Jin Yao Shi has been grown for about 100 years by just a few families. Our tea is from one of the two original gardens with leaves being picked from 15 to 60 year old bushes and trees.

Jin Yao Shi is typically processed with a medium level of roasting and ours is a traditional medium roast style. Smooth with a fruity, sweet minerality! We recommend aging this tea in a sealed pouch or air-tight canister for at least 6 months!

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The plants are taller, the tree posture is half open, and the leaves are horizontal. Leaves oval, green leaves, rich luster, micro-uplift leaves, leaf edge is serrated, flat leaf, tip acuminate, leaf teeth more blunt and shallow thin, thick and crisp leaf quality. Yellow, green shoots, less hair, a bud of three-leaf hundred bud weight 65.0g. Corolla diameter 4.4cm, petals 6-7 petals, ovary with few hairs, styles 3-lobed.

The buds have strong fertility, dense germination, and strong tenderness. One sample of two buds of spring tea contains about 3.5% amino acids, 32.8% of tea polyphenols, 18.4% of catechins, and 5.2% of caffeine. Suitable for making oolong tea and green tea. The production of oolong tea and spring tea is suitable for mid-April, and the tight cords are densely packed and the color is brownish green. It has the characteristics of the “Qi Lan” variety, which is mellow, fresh and cool, and has a high production rate, when planted in deep garden soil.

Our “Huang Qi” offering is harvested from 12 to 16 year old tea bushes growing naturally in Wu Yi Shan area.  The tea is painstakingly processed over two months with several stages of roasting and resting.  The result is a full bodied tea with sweet and mineral character and lovely penetrating honey aroma.  This is a tea that is suitable for longer term aging and can be stored is kept airtight and in a cool dry place.

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“Que She” aka Sparrow’s Tongue, is natural mutated offspring of a Da Hong Pao varietal growing in Jiu Long Ke for centuries.  It was discovered in the 80’s but a Wu Yi local who noticed a couple of the Da Hong Pao bushes in the Jiu Long Ke garden yielded considerably smaller leaves and were also slightly darker in color.  He single batch processed the tea and the result was something quite different from the other Da Hong Pao bushes.  He took cuttings from these two bushes and naming them “Sparrow’s Tongue” he propagated them in several other Wu Yi gardens as a distinct varietal.

Our “Que She 928” is from F1 (first generation) bushes growing for about 20 years already.  The tea is expertly processed with medium level of oxidation.  The result is a lovely complex tea with notes of vanilla, carob, and lychee.  This is a tea that can be aged with excellent results.

April 2012 Harvest

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Our Lao Cong Shui Xian has been tirelessly processed by hand with several stages of roasting and resting. The result is a velvety thick Shui Xian, with that special blend of complex umami, mushroom and roasted cannabis smell and taste. Difficult to describe. This is a tea that is perfect for long or shorter term aging. The roasting has prepared it for the long haul and I’d expect within a few months when the roasting taste has settled this tea will really start start to shine like the superstar that it is!

Late-April Harvest

Area: Jiu Long Ke (Wu Yi Shan, Fujian)

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Late April Harvest

** Tea leaves and tea soup color may differ somewhat than pictured!

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Here’s 5 Wu Yi Rock Oolongs that will give an idea of the breadth and depth of this amazing region’s teas!  In total you’ll get 200 grams of tea to enjoy!

Updated August 16, 2024!

50 Grams –  Spring 2024

50 Grams –  Spring 2022

25 Grams – 

25 Grams –  Spring 2024

50 Grams –  Spring 2023

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The “Zheng Yan Growing Area” refers to these tea gardens: tiānxīn yán/天心岩, mǎ tóu yán/马头岩, huìyuàn/慧苑, zhú kē/竹窠, bì shí/碧石, yànzi kē/燕子窠, jiǔlóng kē/九龙窠, yù cháyuán/御茶园, yù huā dòng/玉花洞, shuǐ lián dòng/水帘洞, fo guó/佛国, táohuā dòng/桃花洞, guìlín/桂林, sān yǎng fēng děng děng/三仰峰等等.

Ma Tou Yan area is 425 meters high. Rou Gui varietal has been grown here for over 100 years and many of the bushes are quite old. The mineral taste of the Zheng Yan area is present in this tea. The processing style is a medium-high level of roast done respectfully over several months time. The taste is silky and sweet… roast taste is there but not strong and will fade over a few months. Nice, thick body with a long lasting sweet cinnamon-like after-taste. Tea can be infused 7 to 10 times if brewed gong fu style.

If you are a fan of high end Wu Yi or Rou Gui in general this tea is a must-try!

Late April Harvest

** Tea leaves and tea soup color may differ somewhat than pictured!

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The taste is mild and mineral with a nice, thick body and sweet aftertaste. There is a dried fruit sweetness that is hard to place exactly which makes this a totally fresh and unique tea to enjoy and compare with the more classic Wu Yi varietals.

May Harvest

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The early brews have a strong mineral and oily cannabis sweetness, with a dried fruit after-taste.  There is some roast taste from the 2020 re-roast done on this tea, but it’s subtle and won’t be noticeable at all soon. In the later infusions the roasted taste fades more and the fruit, mineral sweetness and velvety smoothness takes center stage.  The tea goes 10+ infusions and remains complex and interesting.

This tea was harvested in 2008!

We also offer a !

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Bai Ji Guan is lightly processed through shade withering and when brewed gives up a sweet mushroom and longan fruitiness that is very delightful. Cha Qi is noticeable but subtle and never overpowering.

This tea has been grown without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers.

Late April Harvest

Origin: Wu Yi Shan, Xingcun Town, Caodun Village

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