Alishan

Every day after I arrive and open up the shop, I choose a tea to drink. My preference is mostly based on the weather. Lately, it has been gloriously sunny in Seattle! This beautiful weather has caused me to crave for this season's Alishan High Mountain Oolong.

This Alishan tea gave me a very good surprise two days ago when I drank it. It has developed much rounder flavors and carries a beautiful floral bouquet with a citrus note. The tea blooms especially well after the second infusion.

A customer wrote to me and told me that this Alishan was his favorite high mountain tea from this season. He has tried various Lishan and DaYuLing oolongs from Floating Leaves as well as other places and thought this Alishan carried especially good high mountain characteristics. He also commented on the energy of this tea and asked me if this Alishan was made from old tea bushes.
I told him it shouldn't be, but I heard from the farmer's wife that they rotate the tea bushes so that they don't over-harvest the tea.

Good Alishan is limited in quantity for this season because of the big typhoon that hit Taiwan last year, causing a lot of damage to the area. This season's Alishan is surprisingly good and has gotten even better in the past month.