formosa oolong fancy grade tea

type: oolong

origin: taiwan

caffeine: medium

price level: $$$$

Fancy Formosa Oolong has an aroma and a taste like no other tea. The long twisted leaves, a mixture of brown, black and red with bits of green and silver, turn a rich copper color as they steep. As you sip, you will discover delicate but luxuriant flavor notes of fresh peaches and a hint of spice with no astringency and no bitterness. This lightness and fruitiness is very surprising to those who usually associate oolong tea with the dark dull tea often served in Chinese restaurants. The production of top quality oolong tea is very labor-intensive. After being plucked, fresh shoots are spread on a flat bamboo basket and withered under sunlight for up to an hour. The leaves are then withered at room temperature on a clean surface for six to eight hours. Once an hour, the leaves are gently agitated by hand which greatly accelerates the production of flavor compounds. The edges of the leaves turn red and the moisture content drops. The leaves are then pan-fired for 15 minutes at a high temperature which inactivates the leaf enzymes and stops the fermentation process. Finally the leaves are rolled and dried.