Bird Planted Shanlinxi Red **After 10 years of age this tea has moved into its next stage of taste and effect. The strong red fruit flavors have diminished and the rich syrupy sweetness has become more dominant. It has also become much stronger 'chi' wise. It gets you 'tea drunk' very effectively! As with many aged teas, this tea is now more enjoyed for its body feel than strictly taste. A special one, this tea was made by our friends on Shanlinxi using the wild grown material of naturally seed planted tea trees in the forest surrounding their tea garden. These trees are of indeterminate age and cultivar and some of them are pretty big! Our friends began picking limited amounts of this tea and making it into a beautiful Yunnan style black tea about 10 years ago, but the cost and uniqueness of this carefully hand crafted tea hasn't found a market in Taiwan. It might here. The taste is similar to an old growth Yunnan Black Tea in the upfront, with rich red fruit strength and a generous serving of the rooted wildness that comes from forest grown teas. The midmouth is smooth and flowing to an aftertaste that varies from soft sugarcane, to ripe fruit, to sour plum based on the water temperature, length of steep and mood of the brewer. They have intentionally created an unorthodox, powerful, and rare brew more similar to old growth Chinese black teas than anything in Taiwan. We have never had a Taiwanese tea quite like this one. **Remember to take time and brew this one with intention. It has different flavors each time it is brewed. Elevation: 1600m Status: Wild Forest Grown Cultivar: QinXin Seeds Oxidization: 95% Season: Summer, 2016 Method: Hand picked, processed on site, small batch Region: Shanlinxi, Nantou Recommend Brewing Style: Gong Fu Style: 3-5g per 100ml, ~95C water, 30, 45, 60 then add 5-10 seconds steeps in gaiwan. Lasts 4-5+ steeps. Western Style: 3g per 100ml, ~95c water for 3 minutes. Lasts 2-3 steeps. Brewing Difficulty - Expert : Very complex flavors. Attentive brewing required! (More Details Here)
