Verdant Tea

  • Sign In
Menu
Toggle Nav
My Cart 0
Search
• The first 2024 Spring Pre-orders are open! Reserve your Laoshan + Dragonwell Harvests now 🌱 • LIMITED OFFER: Save 15% on Aged Oolong teas from Master Zhang! 🤍 Get started for as little as $5 - check out tea samplers at a special discount! 🌟 Free Tea Sample in Every order! | Free shipping for orders $45+ 📦 • New arrival: tea tools, clever storage + more to complete your tea set ✨

2021 Rou Gui Wuyi Black Tea

2021 Rou Gui Wuyi Black Tea

CURRENTLY OUT OF STOCK
banner
Cinnamon-Forward Varietal
with Black Tea Finishing
Wuyishan’s most famous and in-demand varietal, typically finished as an oolong, gets a unique treatment by the Li Family: full oxidation for toasty flavor and notes of cinnamon, peony, and papaya.
Spring 2021 ♦ Wuyishan, Fujian
Cinnamon-Forward Varietal
with Black Tea Finishing
Wuyishan’s most famous and in-demand varietal, typically finished as an oolong, gets a unique treatment by the Li Family: full oxidation for toasty flavor and notes of cinnamon, peony, and papaya.
Spring 2021 ♦ Wuyishan, Fujian
Loading...

Crafted By the Li Family

Hand-picked and traditionally hand-finished within the true Wuyishan Ecological Preserve on forested biodiverse, rocky, mountainous land for distinct Wuyi minerality.
 
The Li Family is an award-winning, highly respected force for sustainability, hand-firing craft, rare varietal preservation, and tea education in Wuyishan.
.
    • DATE OF PICKINGSpring 2021
    • Wuyishan Ecological PreserveWuyishan, Fujian
    • ELEVATION600
    • Rou GuiTea Varietal

    Rou Gui is one of Wuyishan’s most famous and sought after varietals, and one of the Li Family’s most awarded teas. Rou Gui is known for so transparently showcasing the terroir, the unique microclimate, of specific subregions within the Wuyishan Ecological preserve. The Li Family took the audacious step this year of setting aside a portion of their widely-respected award-winning Rou Gui and trying an experimental new finish, allowing the tea to slowly sun-oxidize into a black tea instead of going through traditional oolong finishing. The result is a stunning but extremely-limited harvest of spice and mineral-driven Rou Gui black tea, bolstered by an intensely creamy backbone and a building oolong-like aftertaste. They’ve achieved the nuance and staying power of an oolong but with the honeyed allure of a black tea.

  • true
    90
    cinnamon, ginger, rosewood
    true
    60
    peony
    true
    60
    rye, toasted rice
    true
    40
    papaya
    true
    minerality, lingering aftertaste

    Tasting Profile

    • spice - cinnamon, ginger, rosewood
    • floral - peony
    • savory - rye, toasted rice
    • fruit - papaya
    • texture - minerality, lingering aftertaste

the Li Family also recommends

  1. 2022 Purple Buds Wuyi Black
    2022 Purple Buds Wuyi Black

    Only a dozen kilos of this unusual tea were picked this year. The entire batch was hand picked and processed solely by Li Xiangxi's brother. We are excited to have the opportunity to share a large part of the harvest with you, and to try it for ourselves! The name Purple Buds refers to the color of the buds after picking but before processing. They are actually a light purple green on the tea bush and have a uniquely tropical flavor that sets them apart as a rare and intriguing black tea.
  2. 2023 Feng Huang Wuyi Black
    2023 Feng Huang Wuyi Black

    Feng Huang Black comes from transplanted Fenghuang Dancong from Guangdong established in the mountainous rocky slopes of Wuyi. As in Guangdong, these plants are cultivated as single bush trees instead of hedges. The result is an elegant expression of the bright, fruity, complex and sweet flavor of Fenghuang Dancong with the deep mineral notes of Wuyi. Black Tea Xiao Zhong style processing tempers the naturally tropical fruit of Dancong and supports it with elegant wood. Because this tea is grown as single bushes and picked only once a year, the annual yield for the Li Family is very small. We are excited to share this small batch from the Li Family's tea gardens.
  3. 2022 Black Buds Jin Jun Mei
    2022 Black Buds Jin Jun Mei
    Xingcun Xiaozhong varietal tea in Wuyishan can produce black and gold buds. While the golden bud expression has been encouraged through cultivation for its stunning color, Li Xiangxi and her family often prefer the depth and complexity of black buds. This tea still uses the same tiny buds and the same meticulous hand-picking as their golden buds Jin Jun Mei, but with a more spiced and savory flavor profile.

  • 'The Wuyishan Ecological Preserve was shaped by ancient volcanoes, giving it a mix of extremely rocky and sandy soil. This soil contributes to the flavor of the region’s tea though regulating water drainage and encouraging deeper roots, as well as through its mineral-rich mix of nutrients the tea absorbs as it grows.'

  • 5
    6-8
    205
    20 seconds
    5
    5
    6
    205
    6 seconds
    2
    5
    12
    room temp
    8 hours

    Steeping Instructions

    Western

    5 g.6-8
    oz.    use 205° watersteep 20 secondsresteep many times
    add 5 sec. each infusion

    Gongfu

    5 g.6 ozuse 205° watersteep 6 seconds
    add 2 sec. per steeping    enjoy many steepings

    Iced/Cold

    5 g.12
    oz.    use room temp. waterrefrigerate overnight
    8 hours    add ice & enjoy

Product Photo Gallery

Copyright © 2013-present Magento, Inc. All rights reserved.