Golden Orchid The 'Golden Orchid' cultivar is a rare hybrid of 4 Seasons Oolong with a bright yellow floral note that had a brief moment of popularity around 2010. It didn't really catch on and is so rare now in Taiwan that we had never tried it until we found a box of tea labeled '金蘭' in our recent acquisition of an old tea shop. When freshly picked in the mid 2010s, this tea would have been a decent but normal greenish oolong with some bright florals and the sharp vegetal notes so common in the 4 Seasons Cultivar. After sitting on a shelf untouched for over 10 years, this tea has developed some fun flavor notes! Its bright florals of yesteryear have ripened into a soft but strong yellow fruit note, and the sharp vegetals have softened into a sweet grass like lingering aftertaste. Although similar to its sister-tea Polished Jade which has become an entirely new tea after a decade, this tea is closer to its original flavor matured by age. Greenish oolong like this are almost never aged purposely in Taiwan, but after trying this tea we might start a few experiments! **This tea is part of the collection of tea bought from a tea shop that had laid untouched since the mid 2010s. As is common with most aged teas, many of the details of the teas are missing and we have shared as much information as we can. We will be releasing these teas slowly as we catalog and explore them over the next months. Elevation: 400m (?) Cultivar: Golden Orchid, a hybrid off-shoot of 4 Seasons Oolong Season: Spring 2010s Method: Machine picked, processed on site, medium batch Oxidization: 25% Region: Most likely Mingjian or somewhere in Nantou Recommend Brewing Style: Gong Fu Style: 3-5g per 100ml, ~100C water, 30, 45, 60 then add 5-10 seconds steeps in gaiwan. Lasts 5-6 steeps. Western Style: 3g per 100ml, ~100c water for 1 minute. Lasts 2-3 steeps Brewing Difficulty - Easy : Works well with all methods (More Details Here)
