When we first tasted this particularly sweet and thick Organic Jin Xuan from this new collaborator in our neighboring Zhushan Township, we immediately knew we had a good prospective tea for charcoal pit-firing. This particularly fragrant lot necessitated a lighter firing in order to simply act as a foundation to highly the naturally creamy nature of the Jin Xuan cultivar. Charcoal Pit-Firing, sometimes referred to as charcoal roasting, was the traditional way to bake or “roast” tea. Today, all firing is done using electric ovens or electric pits for convenience. But the traditional way is to place bamboo sleeves filled with finished tea on top of pits of fired charcoal. It is easy to guess that charcoal will confer a distinctive taste to the tea and the skill of the tea master is fundamental in obtaining a good result. These teas are now very rare, at least the good ones, simply because there are not so many people left on this planet that master this art. Following with our family's tradition dating back to 4 generations, this Charcoal Pit-Fired Oolong Tea Lot 1111 was fired to perfection in our own village. This special lot was then left to mellow until Feb. 2022 when it was then entrusted to a family friend who's family's charcoal pits have been firing tea for 2 generations now with many prize-winning teas under their belt. If you expect a mouthful of smoky dryness, you'll be surprised at how sweet and mellow this tea is! This tea will store very well and is a perfect candidate for aging. You might also be interested in our Heritage High-Mountain Charcoal-Fired Oolong Lot 1110 to taste a more traditional approach to Charcoal pit-firing.