Ya-Ya’s Tea-Board

With the heady aroma of nature bursting out in blossoms on every tree and flower, it is impossible to ignore that spring is in full swing.

Spring brings with it a lightness, that feels so welcome after the heavier, grounding winter months. Every year, I feel the urge to open all the windows around the house as soon as the temperature rises. Bring in freshness, bring in light!

Another effect that spring has on my mood is that it inspires me to reach for different teas. While autumn and winter leads me towards black teas and pu-erh, spring is the time when I long for floral oolongs.

Since we’ve recently received a shipment of quite a few stunning examples of mastery in oolong production, I will take this opportunity to introduce a few of them.

The star of our new acquisitions is definitely the fantastic Da Yu Lin oolong. Grown at elevations of more than 2400m in the mountains of central Taiwan, this is the country’s highest grown oolong. The production is small (and gets smaller every year due to soil erosion counter-measures of the government which restrict the farmed area more and more) and of a very high standard. If you ask seasoned oolong connoisseurs about their favourite oolong, Da Yu Lin is the the most common answer - if they ever had the chance to try it. While other gao shan oolongs (high-mountain oolongs, grown at an elevation above 1000m) are more widely known - I’m thinking of Ali Shan and Li Shan as well as Dong Ding oolongs -, the ultimate refinement of Taiwan’s oolong art can be found in Da Yu Lin. It is fresh, ethereal and leaves a sweet aftertaste that lingers on your breath for hours. A warning, though: if you try this, you’ll be spoiled forever!

Next up is the Lalashan Gao Shan, also a Formosa oolong. The tea is grown at an elevation of about 1600m in the En Ai tea garden, Taoyuan County in Taiwan’s Northwest. Lalashan is famous for its scenic forest reserve and peach production. The flavour of peaches (which are also grown on the farm) finds its way into the tea and give it its unique fruity/sweet character.

We managed to secure a few 150g boxes of a special grade Bai Hao, or Oriental Beauty, oolong. This oolong has a much higher oxidation than most other Formosa oolongs and produces a light, but extremely fruity infusion. We have very limited stock of these and once they’re gone, they’re gone.

And of course, New Zealand’s own Zealong teas (read more about them in my last blog post) are the perfect match for a spring day, especially the Zealong Aromatic, which brings out the floral aromas to perfection.

Other new arrivals are a fresh stock of our popular Ali Shan GABA oolong, a brand new Ali Shan black tea, and the biodynamic Doke Premium Bai Mu Dan from Bihar in India amongst others.

Da Yu Lin oolong - $32.00 per 50g
Lalashan oolong - $36.20 per 100g
Bai Hao oolong (Oriental Beauty) - $65.20 per 150g gift box
Zealong Aromatic, Pure or Dark - $29.90 per 50g
Ali Shan GABA oolong - $24.00 per 100g
Ali Shan GABA black tea - $19.70 per 100g
Biodynamic Doke Premium Bai Mu Dan - $23.50 per 100g

Please visit our order page if you would like to try any of these beautiful spring teas.

Tags [ Da Yu Lin | gao shan | oolong | zealong ]