Sanxia Oriental Beauty Taiwanese Oolong

Oriental Beauty is one of Taiwan’s most famous oolong styles, loved for its natural honeyed and ripe-fruit aroma. That sweetness comes from something really special: the young tea buds are bitten by 小綠葉蟬, the small green leafhopper. After being bitten, the leaves release a sweet aroma as a natural response, which becomes the honey and fruit character we taste in the tea.

This tea is hand-picked as one bud and two leaves during summer/autumn, after leafhopper biting, then processed as a heavily oxidized oolong.

Most Oriental Beauty is made from Qingxin Dapan / 青心大冇, but this one is made from Qingxin Ganzhai / 青心柑仔, a cultivar only grown in Sanxia / 三峽 in New Taipei, where this oolong was produced in. Sanxia is known for this local cultivar, often used for Biluochun, Longjing-style green tea, and white tea. Because of that, this Oriental Beauty has a unique local character with a more citrus-floral profile compared to the more widely used Oriental Bueaty cultivar.

In the cup, it opens with a malted honey and honeysuckle aroma, followed by notes of gentle woodiness, orange blossom florals, ripe apricot fruitiness, and a hint of cacao at the end that rounds of the fruity sweetness. The body is full, the texture is silky, and the floral honey aftertaste lingers beautifully in the nose and mouth.

This is a wonderful oolong if you want to enjoy a Taiwanese oolong that is bolder and  sweeter, or if you are an Oriental Beauty enthusiast who would like to try a little more unique expression of the Oriental Beauty style.

Gongfu Brewing Recommendation:
Use 4g of tea leaves in a 90–100ml gaiwan or teapot with 195°F (91°C) water. Give the tea a quick rinse.

First infusion: steep for 10–15 seconds.
Following infusions: steep for about 5 seconds each.

This oolong is a little sensitive to temperature and steeping time, so be careful not to oversteep. When brewed gently, you’ll get the full sweetness and silky texture this tea has to offer. You cant get 8+ infusions of this tea to enjoy its elvolving flavor with each steep. 

Origin: Sanxia, Taiwan

Notes: Malted Honey, Orange Blossom, Apricot, Wood, Cacao