Cultivar: Jinxuan Oolong

Harvested by hand: May 27th, 2023 (second spring harvest)

Origin: RuiFeng, Ali Shan (1100 m)

Process: Light oxidized, rolled, dried.

1. View

The dry leaves are rather large, tighly rolled with few stems, and they come in dark green, white or yellow hues. The brew has a good transparency and a golden color. The size of the open leaves and buds confirms that they come from a high elevation.

2. Scents

The dry leaves have a very fine scent of spring and freshly cut grass. The dry notes are high and slightly milky sweet. The brew has mature fruity scents.

3. Taste

The taste is smooth and creamy. The sweetness is very good and there's no astringency or bitterness in competition testing mode.

Brewing tip: This rolled Oolong needs not just boiling water to open up, it also requires a thorough preheating of the tea vessel (porcelain or gaiwan). Wait 1 minute or a little more for the first brew.

Conclusion: The Jinxuan cultivar was created in 1981 by Dr. Wu Zhen Duo. Its experimental code was 2027 and it was released as Taiwan Tea Experiment Station (TTES) No 12. The name Jinxuan is the first name of Dr. Wu's grandmother! He created this cultivar to help farmers increase their yields so that they could produce a good quality and fairly priced light oxidized Oolong. Its elegant fresh scents and lack of bitterness (when processed well!) makes this a great choice for an everyday mountain Oolong. This year, the first harvest was cancelled due to a lack of rain. This second spring is technically the first, actually, but because it happened in late May, the oxidation is higher than what it would have been in early April. But you'll benefit from it, as this handpicked Alishan Jinxuan is 20% lower in price! This is a splendid opportunity to savor one of the most popular and delicious teas in the world at an affordable price.