving 2,000 Ryou. The lord that bought the cloth told Karoku that he would give him an additional 3,000 Ryou in advance for another piece, and so when he told his wife, she locked herself away to work for another seven days and nights.

On the seventh night, Karoku was so worried about the girl that he opened the storeroom to check on her. In the room was a small crane, entirely bald, for it had been weaving its own feathers into a wonderful cloth. The crane turned to him and said, ‘I am the crane you helped, and I am your wife. I wished to repay you for your kindness to me, by helping you in turn… and so I used my own feathers to weave a cloth for you. But now that you have seen my true form, I can no longer stay here. I fear I must say goodbye.’

Karoku tried to get her to stay, but now that her true identity was revealed, it would be impossible. Suddenly, a flock of a thousand cranes flew from the sunset to Karoku’s house, circling it. They took up the naked crane, and the great flock flew back towards the setting sun as Karoku looked on, sorrowfully.

And so, what better creature to have on a wonderful little tea cup?!

Not only do I love the crane, but the tea cup is handmade from ceramic and rimmed with gold. The colours are magnificent – a gorgeous sunset red mixed in with a sage green, with natural patterns and details forming from the dye. It is quite heavy which I wasn’t actually expecting but love, as it means that its of a higher quality and will be nice and stable in future tea ceremonies.

The bottom of the cup is a matching golden colour, with golden rings running across it. In Chinese culture, the circle symbolises ‘oneness’, the duality of nature, and the balance of the yin and the yang. It ties in so nicely with the colour theme and the crane, and is easily one of the best teaware items I own. I am absolutely in love with it, and shall treasure it as I go forward.

TeaZone is one of my favourite Etsy shops, as they sell some of the most beautiful teawares I have ever seen. They sell handmade ceramic tea sets, Yixing clay teapots, delicate metal tea strainers, and this one particular item that completely transforms when you place the cups and saucers on top of one another, becoming a tall, proud pagoda. It’s pretty cool.

And so, please let me know in the comments below if you have ever tried a Taiwanese Mountain Oolong before, or are planning on adding a gorgeous crane tea cup to your collection!

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