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This bundle includes five 25g bags of Wuyi tea for 125g total (25 sessions). Wuyishan is one of the most famous tea growing regions in the world, and true hand-crafted tea from within the Wuyi Ecological Preserve is incredibly elusive with a proliferation of imitations out there. That is why we are so lucky to be working with the dynamic award-winning Li Family, who have been visionaries in restoring biodiversity and forest cover within the preserve and leaders in oolong craft.
Li Xiangxi, founder of the Yangxian Institute of Tea Culture, works with her brother and cousin to finish deep aromatic and wildly complex oolongs, as well as traditional old-school black teas from their ancestral home in Tongmu.
This collection represents a classic tasting curriculum, spanning the most important flavors, textures and aromas to be familiar with in beginning to understand what makes Wuyishan so special. This kit has been put together to provide a foundation to explore the wider Li Family collection with a deep tasting vocabulary, and of course, to come out with a true sense of the Wuyi microclimate.
This bundle includes 25g each of five different Wuyi oolong teas for 125g total (25 sessions). Wuyishan is perhaps the most famous tea growing region in the world, and our partner Li Xiangxi and her family cultivate their award-winning oolongs in a perfectly-situated gorge along the Longchuan river within the Wuyishan Ecological Preserve, a pristine environmentally-protected region where biodiversity is key, and tea grows alongside wild bamboo, evergreens, and flowers.
Part of that biodiversity is about encouraging not just the widely known varietals like Rou Gui or Qilan to grow, but also making space for rare and difficult to find varietals not often seen or known outside of Wuyishan. Li Xiangxi believes that each varietal bring its own unique style to the pure expression of Wuyi minerality, and this sampler is a testament to those unique perspectives. Taste through five Wuyi oolong teas - including famous cultivars and less-well-known varietals.
It takes thousands of buds to make an ounce of this tea, hand-picked near Li Xiangxi’s old family home in Tongmu, in a protected ravine with wild bamboo, orange trees and native flowers growing around old growth wild tea bushes. Once a year in the early spring, Li Xiangxi and her family pick the tiny golden buds off the cultivated tea bushes growing below her family home. The beautiful golden color and flavor of this carefully cultivated Jin Jun Mei (Golden Eyebrows) makes it one of the most prized teas in China.
This bundle includes four 25g bags of Wuyi tea for 100g total (20 sessions). This special limited-offering tasting kit is a chance to do a unique taste-off showdown of two of Wuyishan’s most sought after varietals, crafted by the Li family as both oolong and black tea for four unique offerings. The purpose of this kit is to show off the intense influence of craft on finished tea, even when that tea is the same varietal grown by the same family in the same place. Mei Zhan and Bai Rui Xiang are both famous Wuyi teas traditionally finished as oolongs. Indeed, all three have brought the Li Family best in show awards year after year. Recently, the Li Family has begun to apply their masterful traditional black tea craft to famous "oolong" varietals at the family workshop in Tongmu, yielding exciting new ways to taste and feel the terroir of the region. This kit will let you compare oolong and black tea finishes on the same varietals while these unique limited harvest offerings are available.
Under careful airtight conditions, Wuyi teas that are particularly rich and packed with minerality can age into deeper, more complex teas. Li Xiangxi’s personal favorite is to use her old tree Wuyi Gongfu Black, picked from trees approaching one hundred years of age. The Old Tree Wuyi Black gains more foresty notes and deep cooling qualities on the palette that make it thrilling to sip. This is not a yearly release- this is a special must-try one-off from Li Xiangxi. Li Xiangxi has been aging this Old Tree Wuyi Black tea since 2015, and she kindly shared more than half of what is left of her personal reserve.
Li Xiangxi works with her brother and cousins in the Wuyi Ecological Preserve to harvest this propagated-from-seed Xiaozhong varietal leaf and process it using traditional heap oxidization techniques and curling to bring out the tea’s natural complexity. Grown on a hillside in a ravine that collects a pocket of natural mist all morning, the tea buds slowly, yielding an incredibly sweet brew. The tea picks up mineral texture from the rocky volcanic soil and the natural spring water running through the Li Family’s plot. Deeper complexity comes from the natural genetic variation of allowing their Xiaozhong tea to grow from seed instead of cuttings, creating a rich multi-layered taste experience.
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. Once again, 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.
Mei Zhan varietal is famous for its rich and focused fruit-forward oolong made from long skinny spring leaves. Recently, Mr. Li has been experimenting with a stand of his family’s iconic Mei Zhan in early spring when the plant puts out huge buds that are too delicate to withstand oolong processing. He personally leads the hand-picking of the Li Family Mei Zhan buds and brings them to the family home and workshop in Tongmu for Jin Jun Mei meticulous black tea hand-finishing. The slow oxidation in bamboo baskets brings out big savory notes and sweet rich honey and cream.
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.
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.
Sparrow's Tongue, or Que She is named after the shorter, smaller leaves of this distinctive and uncommon Wuyi tea varietal. Sipping Que She is a strong example of "Yun": each infusion brings out more and more of an almost electrical tingling sensation on the tongue and back of the throat. This sensation is inherent to the highest quality leaf from older established tea stock growing in the right rocky conditions in Wuyishan, but it is brought out by slow low-temperature firing in bamboo baskets for fifteen hours at a time, resting several weeks and repeating four to six times. Fruity, rich and cooling, thsi year's Sparrow's Tongue Oolong has notes of dried mango, rose, chestnut and nutmeg.
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.
Fo Shou, or "Buddha's Hand," varietal is an aromatic and luscious tea in the Li Family collection. The Fo Shou is a wonderfully nuanced citrus fruit, and this tea gets its name for its Fo Shou citrus aromas. The citrus is bolstered by a cinnamon and sandalwood spice, a beautiful compliment brought out through slow hand-firing over low heat. The uniquely large leaves of the Fo Shou varietal unfold beautifully over many infusions.
Shui Xian is named after the Narcissus flower (or Daffodil), and the dark roast on this Shui Xian brings out beautiful florals in contrast with dark forest and wood notes. Mr. Li hand-fired this batch of Shui Xian to give its cooling texture even more sparkling, tingling intensity. Shui Xian varietal is known for its foresty woody flavors and deep lingering texture. The Li Family’s biodiverse forested tea gardens within the Wuyi Ecological Preserve help play up the varietals natural complexity.
The Wuyishan Ecological Preserve was established to protect the unique biodiversity of one of the most beautiful natural environments in China. The steep volcanic cliff faces, the old-growth evergreen forests and the lush bamboo are full of bird life, while the sweet mountain spring water nourishes ferns, wild herbs and of course, tea. Within this Ecological Preserve is Tongmu, an even smaller and even more protected region generally closed to outside visitors. Tongmu’s microclimate makes tea from the are some of the most in demand in the world. While the Li Family home in Tongmu is nestled against a mountainside growing wild with Xingcun Xiaozhong varietal, they also inherited a small grove of old-growth Shui Xian trees deeper into the preserve that have been left untended to grow essentially wild for several generations. They are about one hundred years old now, and grow at least 16 feet tall, some closer to 20 feet. These trees have super deep roots, absorb all the crazy volcanic soil nutrients, and have wild Wuyi moss that grows over the branches adding a super unique mossy quality to the tea. When Mr. Li picks these trees, not only does he finish all the yaoqing by hand, but he fires the tea in traditional baskets over a special clean burning charcoal from local hardwoods. The firing process is done three to four times and takes sixteen hours each pass. So you have one of the best microclimates in the world, old trees, deep roots, crazy biodiversity and the most ridiculous craftsmanship all coming together in one tea.
Rock Milk or Shi Ru is an uncommon varietal that the Li Family cultivates on their mist-shaded, mountain spring-fed biodiverse plot within the Wuyi Ecological Preserve. The naturally rocky elements of this tea come through even stronger as they take in the deep minerality of the volcanic rocky soil. As a rare offering, Mr. Li takes the time to bring out the rich mouthwatering lingering yun sensation of this tea through the hand firing at low heat for hours needed to bring out the very best. This varietal is an excellent chance to taste the terroir of the region.
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.
This tea is picked from trees between sixty and over a hundred years old. These trees are left mostly untended except for annual careful hand harvesting by the Li Family, allowing the trees to adapt to their mossy environment. This means more polyphenols in the leaf and more flavor in the tea. Because of the age of the plant, the roots go deeper into the soil, drawing nutrients from untouched land and water that has filtered further through the rocky soil and picked up more Wuyi minerality.
The Li Family is excited to offer their first ever 90g cake pressing of this special tea! The Li Family's traditional hand-firing process brings out this Shui Xian oolong's naturally cooling, tingling textural sensations, foresty flavors, and lingering sweetness. This special pressing is the Li Family's very first Shui Xian cake, finished for long term aging to keep building deep complexity over time. Shui Xian is named after the Narcissus flower, but has the deeper meaning of “Water Sprite.” The cliffs above the Longchuan river are full of caves and ghost stories, so it is not hard to imagine this tea getting its name from an old Taoist legend. The Li Family’s biodiverse forested tea gardens within the Wuyi Ecological Preserve help play up the varietals natural complexity.
The Li Family is excited to offer their first ever 100g cake pressing of this special aged tea! Over the years, Li Xiangxi and her family have spent time exploring the deep rich complexity that aging can bring to their oolongs. Now, they are taking this oolong aging to the next level with full cake pressings, tapping into the family reserve for this 2013 Big Red Robe. This tea was aged loose and carefully hand fired over a low charcoal heat each year during the initial aging process to control moisture and bring out deep textural complexity. Finally, the tea was lightly steamed and pressed in 2021 for aging in cake form. Already, the tea is full of cooling sparkling yun and cedar forest aromatics. It will be exciting to see it continue changing over the years.
The Li Family is excited to offer their first ever 90g cake pressing of this special aged tea! This aged Tie Luohan (or Iron Arhat) is one of the four famous varietals that define Wuyi oolong teas. Originally roasted and finished over several months in 2009, the Li Family has carefully re-roasted and rested this tea each year over the past eight years. Each meticulous hand-firing process takes over sixteen hours, and in total this tea has been fired fourteen times for deep intense texture and powerful aftertaste. Full of fudgey, salty sweetness, this powerfully flavorful tea steeps out in a long flavor arc over many brews into beautiful mineral sweetness with soothing throat-coating texture and a hint of clean mustiness.
In 2009 the LI Family decided to set aside a fraction of their reserve-level Fo Shou Wuyi Oolong, and instead of high-firing it to remove all moisture, they allowed it to ferment with natural moisture, essentially making their own shu pu'er. This tea was still finished with yaoqing technique, making it absolutely an oolong, but with all the depth of shu pu'er. Note, this is not similar to standard aged oolong because of the unique moisture conditions. It has aged deep, dark, and foresty- a totally new hybrid style we are excited to share!
The Li Family is excited to offer 100g cakes of this special aged tea! In an historic first, Li Xiangxi and her family have begun to cultivate Da Bai varietal in the cool, rocky, and singular terroir of their old growth fields in the Wuyishan Ecological Preserve. Using traditional sun-drying and airing techniques, the Li's have crafted finished white tea and pressed it into beautiful 90g cakes for aging. At a glance, it looks like a classic Shou Mei, but a tasting reveals how much the Wuyi terroir impacts the flavor of Da Bai. This tea is packed with deep minerality, balanced complex texture, and cooling foresty notes that you would not find in classic Fuding white tea. The biodiversity, soil, and water of one of the most famous tea microclimates in the world makes this a fantastic new way to experience what white tea has to offer.