Qi Lai Shan Song-Hsueh Oolong – Teamountains – a miracle among gao shan teas

Dry tea leaves

Dry tea leaves

When a few weeks/months passes without a certain tea, the first thing that comes to my mind is its best characteristic and personality.  Of course, some teas become totally forgotten, because there was not much to remember about them, they were good but too ordinary. This time I would like to present one of those from the other category, pure little wonder rolled in tea leaves. Qi Lai Shan is one of those teas. First thing that I remember about it is the leaves – their beauty. How crazy a person can be to admire the tea leaf, you might ask yourself. Well, I bet you would find out if you ever get the opportunity to try this one. Very soon it becomes clear that this kind of “craziness” becomes inevitable. Full, heavy, of the same color… And this is only the beginning.

Dry tea leaves

About Qi Lai Shan Song-Hsueh Oolong

Qi Lai Shan Song-Hsueh oolong tea is a gao shan, a Taiwanese tea that grows at an altitude above 1,000 meters. This one grows on a territory above 2000 meters, on mountain Qilai. Altitude, cooler weather and fog, caused the slow growth, and  full and beautiful leaves rich in minerals and special sweet taste.

Qi Lai Shan brew

Qi Lai Shan Song-Hsueh Oolong tea

The price of this tea is quite high but it’s worth every penny. 50 grams costs 35.2 USD. The fact that it was handpicked on high mountain justifies the price, as well as mastery production and beautiful outcome. This is one of those teas that you just have to have when you need a dose of beauty, dose of relaxation, dose of enjoyment, a tea for most important and appreciated guests and people you love.

Immediately after opening the bag you realize how special this tea is. Balls are heavy, dark green with clearly visible petals and buds. They are of the same color, some bigger some smaller. This gives a good idea how used tea leaves will look like. Certainly a good contrast to the cheap Tie Guan Yin tea often found around here (and online as well), with pale, light and fragile leaves, and taste quite bad and stale. Of course, this is a gao shan tea so it is almost impossible to compare it with non-gao shan teas, however, it is quite different from many gao shan teas as well. Comparison is here to give you an idea how much different an oolong tea can be.

Brewing suggestion

It is more than easy to brew, with multiple steeping possible. 6 minutes will give a tea that is so hard to describe. Even I usually avoid long steeping, this tea is like made for it. I should note that this tea won a competition in Taiwan, more than deserved. Absolutely all of the tea leaves are perfect. The color is yellow-green, full but transparent. The smell is hard to describe, floral, fruity of clementines, sweet, just like the taste, full, will leave dryness in the mouth for a moment and then turns into a sweet aftertaste. This tea holds a concentration of flavors and fragrances, all of them forming a perfect cup of beauty. With additional steeping it will lose intensity, even get a tiny touch of bitterness, but hardly noticeable and still much enjoyable.

Wet tea leaves

Final notes on Qi Lai Shan Song-Hsueh

Soon I will write about one more gao shan tea from the same vendor,  Teamountains. Their teas come in vacuum bags, with few silica gel absorbers. Shipping time is maximum two weeks and shipping is free. They are specialized in ga oshan teas (high mountain teas), offer a wide selection of great teas that worth every penny.

A warm recommendation, Qi Lai Shan Song-Hsueh oolong tea is probably one of the best teas around there, and only few clicks of the mouse away. I would like to have this tea in all the special occasions, to relax before some big event, or just need a touch of good feelings.