I'm thrilled to announce the launch of my new venture, Taiwan Oolong Joy. I plan to focus on unroasted high mountain oolongs, but will also feature a small selection of roasted oolongs, hongcha, and other teas that I think are good. I gravitate toward teas that express balanced, distinct flavours, tend to be on the fruity side, can persist through long gongfu sessions, and have little to no bitterness.
This all started when Ethan Kurland retired from selling tea in December 2024. I fell in love with his spring 2021 Longfengxia, and also very much enjoyed his more recent Longfengxia harvests and other teas from his catalogue. The thought that I could no longer get hold of the next stellar LFX harvest, whenever it might arrive, made me sad. I approached Ethan to ask if he would put me in touch with his suppliers, and he generously agreed. I can now offer the spring 2025 Longfengxia, 2025 Perfect, 2024 Ruby 18, and some great new finds, including a high elevation green tea.
I'm currently waiting for my inventory to arrive, along with a few more samples that I might decide to purchase. A price list will be available for preorders in a few days, and the tea should get to me by the end of the month at the latest.
Let me know if you have any comments or questions. I'm also interested to hear which of Ethan's teas made the biggest impression on you. If I'm lucky, I might be able to source them, though there are no guarantees.
Taiwan Oolong Joy
Excelente News @GaoShan. Congratulations on venturing forward. I’ll be interested in trying your selections. I think my favorites from Ethan were Himalayan Orange, Black Championship and Father’s Love.
Thank you!
The Championship Black should be returning sometime soon. I'm waiting for my inventory to arrive, along with a few more tea samples. If I like any of these sample teas, I can hold off until Championship Black is harvested in August and will include it in my purchase. Otherwise, it will be shipped with the winter 2025 oolongs in December/January. I'm less sure about Father's Love, but I'll do my best to track it down, especially since I've heard good things about it but never tried it.I've also never tried Himalayan Orange, which was before my time on TeaForum. I think ordering from Nepal is a hassle and you need to buy in large quantities. I've also heard this was a very good tea. It's something to look into in the future.
Very glad to see that you can continue where Ethan left off (and, of course, very grateful to @Ethan Kurland).
I've usually ordered a few packs across the high mountain spectrum to try and enjoy over Summer, so I look forward to doing the same once again. Taiwan high mountain tea was one of the styles that got me into tea many years ago, and I've only ordered them from Ethan in recent years, so I'm glad that I won't have to change my habits as the hot and humid months approach.
Andrew
I've usually ordered a few packs across the high mountain spectrum to try and enjoy over Summer, so I look forward to doing the same once again. Taiwan high mountain tea was one of the styles that got me into tea many years ago, and I've only ordered them from Ethan in recent years, so I'm glad that I won't have to change my habits as the hot and humid months approach.
Andrew
Thanks! Green Tie Guan Yin was the first tea I really liked (a lower-quality but pricy version from Teavana). I then discovered Taiwanese high mountain oolong and here we are. I also discovered much better green Tie Guan Yin (TGY Lan Yun from Hojo).Andrew S wrote: ↑Fri Jul 11, 2025 3:44 amVery glad to see that you can continue where Ethan left off (and, of course, very grateful to Ethan Kurland).
I've usually ordered a few packs across the high mountain spectrum to try and enjoy over Summer, so I look forward to doing the same once again. Taiwan high mountain tea was one of the styles that got me into tea many years ago, and I've only ordered them from Ethan in recent years, so I'm glad that I won't have to change my habits as the hot and humid months approach.
Andrew
I currently have three high mountain teas, but am trying to add a fourth.
I'd be glad to send you our heat and humidity!
Price List for Spring 2025
Gaoshan, or Lightly Oxidized High Mountain Oolong
1. Perfect: This sweet, clean, floral oolong from the Shanlinxi area is a great introduction to gaoshan for the curious and a lovely daily drinker for the more experienced. It persists through many gongfu steeps while never becoming grassy or bitter. $20 for 50 grams.
2. Hehuanshan Champion: Hehuanshan, or Mt. Joy, is located near Dayuling. This tea has lovely fruity aromas and a clean, sweet, ethereal profile with good longevity. I find it to be a bit softer than the Longfengxia. $38 for 50 g.
3. Longfengxia: From the highest peak in Shanlinxi, this tea has heady fragrances of fruit and flowers, great longevity, and no bitterness. It's everything one would expect from a high mountain tea. It's even starting to develop some tropical fruit aromas like the famous LFX 21, though time will tell whether it will be as good. $48 for 50 grams.
Roasted High Mountain Oolong
4. Lishan 10% Roasted: The roast on this tea adds smoothness and a little nuttiness while balancing perfectly with the tea's floral character. With shorter steeps, you could almost mistake it for a green oolong. Surprisingly, it's one of my favourite teas from this spring. $35 for 50 grams.
5. Shanlinxi Roasted Oolong: This organic tea from winter 2024 has been roasted three times and still retains some charcoal, though I hope it will fade in time. The base tea has some florality and does not become sour during long sessions. $26 for 50 grams.
Green Tea
6. Fushoushan Green: High mountain greens don't appear often in the Western market, so I decided to buy a small amount of this tea. It's sweet with orchid florals and fruitiness, and leaves a wonderful aroma at the bottom of the cup. It has the heady fragrances and ethereal quality I associate with very high elevation teas like the LFX. It also has some chlorophyll and grassy notes and is definitely a green tea. $30 for 30 grams.
Black Tea
7. Ruby Eighteen: This is not your average tannic, in-your-face Red Jade. It's a soft, smooth, fruity hongcha that tastes a lot like a bug-bitten tea. It's somewhat similar to Championship Black, though it's a bit maltier. Long steeps with fewer leaves produce a lot of sweetness and fruitiness. $39 for 60 grams.
All prices are in USD. Shipping throughout North America is $10, though that may change once I figure out how much it actually costs. I'm planning to use a third-party courier service that makes it cheaper to ship parcels from Canada to the U.S.
Feel free to send me a PM or email me at oolongjoy (at) gmail (dot) com if you have questions or if you'd like me to ship outside North America.
Also, Championship Black should be arriving in mid to late August, hopefully along with another tea or two.
Gaoshan, or Lightly Oxidized High Mountain Oolong
1. Perfect: This sweet, clean, floral oolong from the Shanlinxi area is a great introduction to gaoshan for the curious and a lovely daily drinker for the more experienced. It persists through many gongfu steeps while never becoming grassy or bitter. $20 for 50 grams.
2. Hehuanshan Champion: Hehuanshan, or Mt. Joy, is located near Dayuling. This tea has lovely fruity aromas and a clean, sweet, ethereal profile with good longevity. I find it to be a bit softer than the Longfengxia. $38 for 50 g.
3. Longfengxia: From the highest peak in Shanlinxi, this tea has heady fragrances of fruit and flowers, great longevity, and no bitterness. It's everything one would expect from a high mountain tea. It's even starting to develop some tropical fruit aromas like the famous LFX 21, though time will tell whether it will be as good. $48 for 50 grams.
Roasted High Mountain Oolong
4. Lishan 10% Roasted: The roast on this tea adds smoothness and a little nuttiness while balancing perfectly with the tea's floral character. With shorter steeps, you could almost mistake it for a green oolong. Surprisingly, it's one of my favourite teas from this spring. $35 for 50 grams.
5. Shanlinxi Roasted Oolong: This organic tea from winter 2024 has been roasted three times and still retains some charcoal, though I hope it will fade in time. The base tea has some florality and does not become sour during long sessions. $26 for 50 grams.
Green Tea
6. Fushoushan Green: High mountain greens don't appear often in the Western market, so I decided to buy a small amount of this tea. It's sweet with orchid florals and fruitiness, and leaves a wonderful aroma at the bottom of the cup. It has the heady fragrances and ethereal quality I associate with very high elevation teas like the LFX. It also has some chlorophyll and grassy notes and is definitely a green tea. $30 for 30 grams.
Black Tea
7. Ruby Eighteen: This is not your average tannic, in-your-face Red Jade. It's a soft, smooth, fruity hongcha that tastes a lot like a bug-bitten tea. It's somewhat similar to Championship Black, though it's a bit maltier. Long steeps with fewer leaves produce a lot of sweetness and fruitiness. $39 for 60 grams.
All prices are in USD. Shipping throughout North America is $10, though that may change once I figure out how much it actually costs. I'm planning to use a third-party courier service that makes it cheaper to ship parcels from Canada to the U.S.
Feel free to send me a PM or email me at oolongjoy (at) gmail (dot) com if you have questions or if you'd like me to ship outside North America.
Also, Championship Black should be arriving in mid to late August, hopefully along with another tea or two.
I was able to get access to a small number of teas from Chen Huan Tang. People who bought his teas from Tillerman might also know him as Laoshi since he was the vendor's teacher in Taiwan.
I'm making this post to get a sense of people's interest before purchasing the tea, as this order could get expensive. The prices I quote are estimates. If I have to pay higher customs and shipping fees than anticipated, they'll go up; if I get some breaks, they'll go down. However, I expect the prices will be close to the ones quoted in this post.
1. Premium Organic Dong Ding: This tea is crafted using ancient methods with fully organic tea leaves. According to Mr. Chen, it is the only tea of its kind produced in Taiwan. 50 g for $60; 150 g for $165.
2. Classic Dong Ding: 50 g for $26; 150 g for $70.
3. Heavy Roasted Alishan Oolong: 50 g for $26; 150 g for $70.
4. Heavy Roasted Qilaishan Oolong: 50 g for $44; 150 g for $120.
All the teas in my July post are still available, plus I have some lighter roast oolongs on the way.
I want to make this purchase by the end of the week, so please reply to this post, PM me, or email me at oolongjoy (at) gmail (dot) com in the next few days.
I'm making this post to get a sense of people's interest before purchasing the tea, as this order could get expensive. The prices I quote are estimates. If I have to pay higher customs and shipping fees than anticipated, they'll go up; if I get some breaks, they'll go down. However, I expect the prices will be close to the ones quoted in this post.
1. Premium Organic Dong Ding: This tea is crafted using ancient methods with fully organic tea leaves. According to Mr. Chen, it is the only tea of its kind produced in Taiwan. 50 g for $60; 150 g for $165.
2. Classic Dong Ding: 50 g for $26; 150 g for $70.
3. Heavy Roasted Alishan Oolong: 50 g for $26; 150 g for $70.
4. Heavy Roasted Qilaishan Oolong: 50 g for $44; 150 g for $120.
All the teas in my July post are still available, plus I have some lighter roast oolongs on the way.
I want to make this purchase by the end of the week, so please reply to this post, PM me, or email me at oolongjoy (at) gmail (dot) com in the next few days.
After a long wait due to a strike by Canada Post, I received samples of some lightly roasted oolongs from my main supplier earlier this week. Today, I compared three of them using competition-style brewing (i.e., 3 g in 150 ml of boiling water for 6 minutes).
From left to right: Bilu Creek Lishan 12% roast, Cuifeng 15% roast, Wujie 15% roast
This is my first time using this brewing method and I was amazed that all of these teas were drinkable and not bitter messes, even after six minutes of steeping. The Bilu had pineapple and grassy notes, the Cuifeng was smooth and buttery with some fruit, and the Wujie was fruity, slightly bitter, and more charcoal heavy. I'd drink all of these teas again.
The left edge of this photo got cropped for some reason and the lighting isn't great. The Cuifeng had the fewest leaf bits and most intact leaves, with some leaf and stem sets.
I'd say the Cuifeng is the smoothest of the three teas. I need to do a few more sessions with them, along with the other samples I have, before selecting which ones to post for sale. I hope to finish this in a few days so these teas can arrive with my Chen Huan Tang order.
- Competition bowls.png (794.39 KiB) Viewed 130 times
This is my first time using this brewing method and I was amazed that all of these teas were drinkable and not bitter messes, even after six minutes of steeping. The Bilu had pineapple and grassy notes, the Cuifeng was smooth and buttery with some fruit, and the Wujie was fruity, slightly bitter, and more charcoal heavy. I'd drink all of these teas again.
- cutoff leaves.png (813.34 KiB) Viewed 130 times
I'd say the Cuifeng is the smoothest of the three teas. I need to do a few more sessions with them, along with the other samples I have, before selecting which ones to post for sale. I hope to finish this in a few days so these teas can arrive with my Chen Huan Tang order.
@GaoShan thanks for sharing your tasting notes. Your images of what looks like dry leaf stump me as I don’t think I’ve ever tried Taiwan oolong that isn’t wiry or rolled into a ball. Are these all from one vendor who rolls oolong straight?
It's actually a picture of the spent leaves after the session, so the leaves straightened out during steeping.