Additional Information
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In the hills of Yuchi County surrounding the famous Sun Moon Lake in central Nantou lives a wild tea tree indigenous to Taiwan called Shan Cha (mountain tea). From it, small lots of the most unique and divine black tea is produced. Extremely rare and sought after in its fresh state, it was quite surprising for us to stumble upon a small lot of aged Shan Cha back in 2013! So, we bought all of what was available from a small family workshop of black tea makers with a history that dates back to the Japanese Rule and it sold out very quickly. We’ve kept asking for more since then without any success until this spring 2020 when Mrs. Lin offered us this small lot from their own family’s cache! We bought everything and it is now offered here exclusively on TTC. Just like the fresh seasonal offerings, this tea is equally unique and divinely expressive and, at 7 years of age, it is in its first stage of maturing and shows great potential for further mellowing through ageing. Right now, it is intensely aromatic and very fruity with concentrated notes of cherry liqueur and currants with a nice sweet tangy finish that evokes mead. The tannins are still present but not overbearing and offer a good foundation for a nice, persistent aftertaste. There is no need to be a tea aficionado to appreciate this tea. It is as pleasant as silk on your skin. And just like silk, it is very alluring and captivating. This tea will reward the patient kind with other dimensions if it’s allowed to age further. But, if you drink it all now, it would be perfectly understandable and worth every penny of it!
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Virtually unknown in the West, Shancha’s presence and use as an infused drink has first been recorded in Chinese writings dating back to the 17th century (1697). It’s been known and used by the aboriginal inhabitants of this island then, before, and still today. Its botanical characteristics are somewhat close to the Assamica with its long leaves but distinct with unique adventitious shoots arising from its underground roots. It is a shrub that prefers a wild, mountainous habitat with altitudes ranging between 650 m to 1500 m. Four distinct protected areas have been put in place in central, south and eastern Taiwan for the preservation of this national treasure which is revered as the father plant to some of the most unique and distinctive tea hybrids of Taiwan. For example, it is from this unique wild strand that the Taiwan Research and Experiment Station (TRES) has successfully developed the now famous TRES-18 Red Jade black tea which has fueled the whole black tea revival in Taiwan since the turn of this new century.
This tea is not promoted to sell into the market because of its wild characteristic. It is a plant that doesn’t render the same taste if cultivated in a more systematic way therefore it is quite rare. The tea we propose is in fact made from leaves that are picked from wild trees that are found randomly in the surrounding mountains of Yuchi Township. To do so, the producer gets up at 4 o’clock in the morning during the picking season of July and August to roam the mountains with aboriginal pickers to look for the wild tea. Only trees picked at an altitude of no less than 1000 m are considered for the best taste characteristics. Furthermore, just like Oriental Beauty oolong, Gui Fei oolong and Mi Xian black tea, Shan Cha is a bug-bitten style tea where a small leaf hopper will nibble the leaves and leave their characteristic contribution to the taste of this tea: a wonderfully sweet honey finish that is quite distinctive and pleasant.
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muriel –
une perfection!
plein de force tranquille, il rétablit l’harmonie dans le corps! j’ai même pu le déguster tard le soir, mais cela n’engage que moi..