Phoenix Mountain Blues

The making of Phoenix oolongs are relatively uncomplicated compared to other oolongs. The rolling is into straight twists, the firing towards maocha is by wood fire and only for an hour. The ‘killing green’ is for 15 minutes. All this heavenly aroma filling the room, and such a straightforward procedure. Additional firing is over charcoal heat for 20 hours or more.

Yet, the devil’s in the details. A lot of what goes on and makes great vs good Phoenix oolongs are in experience and not apparent to the observer. The tea master does not explain much, the subtleties are in the hand toss, in how heavily the leaves land onto the basket, the pressure the twisting machine made on the leaves, the temperature of the wood fire, the right amount of steam being trapped as the tumbling occurred.

Splurged and bought some top of the world Eight Immortals Phoenix for our subscribers. Basically, Master Ge wins awards each year, and his teas have become prohibitively expensive. How many of us will spend $2000 for a lb? yet that is what the locals in China pay for his teas, and he is very much sought after.

This year’s winter teas are very, very low yield. It was too cold on the top of Wudong Mountain, the highest peak on Phoenix, to have any leaves sprout. The body of the teas is also relatively light. No problem, the farmers have figured out a way to age and re-fire to preserve the fragrance of the spring teas. We will taste and make the comparison at our harvest party!

Taken from http://teapersonality.blogspot.com/