Shanlinxi is located in central Taiwan, and its height reaches 1800 meters. This tea comes from an elevation around 1500 meters, not the highest concerning other tea cultivars. However, this tea is made out of Jinxuan cultivar, and it is not typical for this area. Due to this, this tea's price is not as low as it could have been if it was the more common Qing Xin Oolong.
As we are on the subject of cost, I am still trying to make sense of Taiwanese tea prices. Compared to most teas in China, I find them almost unaffordable for middle-income folks. I am not sure if you are prepared to pay 50 USD for 100 g of a decent oolong tea from Taiwan. If you do, this is the type of tea you should be looking at as it is as elegant as an oolong could get. The seller said to me that this tea has osmanthus flavour. To be honest, I prefer to call it delicate wildflowers. My experience with osmanthus has been overwhelming so far, and whoever mentions osmanthus I feel kind of sick. So delicate wildflowers floating on a butter cloud would be a better description as far as I am concerned. I have not tried, but the seller suggested that I can soak the leaves in 100 °C water for 2 minutes and the taste of this tea would still be elegant and mellow. I believe him. For another indication of how fine this tea is, look at the soaked leaves. They are shiny and silky soft.
Tea Profile:
Type: Oolong
Origin: Shanlinxi, Nantou, Taiwan
Harvest time: 25 October 2020
Leaf colour: Tones of vivid green
Liquor colour: Subtle yellow
Tea Aroma: Elegant wild flowers
Tea taste: Mellow, smooth and refreshing with elegant floral notes, sweet finish and a creamy texture
Steeping/brewing:
Place 5 g of this tea in a porcelain gaiwan and add about 100 ml water at around 95°C.
Rinse after 5 sec.
Steep for 10 seconds for the second time and increase the consecutive steeping time by 10. You can re-steep this tea about seven times.