Product Overview
Type: Oolong
Packaging: Bag
Origin: Taiwan, China
Description:
Taiwan has great oolong tea competitions. The competitions are organized by local tea associations and endorsed by local governments to guarantee their credibility. The participants are mostly oolong farmers. Tea competitions for growers started in 1975 as a way for producers to promote their crop. The first competition was organized by the Tea Growers Co-op in Lu Gu township - the home of the famous Dong Ding Oolong tea. The competition was open to all tea growers in Taiwan and offered a fabulous award for first prize - NT$4200 per jin (600 grams).
That first competition back in 1975 set the standard for future events. The rules and judging methods have remained almost the same over the years.There can be no identifying marks on the packaging - all tea must be judged "blind." The competition jin is divided into 3 lots of 200 grams each for each stage of the competition. Three grams of tea leaves are used to brew the tea in 150 cc ceramic pots and the tea is allowed to steep for 6 minutes. As many as 30 different teas can be judged at the same time. After it has steeped for for the required time the judges use 3 criteria to grade it - smell, appearance and taste. At each stage of the competition there may be 4 or 5 levels of winners.The top levels proceed to the next stage until a winner is finally selected by panel discussion amongst the judges.Each producer must submit his tea in 22 lots of 1 jin each. Of these 22 jins, 1 jin is for judging, 1 jin is for consumers to sample, and 20 jins are for auction.
The competitions select teas very strictly. Only teas of the best quality can enter the final competition, and the rest will be rejected. Teas from some competitions are very hard to get. Most competition teas are sold out before or soon after the awards are publicized. And for most competitions, it's extremely hard to get the top award teas. All teas are submitted by farmers or tea merchants who are directly related to tea farmers.The honor goes to the farmers and local factories, the real producers. Each award title is restricted to the specific 27 lb. tea submitted to the competition. The same farmer may submit multiple entries to a competition and may win multiple awards of various levels. But a farmer may produce hundreds of pounds of tea each year, and winning awards doesn't mean all this farmer's tea is award-winning tea. When you buy a competition tea, what you get is just the tea accepted and strictly inspected by the competition committee.Taiwan Oolong Competitions' solid credibility is established on this strict rule.
This coveted Taiwan high mountain oolong grown at a height of 2600 meters and handpicked in winter. An organic tea with little production!
Located at the Taiwan Hehuan Mountain, intersection of Nantou, Taizhong, Hualian County, 2,200 meters above sea level, it is Taiwan's highest altitude tea production area. It is generally believed that Taiwan's high mountain tea is the best origin. It is often covered in clouds and midst and surrounded by fresh streams and the cool crisp air of the high mountains. Besides its impressional flavour, there is no road access to some of the plant gardens, local farmers have to carry the tea by human labour, there is very limited supply. Tea here is harvested every spring and fall. The fermentation is between 20% and 25%. This tea can be steeped up to 10 times and the leaves and buds are really something to look at when wet.
Each time unlocking a unique flavor. The taste is full and smooth, with a fresh orchid finish. A smooth in the throat feeling emerges when the superb tea is enjoyed. The fresh fragrances of the dry leaves have sweet grass and flowers notes. Alpine air! The brew of Da Yu Ling is particularly light. It has a yellow color with hints of green and is perfectly transparent. The taste of winter high mountain Oolong is particularly sweet. But Da Yu Ling's flowery fragrances also linger with intensity and finesse. Our top grade Da Yu Ling has a wonderful fragrance and taste pure and sweet flavor. It is a lightly oxidized oolong tea with a refreshing palate that is sought after by the most demanding tea connoisseurs.
Brewing Guide: Add 4~6 grams (1~1.5 teaspoon) of loose tea into the teapot. Infuse hot water temperature around 100°C. Steeping with hot water around 30~45 s (for 1st infuse). Double up the waiting timing on each infuse.
