Spring 2021 Alishan harvest

2021 is a year of record drought in Central Taiwan. If you are following me on YouTube, you will remember that the lack of rain was a concern I mentioned very early on. Some rain has finally arrived in late April, but it was too late to have a positive impact on the Oolongs in Alishan. On the contrary, this cloudy/rainy weather hit during parts of the harvests, at a time when it's better to have sunshine.

The consequence of the lack of water is that tea yields are below normal and the leaves are more concentrated with aromas. The positive consequence is that quality is generally better. However, since there's less supply and an increasing demand, the prices are going up a little. This reasonable when the quality is also improved, but not when the lot has been impacted by rain.

In this regard, I consider myself very fortunate. Being in Taiwan all year long, I can monitor when the harvests happen and I can be among the first to choose from different farmers and different harvest days. I always try my best to select Oolongs that come from a single day and are not a mix of several days or even different seasons. It's not that blending is a bad technique ; it has its uses and advantages. However, in a quest for excellence, purity and education, single batches are superior when it comes to high mountain Oolongs. Defects are more difficult to hide than in a blend, while qualities stand out more easily.

April 23rd, 2021 Qingxin Oolong

And this is what happened this year with this April 23rd batch of Qingxin Oolong from RuiFeng. It blew all other samples away! 

Boom!

What a scent! It's almost perfume! 

The taste is refined and sweet!

And it's still so affordable!

It's my 2021 flagship!

This first High Mountain Qingxin Oolong from spring 2021 is setting a high bar. I'm looking forward tasting the next harvests and bringing you top quality Oolongs from Taiwan's various peaks! This year should be great!