Another Short Video on Wrapping a Puer Cake

I loaded a video on wrapping a puer cake from my previous blog post and I mentioned it was the sweet factory owner. My apologies. That was one of his employees who showed us how to wrap a puer cake.

Here it is. This one is from the Puer factory owner. Enjoy!

A Short Video On Wrapping Puer Cakes

The other day I was drinking this purple leaf Puer cake that I purchased from a very sweet puer factory owner in MoJiang, Yunnan during my April 2015 trip. I loved that trip and a lot of good memories came back to me. I suddenly remembered that I took a short video of him showing us how to wrap a Puer cake. He is actually not a very fast wrapper, but he knows that. You will see his cute facial expression at the end of the video. Enjoy!

2016 Lishan - My Favorite New Spring High Mountain Oolong

Many customers have asked me if I have a favorite High Mountain Oolong from the 2016 Spring harvest. It's hard to pick just one because they are so good in many different and wonderful ways.

ShanLinXi is complex:  its flavor is rich and will carry through many different steepings. It's no wonder why ShanLinXi has been the customer-favorite High Mountain Oolong this season.

Alishan is beautiful and "quiet."  It's a tea that makes me feel like I would be content reading a book while sitting in the garden.

This season's DaYuLing is a late bloomer. As it gets into later infusions, the DaYuLing opens up and blooms into a delicious tea.

HeHuanShan is a great tea this season. Its texture is smooth and buttery and it has a huge, amazing aftertaste. I was debating with myself over whether I would pick this one or Lishan as my favorite.

Finally I set my mind on Lishan because it has a great flavor, a long-lasting aftertaste, and its liquid is so buttery that I can't stop drinking it - just one infusion after the other!

Beautiful, juicy tea leaves

I am a "texture" tea drinker. I do have to say that this Spring's High Mountain Oolong will make you very happy. If you haven't tried them out, give them a shot, I believe you will agree with me.

*photography by Jake Knapp of Could 9 Photo & Design

ShanLinXi Spring 2016 - Customers' favorite High Mountain Oolong

I love this Spring season's High Mountain Oolong!

Over the weekend, I did two blind tea tastings of my new 2016 Spring High Mountain Oolongs. People had fun tasting and discovering which one is their favorite for the season. Our Spring selection includes oolongs from:  Alishan; ShanLinXi; HeHuanShan; Lishan, and DaYuLing mountains.

Getting ready to taste 5 High Mountain Oolongs. Photograpy by Lee Damon. 

ShanLinXi turned out to be the people's choice this season! We brewed 5 High Mountain Oolongs at once in the bowl style and we didn't know which tea was in which cup. ShanLinXi's flavor showed up right away and it carried on through the end.

This season's High Mountain Oolong has definitely been worth the wait. I feel it has more complexity than the previous season's, and they all have a great, smooth texture! Want to know what delicious surprises this season has to offer? Please check out our High Mountain Oolong sampler and let me know which one is your favorite!

FLT High Mountain sampler, with a new look! Photography by Jake Knapp. 

In my next post, I will talk about the characteristics of each tea and let you know which one my favorite is!

A Short Video On Tea Picking And Outdoor Oxidation At PingLin

This video was taken by Jake on our April Taiwan tea trip. We were lucky that it was not raining the day that we visited Farmer Chen at PingLin. We got to talk to some tea pickers and participate in spreading tea leaves for outdoor oxidation.

Enjoy the video!

I have been buying Baozhong from Farmer Chen for over 10 years. He is hard working, dedicated, and kind, and I think these qualities show through in his tea. Try his Baozhong! I bet you will find a lot of beauty and happiness!

*The video is provided by Jake Knapp.