GUI SHAN | oolong

This tea is certified organic.

GUI SHAN is a lightly oxidized, crinkle-rolled oolong in the style of tieguanyin. This lot is the brainchild of Mingfu Lei, our project tea producer at Long Kou Farm. As a wine connoisseur, Mingfu focuses on aroma in his tea producing efforts (e.g. Jasmine Bai Hao). This year, we collaborated with him on a deeply floral TGY-style oolong with layered herbal notes and forward, bright spice as a foil to the Anxi classic (known for sweet freshness with mild tang).

The name loosely translates to "Guangxi (Gui) Folding Fan (Shan)"—named so for its distinctive shaping. A modernist rendition with qing xiang ("light fragrance") styling (light oxidation, gentle bruise), this lot is distinguished by its lineage: Taiwanese qing xin da mao trees transplanted decades ago and left to grow semi-wild in Long Kou's low-intervention gardens. These are the same trees behind our project dongfang meiren. 

The combination of biodiverse terroir, older trees, and a cultivar famous for complex florality make for a tieguanyin with incense-like aroma and lasting tang (huigan lovers will appreciate this tea's endurance). Steep cool and quick for herbaceous spice, or let the tea unfurl fully for mouth-puckering sour.

notes — sandalwood | white pepper | sharp

nomenclature — gui (桂)—"guangxi" | shan (扇 / 山)—"folding fan / mountain"

style — tieguanyin

cultivar — qing xin da mao

region — Liuzhou, Guangxi, China

locale — Long Kou tea farm ("Dragon's Mouth")

elevation —400 meters

producer — Mingfu Lei

vintage — spring '19