Oriental Beauty 東方美人 is known as the original leafhopper-bitten tea. Those looking for the usual perfumy aroma, a result of the leaves’ chemical response to the bites, will be surprised! Most associated Oriental Beauties with more intense fragrance and sweetness, the intensity stemming from summer grown plants with denser insect bites.
This batch is grown north of Taipei at an altitude of 400-600masl, made from 慢种 ‘slow-growth’ cultivar. The colder climate leads to a combination of more delicate flavours and fewer bites, and the processing requires lower oxidation levels to bring out the flavours. When discussing about this tea with our Taiwanese counterparts, it was immensely interesting to us that this tea is overall a tea of better quality plucked leaves, and very well processed by the tea maker - just look at the neat, well shaped tea leaves! However, this tea was comparatively more difficult to sell because it does not prescribe to the standard Oriental Beauty expectations.
We absolutely love this subtler, less flamboyant interpretation, which brews notes of apples and pears with a lingering chrysanthemum sweetness. Traditionalists may disagree, but we love the gentler character!
Compare the flavours of this tea with the more traditional interpretation of the Taiwanese Miaoli Oriental Beauty Summer 2023!
Grammage: 30g
Origins: Pinglin, New Taipei, Taiwan
Harvest: Summer 2023
This batch is grown north of Taipei at an altitude of 400-600masl, made from 慢种 ‘slow-growth’ cultivar. The colder climate leads to a combination of more delicate flavours and fewer bites, and the processing requires lower oxidation levels to bring out the flavours. When discussing about this tea with our Taiwanese counterparts, it was immensely interesting to us that this tea is overall a tea of better quality plucked leaves, and very well processed by the tea maker - just look at the neat, well shaped tea leaves! However, this tea was comparatively more difficult to sell because it does not prescribe to the standard Oriental Beauty expectations.
We absolutely love this subtler, less flamboyant interpretation, which brews notes of apples and pears with a lingering chrysanthemum sweetness. Traditionalists may disagree, but we love the gentler character!
Compare the flavours of this tea with the more traditional interpretation of the Taiwanese Miaoli Oriental Beauty Summer 2023!
Grammage: 30g
Origins: Pinglin, New Taipei, Taiwan
Harvest: Summer 2023