Fall Harvest 2020 Reveal
hello friends!
fall has arrived along with some new teas fresh out the roaster! while you wait for these to arrive in the mail, happy mid-autumn festival 🥮 🎉
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
weather report 🌤️
each year we see variation in flavor due to a number of factors including..
general temperatures
rainfall/humidity during new plant growth
rainfall/humidity leading up to harvest
and so the challenge for our tea masters is to determine just how far off the conditions are from the *ideal* and then adjust the oxidation and roasting process accordingly to give us delicious oolongs.
some harvests present a larger challenge to overcome, others are more straightforward.
for this year's fall harvest we had pretty superb weather! it rained when it needed to, we had stable levels of sun, the temperature wasn't too hot or too cold -- and the three days leading up to harvest in the beginning of September was sunny with low humidity-- ideal for tea processing!
so, what to expect flavor-wise? read on!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
introducing the fall oolongs 💫
we've produced 2 new teas this fall, both from our farm in the Shanlinxi high mountain growing region.
as many of you know, I often wax poetic about how underrated fall oolongs are. you can find some truly, truly delicious flavors at more reasonable prices than winter/spring. try these two -- they should be your daily drinkers!
green oolong // artichoke, dried lemon peel, magnolia
red oolong // brown sugar, resin, dried jujube
<-- green oolong
overall, it's quite balanced as the leaves continue transitioning from spring's floral notes to winter's vegetal body. as it's a little less bitter than last year's batch, i've been brewing it pretty hot, 210°- 212°F and enjoying it grandpa style. this tea is my personal morning wake-up 🤩
red oolong -->
we generally produce this style once per year in the fall (the batch from summer was a bonus). this batch is the best I've tasted in 3 years, no joke -- and absolutely SLAMS, especially in a gaiwan. fingers crossed we produced enough to last us all the full year 🤤
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
so the million dollar question is, are you trying one or both? 😜
🖖
- Sam
p.s. we still have some xxperimental no. 3 in stock! snag it before it's gone forever 🔒