Bai Gu Shui Xian – heavy roast

Name: Bai Gu Da Shan Shui Xian oolong (白姑大山重炭焙水仙烏龍)
Year: 2019 winter
Variety: Shui Xian
Baking time: 35 hours, heavy charcoal roast
Age of tea bushes is 50 years

Weight: loose in zip bags, from 20 grams up you get a vaccumed pack with a zip bag, see picture, originally packed in 150 grams vaccum packs

Details:

I would expect a darker oolong balls rolled leaves with heavy roast but they are still green with gray toning, aroma of the warm tea balls is almost roasted meat like, the roast is obviously prevelant with a pinch of exotic wood like myrrh, all the charcoal teas in the offer are roasted on longyan charcoal made locally in Taiwan, under the tasty roast is hidden a refined unique ‘TieKuanYin’ note, I never had such a tasty ‘heavy’ roasted oolong, reminds me of toasted sunflower seeds, under the refined roasting is creeping out a Shi Xian noble taste, like Wu Yi oolong memories, just imagine 35 hours of roasting and not burning nor any way spoiling such a good tea, a master job indeed

2nd tasting note: watery sugary very pronounced yummy tea soup, very pure and refined feeling that all teas from Mr. Zhang has,

The tea comes from an organic tea garden of Mr. Zhang. The best start for telling the story of him is the quote of my taiwanese friend saying ‘super stubborn man who loves his teas’.  He indeed loves his tea, around his house are tea plots of all kinds tea varieties. His main tea gardens are on Bai Gu Da Shan mountain and some others I do not remember.

The thing I love about his way of tea making is that ‘everything has its own time’. The same the tea processing, some teas need to settle down after the harvest and processing, wait six months, then when it is right time, roast it and then wait another six months before putting them on sale. A very traditional master way of making tea.

When visiting this tea farmer I tasted with him and his son about 18 teas and all were giving me shots of Cha Qi. I was almost flying and then we had this farmer lunch that had a super powerful chicken soup. In that soup were cooked also new and aged white radish pieces. When eating them separately fished out of the soup another attacts of Qi thundered me.

The production of Mr. Zhang are micro lots/batches. These might me some 2 kg or 5 kg or 10 kg. Even I think 10 kg is super big lot for him. These tiny amounts teas gives a master time and space to create a master tea, a tea made with care, attention and time.

His teas are charcoal roasted with another old guy, who does the charcoal roasting whole his life. Living with tea and charcoal stoves 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 20-30-40 years.