Product Overview
Jin Xuan black tea is a newly produced tea from Taiwan which is made of Jianxuan. Jinxuan is also known as Taiwan tea No. 12, Jin Xuan was developed in the 1981 and has white specks in the leaves. The dry leaves resemble that of a pearl, and are dark green in color with a fragrant grassy overtone, and a lightly floral note. This tea is grown in the Alishan tea district of the Central Mountains in Taiwan. Most farmers in Taiwan use Jinxuan cultivar to produce Jian Xuan oolong (golden lily), only few use it to make black tea. Jin Xuan black tea is made from the same bushes that will be producing jade oolong in the winter. The leaf is of top grade, very long and full, and the leaves sport a tough hide. Big long twigs accompany the leaf with their golden color. Having the giant leaves means that more leaf needs to be used to get a thick flavor.
Aroma of Jin Xuan is complex for a black. There's the upfront deep sweet notes, but there's also complexity hiding as notes of honey and some fruit. A light mouthfeel gives the illusion of an understeeped tea, but a viscous and sweet character provide contradictory signals. The flavor is indeed complex, like the aroma. Up front there's some of your usual black tea notes, but complexity is added by a fruit character like Darjeeling, honey, and a sweet huigan; honey and fruit return in the aftertaste and afteraroma. This complex tea lends itself to more than 5 more infusions.
It's a rare-production Taiwanese black tea with oolong characteristics, good complexity, and surprising longevity. It is a unique combination of some of the best features of oolongs combined with a hint of the better features of black tea. It has a very fruity flavor and great aroma, but also rich and roasty. Dragon Tea House select competetion grade to make sure our customer get fantastic experience with this rare tea.
Brewing Guide: The preferred method of brewing is an Yixing teapot or a gaiwan. After boiling the water to 212°F ( 100° C) rinse the gaiwan or teapot once. By rinsing we ensure the teaware is free of any unwanted matter as well as create optimal heat conditions for brewing. We suggest 5-7 grams of tea per 150 ml of water. However, these parameters have more to do with personal tastes than any sort of scientific groundings. The lengths of the infusions are also dependent upon personal preference for either a weaker or stronger infusion. As such we suggest starting with shorter infusion times of up to one minute for the first and second brews while gradually increasing infusion times by one minute for each consecutive brew.