Harvest time: June, 2026
Origin: Daiyunshan, Fujian, China
Garden height: 1100 m
Cultivar: Jin Xuan
Picking Method: Manual
One of the most unique oolong teas is certainly Oriental Beauty (Dong Fang Mei Ren). Its specificity in relation to other oolong teas begins with its appearance and its white hairs on the leaf (very few oolong teas have hairs), and its body is short and thick. This is how it was named Peng Feng Wu Long (thick oolong) or Bai Hao Wu Long (oolong with white hair). The leaves are harvested as standard one bud with two young leaves.
It has a unique taste, which is reminiscent of a kind of natural caramel flavor. Oriental Beauty is a summer tea because it waits for the little animals (green leafhopper) to start nibbling on the leaves, which then begins the healing process and creates its characteristic honey taste. Sweet, quite peculiar and pleasant. More pronounced oxidation gives the liquid a wonderful fruity aroma.
The tea grows in the high mountain tea garden, because only high mountain tea can be of good enough quality and also the green leafhopper can live there in a natural ecological balance. Under these conditions, a pesticide is not required for pest control in the tea garden.
Oriental Beauty oolong originated in Taiwan in the 1900s. It is said that once upon a time, a farmer’s tea garden in Xinzhu, Taiwan, was attacked by a large number of green leafhoppers in the summer. Although the tea leaves had wilted, the farmer still harvested the damaged tender leaves to make oolong tea because he did not want to lose the entire crop. After making the tea, he realized that it had a fascinating caramel flavor and the tea sold very well.
Today, a lot of Oriental Beauty oolong is produced in southern Fujian, given that there are more high mountain tea gardens than in Taiwan. As these two places are very close and similar, just across one plain, there are many similarities in tea cultivation and processing between Taiwan and southern Fujian.
Dai Yun Shan in southern Fujian. 1100m
This is a miraculous green fly is the key to creating a unique caramel flavor of oriental beauty.
Tea leaves that have been gnawed by this fly.
The processing of oolong tea starts from drying in the open air, then it will be subjected to internal drying, roasting, rolling and roasting.
There is a kind of special way to appreciate this tea – by adding one drop of brandy to the brew and thus it becomes tea champagne!
Preparation – kettle:
• 4 g tea
• 200 ml of water
• temp. 85°C
• 4 pour-overs: 2 min, 2.5 min, 3 min, 3.5 min
Preparation – gaiwan:
• 5 g tea
• 110 ml of water
• temp. 85°C
• Overflow 6: 35s, 40s, 60s, 90s, 110s, 140s
