Taiwan Tea No.24!

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Bok
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Tue Aug 06, 2019 11:23 pm

Taiwan has a new(old) official tea variety: Taiwan No.24! Developed from a native Taiwan varietal, dating from the ice age. Sounds like an interesting tea, but I guess it will all depend on the processing. Good leaves do not yet make good tea.

Read all about it here: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/ ... 2003720073
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Tillerman
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Wed Aug 07, 2019 7:22 am

@Bok Thank you for posting this!
Mountain Stream Teas
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Wed Aug 07, 2019 8:29 am

It got announced! As someone who has dabbled in camellia formosensis production more than the average I find it funny that they got the certs for that tea. I have it on the site right now and it is the least consistent tea tree imaginable. As you walk down a row of these trees in their cultivated state each one is so different! Leaf size, color, bush shape, and leaf shape are completely different. Especially compared to their cousin plants. A plantation of #12 Cultivar bushes looks like an army formation compared to the wild cultivar plants. The taste though, to be fair, is very, very consistent. Not a taste for everyone though! Now I hope that the do a 25 for the Nantou wild cultivar and a 26 for the one in the south :lol:

There has been rumors of this for a while but I am surprised that it went through. Happy to hear that it is getting studied. That less caffeine content finding is one that I am happy to hear as I find it does have a much milder caffeine effect than other teas. Thanks for sharing!
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d.manuk
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Wed Aug 07, 2019 9:21 am

I wonder why they don’t just plant it in the mountains which is where it is native rather than trying to turn it into plantation tea (unless it doesn’t taste very good...?)
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Bok
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Wed Aug 07, 2019 9:43 am

Shine Magical wrote:
Wed Aug 07, 2019 9:21 am
I wonder why they don’t just plant it in the mountains which is where it is native rather than trying to turn it into plantation tea (unless it doesn’t taste very good...?)
Probably not worth the effort... and also restrictions are much tougher in terms of new plantations in the mountains, so maybe that is the problem. Black tea usually fares well at lower altitudes, so maybe it is not necessary either to go higher.

Reminds me of another very special tea I just had last week at a friends, a what he called Ye-fang tea, meaning abandoned bushes, so semi-wild. The location very intriguing, Yangmingshan, so basically greater Taipei area, where the rich live.

He literally told us, drink it, enjoy it - and then forget about it! Yield is too small to be sold. Interesting, very clean taste with a hint of what you normally find in Oriental beauty. Processing was higher oxidised Oolong.
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Bok
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Wed Aug 07, 2019 9:48 am

Mountain Stream Teas wrote:
Wed Aug 07, 2019 8:29 am
Not a taste for everyone though!
That probably means it is a rather boring tea... I would suspect that with lower caffeine, the tea also being less rich. Kind of like alcohol free beer or caffeine free coffee which are both never really satisfying...

My experience with wild teas in Taiwan has been hit and miss, more miss to be honest... especially the greener versions, really more like a a bland Baozhong.
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Wed Aug 07, 2019 4:14 pm

Bok wrote:
Wed Aug 07, 2019 9:48 am
My experience with wild teas in Taiwan has been hit and miss, more miss to be honest... especially the greener versions, really more like a a bland Baozhong.
One of my producers goes into the mountains annually to harvest leaves. These are made into a maocha and then finished tea in the Pu'er style. The result tastes amazingly like sheng. The volume is miniscule so it isn't a commercially available item.
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Wed Aug 07, 2019 10:34 pm

It is risky to taste a very unusual tea that is not easy to obtain. If one loves it, he may need lots of $ & perseverance. Perhaps it is best for some of us to leave such tea untasted. ;)
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Bok
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Wed Aug 07, 2019 10:37 pm

Ethan Kurland wrote:
Wed Aug 07, 2019 10:34 pm
It is risky to taste a very unusual tea that is not easy to obtain. If one loves it, he may need lots of $ & perseverance. Perhaps it is best for some of us to leave such tea untasted. ;)
Or just enjoy the moment! Those are sometimes the teas one remembers for long, even only enjoyed once...
And still useful as to have a comparison ready for other teas.
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Thu Aug 08, 2019 8:26 pm

Bok wrote:
Wed Aug 07, 2019 9:48 am
Mountain Stream Teas wrote:
Wed Aug 07, 2019 8:29 am
Not a taste for everyone though!
That probably means it is a rather boring tea... I would suspect that with lower caffeine, the tea also being less rich. Kind of like alcohol free beer or caffeine free coffee which are both never really satisfying...

My experience with wild teas in Taiwan has been hit and miss, more miss to be honest... especially the greener versions, really more like a a bland Baozhong.
You hit the nail on that one! It is a worthwhile educational experience but for most not a daily drinker, although some people absolutely love the tea. It is truly a 'wild tea' experience, like a wild cabbage relative would taste. Strong, recognizable, but 'people manipulated' cabbage is sold for a reason, not the wild stuff. I also agree with the wild tea hit and miss. I would add, however, that when it all goes according to plan, wild teas produced skillfully are some of the best teas out there.
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