Price Per Gram: 10 ¢/gram
On Machine Picking:
90 percent of sijichun is machine picked now. This varietal of tea is one that grows fast and gets picked often so most peopel just use machines to reduce labor costs. There is a famous family that makes hand picked sijichun, the taste is wildly different and somewhat "fishy", in a good way.
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Price Per Gram: 30 ¢/gram
Description:
I have always struggled with flavor notes when describing tea. Baozhong is a tea that I have found described by many people as very seaweed like. For me, I sort of get it, but apparently not in the way that some Taiwanese hold dear to their childhood. Baozhong is a great tea that offers a completely new experience for those that are used to balled oolongs in Taiwan. It can be fresh, it can be fruity, but it can also be very vegetable like as well. The one I offer is competition grade from Pingling Taiwan!
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2024 High Mountain Winter Tea (Taiwan, Alishan, shi zhuo-stone table)
Price Per Gram: 25 ¢/gram
Description:
If you are not that familiar with Taiwanese oolong then this tea is one that I would recommend starting with. It is the epitome of introduction high mountain oolong coming from the famous Alishan Mountain.
On Picking:
Oolong tea picking can be varied but basically the less leaves the more expensive. This tea is picked at one bud three leaves. High Mountain Oolong that is picked at one bud two leaves will have a greatly increased price. The idea is that the fewer leaves, the sweeter the tea, but the less tea that can be produced per season.
On Seasons:
Seasons dictate processing and picking, each season has its own flavor and feeling. This tea is produced in winter time. If I were to explain the taste difference of spring versus winter, then I would say winter tea is ultimately more subtle, elegant and gentle.
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Price Per Gram: 20 ¢/gram
Description:
This tea is one that I have taken up as a personal tea (including the one above it, the high mountain tea) that I use to train. My tea master suggests that before you can brew tea with your heart, you have to cultivate an invisible instinct through brewing the same tea many times over. I personally purchased 1800 grams of each training tea and drink it until finish. This tea is to be the standard that I will use to weigh any other tea of its kind that I encounter. It may not be the highest of quality, but it is on par with competition tea.
On Picking:
Unlike the high mountain tea above, this tea is picked even more precisely, one bud two leaves. Because of this you can notice the tea leaves are curled up into even tighter balls. This price tag alongside this picking is feasible as it is without the high mountain label that adds to the price of a tea. A perfect intro into the world of Oolong tea that is not high mountain.
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Price Per Gram: 13 ¢/gram
Description:
A super budget friendly version of the above 2024 dong ding.