Taiwan Shanlinxi Black Tea | Shan Lin Xi Hong Cha

High mountain black tea from Shanlinxi is simply divine. If you indulge in the pleasures of high-mountian oolongs, you must try this tea. You will experience the same expansive liveliness where tangy stone fruit notes (peach, cherry) will dominate with hints of fresh vanilla and wintergreen freshness. The body is suave with very supple and silky tannins but what surprises is the most pleasant long aftertaste that simply lures you to not stop drinking it! This is a great Gong Fu tea as well and shows great promise for ageing.

In making high elevation black tea, young leaves are optimal because the flavonoids that are responsible for the astringency in tea are less concentrated. When mature leaves are harvested from summer growth and processed as High Mountain Oolong Tea, the tea is noticeably more astringent than other seasons, and is sold at a much cheaper price. The high elevation growing conditions, combined with the fact these are Qing Xin Oolong leaves provide enough substance in these young leaves to produce a premium quality Black Tea. Black tea that is made with young leaves is typically smoother and sweeter, with subtle aromatic characteristics that are hard to produce with mature leaves.