,

origin Yuchi, Taiwan

craft twisted, mi xiang

flavor notes bold, honey, dried fruit

,

origin Yuchi, Taiwan

craft twisted, mi xiang

flavor notes bold, honey, dried fruit

One of four Formosa Reds from a tea garden located just outside Yu-chih Village, in the hills surrounding Sun Moon Lake, Nantou County, Taiwan. This is a pure-stock Assam, brought to Taiwan in the first half of the 20th century by the colonial Japanese in an effort to develop a successful export tea crop in Taiwan.

Our Formosa Red, Assam comes to us from a third generation grower. It was harvested in late April after this crop was bitten by aphids. As a result, the crop has the sweetest honey aroma we’ve ever tasted. Each leaf is hand-picked in the morning before a two day period of wilting, rolling and enzymatic oxidation that produced the beautiful red orange liquor of this tea.

Traditional Assams from India are rich, deep, and often times astringent. Milk tea often uses these bold flavors as a base, but Taiwan’s terroir removes this astringent edge. The resulting tea is rich and complex, with notes of fruit and honey, but without the bite one would expect from an Indian Assam.

This is our favorite way to brew most black teas, since the moderate water temperature and brew time increase sweetness and texture while limiting astringency. If you prefer a more intense brew, try increasing your water temperature. To further highlight sweetness (particularly with our mi xiang crops), reduce water temperature while increasing brew time.

Learn the fundamentals of tea brewing and master your technique here.