Tea Tasting Notes - Xiding Alishan Oolong from Taiwan - our customers' favorite tea #1 in 2021

At the end of the year, we asked our customers in a vote which tea from our range was their favorite tea for 2021. We also have the result in one featured blog post.

Ours came first Xiding Alishan Oolong aus Taiwan chosen.

In this article, I would like to explain why this is so.

The Alishan tea gardens start at an altitude of around 1000 meters and reach an altitude of 2300 meters above sea level. Thus, Alishan Oolong belongs to the High Mountain Oolong Teas.

As a tourist, you can visit the peak of Alishan with the famous Alishan Forest Railway reach. The red train has also become Alishan's trademark and adorns our signature tea caddies. 

The railway line begins in Chiayi and winds its way up to the Alishan National Scenic Area at around 2200 meters above sea level. From there you have a breathtaking view over the tea gardens and over to Yushan Mountain which is also called Jade Mountain.

The slopes of the tea gardens are often shrouded in clouds of haze. As a result, the climate is very cool and is not subject to major temperature fluctuations. Tea bushes are always sufficiently supplied with moisture and are well protected from direct sunlight.

These weather conditions support a slow and even growth of the tea leaves, which produces a very balanced tea aroma.

The tea farmers in the Alishan region traditionally cultivate the Qing Xin cultivar in their tea gardens, which is laboriously harvested by hand twice a year in spring and winter.

The typical Alishan High Mountain Oolong, also known as just Gaoshan in Taiwan, is only slightly fermented after harvesting and rolled into the typical tea buds.

But there are also other variations such as Alishan Oolong with a light roast or even Alishan Gaba Oolong - Gabalong. but in this article we would like to focus on the most popular tea of our customers in 2021 and that was our traditionally lightly fermented Xiding Alishan Oolong.

This gives the tea its floral - slightly fruity peach aroma when brewing, which is also reminiscent of orchid nectar and a slightly wintergreen note.

The tea caresses the tongue as soft as velvet and is never astringent.

Its color in the cup is bright yellow-golden and has a light film of tea oil on the surface.

If you look at the brewed leaf, you will usually find a tea leaf bud together with two other tea leaves. Due to the slight fermentation, these are still rich emerald green in color.

By using the high-quality Qing Xin cultivar, the Xiding Alishan Oolong Brew at least 3-4 times.

We recommend a perfect brewing temperature of around 85°C and a brewing time of one minute. When brewing repeatedly, it is advisable to increase the brewing temperature by about 30 seconds each time.

Either a small teapot or a classic gaiwan are suitable for brewing.

Tell us your opinion!

do you like this article? Do you still have questions? Is the Xiding Alishan Oolong also one of your favorite teas?

We would like to offer our customers more helpful additional information about tea. Therefore, we would be very happy to receive your feedback in the comments section!

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