Oriental Beauty

Story

A tea of many names, Oriental Beauty is sometimes called Bai Hao Oolong, Eastern Beauty, Dongfang Meiren, Five Colors Oolong, Formosa Oolong, and, in Taiwanese, Braggart's Tea (Phong Hong Te). It is an intentionally bug bitten, open leaf oolong created in Taiwan. It is bitten by a small green leaf-hopper, and the bite-wound causes a sweetness in the leaf. Then the young leaves are plucked by hand and oxidized rather heavily to coax out the natural sweetness in the tea. The characteristic of this tea is it's attractive honey aroma and sweet taste.

Description

Dry leaves in a hot gaiwan give off a sweet scent of pastries and honey. Surface scent of the broth opens up with a delicate rose aroma in the first infusion. As it carries on and the tea opens up, the nose open up into a complex mix of muscatel and spices with rose still at the forefront. The broth is light, juicy and sweet.

A very sweet tasting Oriental Beauty that’s yummy now, and will show us more and more complexity and richness as it ages.

This is a very fluffy batch of OB with plenty of furry, silvery buds. Volume-wise you may want to add a bit more to compensate.

Facts

• Harvest Location : Pinglin, Taiwan
• Cultivar : Qing Xin

Podcast Episode