The Shanlinxi tea terroir is dear to us. We like to say that this superb high mountain tea region is just up the mountain from us. On a clear day, we can easily distinguish its profile from our facility and the lit factories along the top of Longfengxia ridge at night time. We are very proud to say that Shanlinxi has developed into one of the highly reputed growing areas in our own Nantou County, and rightfully so as the popularity of Shanlinxi teas grow from year to year due to its distinctive character, high quality and value. Lot 1221 does not disappoint as it builds on the foundation laid the on the previous year’s refinements in production with our friend and collaborator Mr. Chen. And, despite the particularly dry past winter and early spring, this Lot 1221 is certainly one of our most reassuring and pleasant surprises of the season. Like last year, this Lot was made especially for us with a slightly higher oxidation level using plucking of younger shoots. You will notice a good presence of buds in the infusion. This is not the usual standard as smaller leaves means lower yields for the producer and require more care in the ball-rolling process to not crush them to dust. For us, it means a wonderful multi-layered experience which will reveal a creamy buttered corn at first, then fresh balsam notes and a flowery finale as if your were eating tender wild flowers. We've repeated the formula in late October spending many evenings in the factory to produce Lot 1274. Shanlinxi oolong distinguishes itself from other Gao Shan oolongs in that it features clearly defined balsam notes that make it particularly appealing to the palate and nose. Many say that the luxuriant fir tree forests surrounding the gardens have something to do in conveying this fresh evergreen feeling in the cup.