Autumn 2021 harvest Sun-dried black tea Jingmai natural tea gardens 1 bud/3 leaves Overnight oxidation piled in a large basket On day one of our black tea production run, we sourced a mature grade (1 bud/3 leaves) from the natural tea gardens of Jingmai Mountain. We laid the leaves on bamboo mats and let them wither for 30 hours. They were then rolled for an hour with pressure progressively applied down to a medium level. The batch was piled in a large basket, with a thickness of about 30cm, and left to oxidize overnight. The leaves were sun-dried on the next day. This is the sweetest of the experimental batches, probably due to the lower bud to leaves ratio. It has a very welcoming opening fragrance, quite penetrative and reminding of red fruits. Light sourness and almost no astringency, this black tea is on the softer side. The aftertaste is refreshing and the leaves have good endurance.
