High Mountain Jin Xuan (金萱)

JinXuan is also known as milk oolong for its milky fragrance and taste. Expect heavy body and tastes that are floral with a slight peachy sweetness, the mouthfeel is very substantial and creamy. While flavoring is sometimes added to JinXuan tea to accentuate the milk flavor, this is most often done with lesser-quality and low altitude tea. Our High Mountain Jin Xuan is just that; grown at an elevation well over 1,500 meters in the misty mountains of Taiwan's interior.  We have not flavored this tea in any way, one sip will convince the most discerning tea enthusiast that it is unnecessary.

Jin Xuan was created in 1981 by Taiwan's Tea Research and Experimentation Station under the experimental code name 27.  It was popularized because of it's golden liquor, buttery mouthfeel, and overwhelming notes of sweet cream.  Good for four infusions.  JinXuan is known for its creamy flavors but only proper brewing techniques will bring out those notes.  Lower temperatures produce cream notes; higher temperatures bring out more floral qualities.

Steeping Instructions:

Prepare 3 grams of tea leaf (slightly less than a teaspoon) per 100ml of water(about half a cup).

For the first two steeps, 87°c water for no longer than 60 seconds will provide plenty of flavor.  From the third steep onward it is fine to add up to thirty additional seconds per steep.  This should provide between four and six re-steeps depending on the quality of the tea.  For larger vessels (teapots of over 500ml) re-steep potential is usually lower.