Verdant Tea

An Introduction to Oolong Craft

An Introduction to Oolong Craft

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This bundle includes six 25g bags of oolong tea for 150g total (30 sessions).

Oolong is the most technically-demanding and time-consuming tea in the world to produce, and our partners take on the challenge relying on their own hands and their senses, not machinery, meaning sleepless nights and 20 hour days in the workshop to finish their tiny micro-batches of varietal-driven oolongs that honor their specific microclimates, from Wuyishan to Daping Village.

This sampler brings together iconic oolong teas from our partners across China to share a glimpse at the magic and complexity that comes out in the long turning and fluffing process that defines oolong teas and gives you a sense of how many styles can exist within this single category, from dark roasts and aged oolong to fresh floral vibrant green oolong.

This bundle includes seven 25g bags of oolong tea for 175g total (35 sessions).

Oolong is the most technically-demanding and time-consuming tea in the world to produce, and our partners take on the challenge relying on their own hands and their senses, not machinery, meaning sleepless nights and 20 hour days in the workshop to finish their tiny micro-batches of varietal-driven oolongs that honor their specific microclimates, from Wuyishan to Daping Village.

This sampler brings together iconic oolong teas from our partners across China to share a glimpse at the magic and complexity that comes out in the long turning and fluffing process that defines oolong teas and gives you a sense of how many styles can exist within this single category, from dark roasts and aged oolong to fresh floral vibrant green oolong.

An Introduction to Oolong Craft: 

Anxi Jin Suo Shi (25g)

Jin Suo Shi or "Golden Key" has been cultivated in Wuyishan on a small scale for almost one hundred years. In the last few decades Jin Suo Shi has been the subject of substantial research for its natural cold and drought resistance. Master Zhang cultivates a small grove of Jin Suo Shi, planted from seedlings picked up during his years of research on Wuyishan's growing and finishing techniques. The terroir of Daping and Master Zhang’s expert finishing bring out fruity notes in this uncommon cultivar, along with a building intense sweetness. This spring's harvest is finished with a dark roast.

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Shui Xian Wuyi Oolong (25g)

Li Xiangxi's family has been hand picking and processing tea for generations. Their tea is fed from a mountain spring, with plants between ten and one hundred years old, all grown traditionally without fertilizers or pesticides and picked by hand by the family. This Shui Xian varietal picking really shines with the Li Family's delicate charcoal roasting process to bring out the deep complex forest notes and minerality that make Shui Xian so famous.

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Original Wulong Revival (25g)

Master Zhang is a true innovator. He doesn’t make tea to follow trends. He experiments and takes risks to make tea better for the generations to come. This Original Wulong Revival uses the older Ben Shan varietal leaf and undergoes three times more careful hand turning and fluffing than modern Anxi oolong. For finishing, it is loosely rolled in the oldest style of oolong making that is half strip style and half ball, with many of the leaves more strip-style than rolled. Master Zhang describes the shape as a dragonfly. This hand processing and shaping yields a different tea- a genre of its own outside of Wuyi style, Guangdong style or Anxi style. The light roast is rewarding and brings out a unique savory sweet complexity we don’t see in other teas from Master Zhang.

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Laoshan Osmanthus Oolong (25g)

The He Family has a deep knowledge of every flower and herb growing in Laoshan. Every year, they wild-forage herbs for medicine and cooking, but this year, they revived their experimental oolong scenting project. Wild osmanthus blossoms are blended with their hand-processed roasted oolong. Because the osmanthus blossoms are so small and so inaccessible for picking, this is an incredibly labor intensive tea to forage and finish. They picked and finished this tea for Tea Club members this November, with just a small amount left, for us to share now with everyone. The osmanthus blossoms are mixed with Laoshan roasted oolong - a subtle and delicate tribute to the craft of the region and the innovation of the He Family.

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Tie Luohan Wuyi Oolong (25g)

Tie Luohan (or Iron Arhat) is one of the four famous varietals that define Wuyi oolong teas, making it a very sought after commodity, with true Tie Luohan varietal in low supply. The Li Family cultivates a small amount of Tie Luohan on their mountainside plot facing the Longchuan Gorge. While some Tie Luohan can be overly roasted for a flavor that is almost smokey, the Li Family's careful finish allows the natural complexities of the varietal to shine through for a brew that engages the whole palate and satisfies with a compelling, lingering finish that goes on and on.

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Jin Qian Wuyi Oolong (25g)

Jin Qian is a rare varietal that the Wu Family grows on one of their most prized mountain plots on a tiny terraced sliver of rock surrounded by untouched forest on all sides. This tea benefits from morning mist, mountain spring water and tremendous biodiversity, yielding a beautiful juicy pear flavor profile and deep mineral-laden complexity. The Li Family has to climb their mountain plot to hand-pick Jin Qian and rush the fresh leaves back to the workshop for a 30+ hour yaoqing and hand-firing process to bring out incredible depth and nuance. Jin Qian literally means "golden coin" a reference to the golden rounded leaves of the Jin Qian tea bush.

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Autumn Tieguanyin (25g)

True Tieguanyin varietal stands out for its deep lingering aftertaste, big texture, and the ability to steep out over many infusions. Master Zhang has honed his Tieguanyin cultivation techniques and finishing process over forty years of experimentation, earning the respect of the entire Daping area as a teacher and community leader. He utilizes organic farming techniques, encourages biodiversity, and advocates against wasteful irrigation to encourage healthy and deeply complex and nuanced tea. This modern green style Tieguanyin requires an intense turning and fluffing process in finishing that needs to be adapted on the spot depending on the weather and the aroma, requiring deep experience.

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 Laoshan Green Oolong (25g)

Laoshan Green Oolong takes the beautiful mineral-forward green bean profile of Laoshan Green and gives it an astounding depth and complexity through meticulous labor intensive craftsmanship. Mr. He starts with sweet rich fresh leaves, then kneads and shakes the leaves to bring out rich florals and fruity undertones. Heat locks in the green quality of this tea before it can oxidize, yielding a fresh pure and honest expression of the unique flavor of the region.

The He Family's special combination of green tea and oolong finishing lock in fresh bright vegetal notes, while accentuating deep tingling minerality and building a luscious fruity floral oolong undertone.

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Dark Roast Big Red Robe Wuyi Oolong (25g)

This Qidan varietal was picked by the Li Family on their hillside plot within the Wuyishan Ecological Preserve. After a 24 hour withering and oxidizing process, this tea was hand-fired over another 16 hours and allowed to rest a full month before release. The result is an incredibly sweet and dessert-like tea with buttery, sticky pudding qualities brought out by the caramelization of sugars. The sweetness reveals cinnamon spice and warm dark fruit. 

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Mi Lan Xiang Dancong (25g)

Huang Ruiguang's family Mi Lan Dancong is picked only once a year from single trees that are not pruned back to encourage deeper roots & more robust flavor, year after year. His mountain plot and decades of work in improving agriculture techniques for the region have earned Huang Ruiguang's Milan awards such as the recent 2015 Gold Medal at the Sixth Guangdong Tea Expo. Mi Lan varietal is set apart with its distinctive golden green leaf color in early spring & its luscious deep aromatics.

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Qilan (25g)

Qilan varieties is almost legendary for its deep luscious orchid notes and its subtle incense spice. The Li Family cultivates established 40+ year Qilan bushes on their rocky volcanic mountainside plot in the Wuyishan Ecological Preserve, letting the tea build complexity through biodiverse plantings, and carefully preserved natural forest cover. They hand-pick their Qilan and expertly bring out the florals through hand-crafting over a meticulous 12 hour turning and fluffing process called yaoqing. The careful and restrained roast on this Qilan really allows the florals to shine through, bolstered by the rocky minerality that the Li Family’s teas are famous for.

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