New Taiwanese Tea at Phoenix Tea

Lately we have been in Taiwanese tea heaven at Cinnabar's and my tea shop Phoenix Tea. Please allow me to take you on a little tour of my current favorites.

Shan Lin Xi Long Feng Xia (杉林溪龍鳳峽) - This winter oolong is very complex. It blends wild herbaceous tasting notes such as cedar, pine, and rosemary with clean winter snow and dynamic floral bouquets. A pleasant long-lasting tingly sensation lingers in the back of my throat after a long session with this fine tea.

High Mountain Jin Xuan (高山金萱) - This winter tea uses the golden lily cultivar and produces a luscious, sweet and buttery cup of oolong tea. It is floral with little hints of popcorn. The broth is very smooth and substantial.

Lishan (梨山) - This winter Lishan is beyond compare. We've already restocked it once because so many tea lovers have fallen for its charms. Tasting notes of sugarcane and crisp tart fruits are balanced with buttery, wild honeysuckle aromas. The sweetness lingers for hours.

Dong Fang Mei Ren (東方美人) -  This Pinglin (坪林) grown Dong Fang Mei Ren may taste a little lighter, brisker and smoother to you if you're more used to drinking Hsinchu grown Dong Fang Mei Ren. I think this tea is incredible and balanced with big honey and ripe peach notes in most infusions. It has a long-lasting sweet, brisk aftertaste.

Meishan Hongcha (梅山紅茶) - This fully oxidized high mountain tea is flat out amazing. It blends brisk and malty classic black tea flavors with alluring aromas like rose and cocoa.

 

Jin Xuan Hong Cha (金萱紅茶) - A heavily oxidized tea that expertly combines all the goodness of a black tea, gently roasted oolong, and a buttery caramel. The resulting delicious-ness has made this tea very popular among many of our in store customers.

 

Oolong Brewing Video

This is a short video of me brewing Shan Lin Xi High Mountain Oolong Tea (杉林溪高山烏龍茶) at Phoenix Tea in Burien, Washington. It was filmed by my business partner Cinnabar a couple days ago.

Brewing Taiwanese Oolong from Cinnabar Wright on Vimeo.

Floating Leaves' Shan Lin Xi

In addition to the new Shui Xian tea I bought on my last trip to Floating Leaves, I also treated myself to an ounce of new spring 2009 Shan Lin Xi High Mountain Oolong Tea (杉林溪高山烏龍茶).

Shan Lin Xi (fir forest creek) is an alpine region in Nantou County (南投縣), Taiwan. The oolong tea produced in this area is grown around 1800 meters elevation. Although I have not yet had the pleasure of visiting this part of Taiwan, I have heard from many sources that it is a natural wonderland of beautiful forests and mountains.

杉林溪高山烏龍茶

I've been steeping this tea all day using a small clay teapot named Sam. I filled the pot about one-third full of dry leaf and infused the tea 15 times with boiling water. Using this method I enjoyed many strong, hot, flavorful cups. Some people may call this "Taiwan-style tea brewing." It is a method I often use to enjoy high mountain tea.

Although five hours have passed since I finished drinking this tea, its flavor still lingers in the back of my throat. It delivered a golden liquor that was incredibly aromatic. I was delighted by its piquant fruitiness and sparkling clean taste.

Nine years ago my wife and I were hiking to Marymere falls in the winter. On our way back down from the falls it began to snow heavily. The dark green forest quickly turned white as the snow muffled all sounds. The smell of the old, wet, northwest pines mixed with newly fallen snow is a smell I will never forget. I have only experienced this smell two times since that magical hike, and both were in Shan Lin Xi tea. The first time was during my first trip to Taiwan (2005) when I bought a 100-gram bag of new winter tea from an upscale retail tea shop. That tea came packed in a beautiful cardboard box with a picture of a butterfly printed on it (butterflies are a common mascot for Shan Lin Xi). The second time was in this delicious oolong!