1994 Formosa Yancha

This tea is a delicious anachronism. It comes from a yancha cultivar from Wuyishan, Fujian that was brought to Taiwan and eventually made its way to mineral-rich growing area in Shan Lin Xi.

The craftsmanship of this tea was influenced by both Wuyi yancha and Anxi tieguanyin methods. The large single leaves were hand-picked, mid-oxidized for complexity and fruitiness, and then manually rolled. To prepare the tea for aging, the tea was given a deep charcoal roast to enhance caramelization and sweetness.

We purchased this tea from the original producer. To this day, he produces the same tea in the same style, and each year, sets aside a portion of the tea for aging in large wood-fired storage urns – making them available only after the tea has reached its second decade of storage.

The result of cultivar, craftsmanship and aging creates a tea of incomparable deliciousness. It has the viscosity, sweetness, and complexity of a carefully crafted bourbon cocktail. Notes of toffee and caramel come from the caramelized outer layer of the leaves, while apple, and cedar notes come from the changes in tea as it ages.

Do not rinse this tea. On the first steep, the aged caramelization delivers an incredible sweetness with distinct toffee notes. We usually give the first steep 30 seconds at most. The second steep slips back into the same preparation methods as our Red Water oolongs. Use high temperature and longer steep times to extract of sugars and aromatic compounds in this tea. Brewed this way, later infusions will taste remarkably like Wuyi yancha from Fujian.

5 grams 150 ml 205° F 1.5 min