Teas Red Blossom Tea Formosa | Aged Tung Ting, Ca. 1980

Until The Mid-1980S, Taiwan Oolong Teas Were Rolled By Hand In Small Canvas Bundles. Hand Rolling Produced Tea Clusters That Were Looser Than What Is Created Using Modern Machine Rolling Methods. These Looser Clusters Required Firing At Higher Temperatures For Optimal Preservation, Which In Turn Produced A Richer, More Robust Tea.

Our Aged Tung Ting Is A True Rarity Surviving From This Earlier Era Of Tea Making In Taiwan. We Acquired This Tea From A Grower Who Had Had The Tea In His Family’S Possession For Nearly Three Decades. During That Time, It Was Lightly Roasted Every Two To Three Years To Remove Moisture From The Tea. Before The Tea Was Shipped To San Francisco, We Had It Charcoal Roasted Using Longan Fruit Wood, A Finishing Technique Also Very Traditional To Formosa Tea Making.

Over Time, The Teas’ Color Has Darkened And Its Flavor Mellowed To A Pleasing Combination Of Candied Plum And Cocoa With Rich, Roasted Aromatics.