Red Aphrodite

This is an elegant ‘honey fragrant’ red tea from a minimal intervention high elevation tea garden on Lalashan. This is the same farmer who makes the legendary Lalashan Hongshui. This tea was made with tender young leaves that have been bitten by the leaf-hopper that gives Oriental Beauty and other honey fragrant teas their unique sweet scent. It does well with just barely off boil water, less leaf and long infusion times to pull out the delicate honey essence.

Dry leaves give off a sweet bready scent along with floral honey. Slightly warmed in a hot gaiwan, the rich sweetness of muscatel really opens up along with a darker molasses note. The movement of the broth in the mouth is completely effortless, sliding across the tongue and coating the mouth with ease. Honey essence taste shows up in the aftertaste in a sort of a poof as the broth evaporates off the back of the throat. Qi engages immediately with a depth beyond the throat and into the shoulders and body, both velvet soft and powerful.

This is a tea that tastes better and better with successive steeps. The plump, semi-wild growing leaves have a lot of juice in them. Towards the end of a session, we like to give it a long 20 minute steep or two to release all the flavor and energy inside. Not at all afraid of a long steep (later on in the brewing process), but be sure not to overleaf it.

Facts

• Harvest Location : Lalashan, Taiwan
• Harvest Date : June, 2023
• Cultivar : Qing Xin
• Farming Method : Unsprayed, Minimal Intervention
• Altitude : 1500