I finally received my first batch of tea from Eco-Cha! It actually took almost 4 weeks to arrive but sometimes that can happen if it gets stuck at customs. And, I also have received the October package recently so this post is coming a bit late. Eco-Cha is a tea company based in Taiwan that sources tea from family run farms that use sustainable methods. I joined their tea club recently as I thought that this was something different and what is sent out to tea club members is not sold on their website. I'm really excited as I've never joined anything like it despite there being other tea subscription clubs.
This month's tea is an Organic Wuyi Hong Shui Oolong tea 有機武夷紅水烏龍茶.
There is 75g of tea per month and it seems like every month they send a little something with the tea; September's was a metal tea strainer. I already have the exact same one, but it was a nice extra.
Hong Shui Oolong 紅水烏龍茶 has actually been on my radar for over 5 years now but the reason it's been something I've been searching for info about is because I bought some Hong Shui Oolong from a wholesaler in Taiwan five years ago which was very different from the Hong Shui Oolong I could find online. Hong Shui Oolong is supposed to be a tea in Taiwan that is similar to Dong Ding Oolong 凍頂烏龍 in the processing and rolled into ball shape, but I believe it is slightly more oxidized and does not come from Dong Ding mountain. The Hong Shui I bought was rolled into strip-form like Wuyi style oolong and like the product sent this month by Eco-Cha. Looking back, the wholesaler said it was grown in Miaoli at 400m and the cultivar is qing xin da pang or da pa (青心大冇?); this cultivar is usually used to make Oriental Beauty Oolong (or Bai Hao Oolong).
I do have book on oolong tea and it describes Hong Shui Oolong 紅水烏龍 and how it used to be produced many years ago as a 'foreigner's tea' but is enjoyed by the locals now. The one I have already, is not roasted and seems to bear the same tea "soup" colour of a red tea rather than the lighter orange-brown that is more common for the Hong Shui Oolong described in everything I could find about it.
I'm inclined to think my initial batch of Hong Shui Oolong from five years ago may actually be something different (it does taste good though!). The tea from Eco-cha although rolled into strips (Wuyi style), does bear little other resemblance to the tea I have; it has the roasted quality and the tea soup is also not as "red" as the name would imply, more similar to Dong Ding Oolong and fits with all the other descriptions of Hong Shui Oolong except for the rolling style.
I brewed the tea using their specifications, 9 grams per 175 ml with boiling water for 50 seconds. I have to say though, I thought it was too much leaves because the flavour seemed muddled, tangy, and there was moderate astringency. When I used less leaves (5-6 grams), more of the baked fruit flavour came out and no astringency. The leaves will open up more and I think that makes a difference. I brewed this tea three times in each instance and the it didn't appear to be watered down, just liked the outcome using less leaves.
It's a nice tea for the autumn but I think I'm still going to experiment with leaf to water ratio, water temperature and steep time. I think there is definitely more potential for this tea.
However, I did notice that there were a number of sticks/stems in the batch where the leaves were not attached which is a little disappointing.
Nonetheless, this is still an interesting tea though; more so for the organic growing method used which is somewhat a new concept. It is one of the reasons that I joined, to try new teas either grown differently or processed differently from what you could find on the general market. I also love getting packages!
Looking forward to more tea from Eco-cha!
