Lotus in a Golden Wind
Premium Oriental Beauty / Emei, Taiwan
During the heyday of Taiwanese tea exports, “Formosa Tea” or “Taiwanese Oolong” all referred to Oriental Beauty, also called “Champagne Oolong” or Bai Hao (“white tip”) Oolong. Every summer, the young buds of the trees attract many small green leafhoppers that chew on its tips. In reaction to being bitten by the insects, the trees send out protective chemicals to the buds to make the leafhoppers stop biting. While bitter to the insects, once processed, the chemicals imbue the tea with a sweet honey fragrance. After the tea is made, the white delicate white curled tips also become visually pronounced, completing the leaves’ lively quintet of colors: red, yellow, white, brown, and green. Emei Township in Xinzhu District is a renowned area for producing Oriental Beauty. This tea comes from a several times award winning master tea craftsman, who meticulously and diligently tends to his tea garden. The quality of the tender tea buds and white pekoe are outstanding. Its tea broth exquisite, mellow, and layered, and the fragrance elegant and understated, Lotus in a Golden Wind is best brewed with a red clay pot or ceramic gaiwan, at a lowered temperature to reveal its exquisite notes.
