This June, we were excited to partner with Master Zhang in Daping Village. His work has been nationally recognized in China for award-winning traditional Tieguanyin roasting skill, and he just returned from trips to Taiwan and Fenghuang where he worked to collaborate and share techniques with his peers and fellow tea masters.

Master Zhang grows tea with his brother and parents above Daping Village in Anxi, and has been a pioneer in clean, sustainable farming. He uses canola seeds and flowers grown on his own land as fertilizer and insect repellent in his tea fields. This month, he was excited to apply more traditional and dark roast technique to tea varietals with which he otherwise would not get to experiment.

This month’s CSA tea subscription box builds on the excitement we heard from club members who received February’s club box, which featured 11 different varietals of Anxi oolong from Master Zhang’s fields in Daping. This month’s box brings back six of your favorite varietals to focus on the craft of the tea master in the workshop – letting you taste and compare varietals at different levels of roast and oxidation.

There are 8 teas in total.

 

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We recommend brewing all of these teas gongfu style in a small porcelain or glass gaiwan, tea pot, or pitchers.

These non-porous vessels are less reactive, and will make it easier to appreciate each tea’s unique aroma. To brew, add an entire 5g sample to a 5-6oz gaiwan or small tea pot. Rinse quickly, then brew multiple steepings with freshly boiled water (at about 205 degrees).

Enjoy many quick steepings in one session, back-to-back.