Jinxuan Oolong from Alishan

In order to describe this Jinxuan Oolong from Alishan, we start with the cultivar, the particular type of tea tree. Tea, camelia sinensis, exists in hundreds of variations called cultivars, just like there are wine grape varieties. The Jinxuan cultivar was introduced in 1981 by Dr. Wu Zhen Duo, the director of the Taiwan Research and Extension Station, a public tea research Institute. The name Jinxuan is an homage to Dr. Wu Zhen Duo’s grandmother. It is also known as Taiwan Tea #12. Jinxuan is a cross breed of Yingzhi Hongxin (father) and Tai Nong #8 (mother). It first received the code number 2027 during its experimental stage and many farmers still call it by this number. 

What are the characteristics of Jinxuan? 

Large leaves, serrate edge, easy to manage, suitable for organic farming. Larger yields than Qingxin Oolong. Light, sweet taste, fresh and flowery. This cultivar is suitable for Baozhong and light Oolong tea. 

After the cultivar, let’s talk about the way these leaves were processed: into lightly oxidized Oolong. In a few words, what is Oolong? 

Literally, it means ‘dark dragon’. Chinese often veers into poetry when it comes to tea! Oolong is a tea family on its own, created in WuYi, Fujian, in the 17th century. It is partially oxidized and can be roasted. So, in theory, Oolong can be oxidized from 10% to 90% and roasted from 0% to 99%. In the case of this tea, we are in the high mountain Oolong style: Hand picked Lightly oxidized through shaking of the leaves. Rolled or compressed shape. Well dried, but no roasting. 

Great! We are 2 words down. We just need to explain 1 more word: Alishan! 

This particular tea comes from the Ruifeng village (20 houses, mostly tea farmers). Technically, it’s in the Meishan area, the birthplace of Taiwan’s high mountain Oolongs in the 1980s, but farmers prefer to use the more famous Alishan name. The most important about the location of the plantation is its elevation. Here, at 1100 meters above sea level, this Jinxuan qualifies as a high mountain Oolong tea. The cutoff is 1000 meters above sea level. The name ‘high mountain Oolong’ implies a lighter oxidation (due to the lower mountain temperatures, handpicked harvests (because the terrain makes machine cutting more difficult and reduces quality.) Natural conditions as we are far from industrial areas and benefit from the clear and clean mountain air, and spring mountain water. To benefit from the best, coolest conditions, the spring and winter seasons are best. This Jinxuan was harvested by hand on March 28th, 2024.

Conclusion: This spring 2024 Alishan Jinxuan Oolong manages to be extremely affordable: 4.8 USD for 25 gr, easy to brew (see the video above) and it tastes deliciously fresh and smooth without any added flavors. Opening the leaves of rolled Oolong isn't easy for beginners. This tea lets them practice at little cost and improve their skills. Its leaves look so large after they've opened up. This adds natural truth to the tea experience, because so many teas, nowadays, are heavily broken leaves in tea bags. People have forgotten what tea looks like and Alishan Jinxuan Oolong.is a great, inexpensive way to introduce Taiwan's most popular type of tea (high mountain Oolong) to your friends and family. And you can even enjoy it daily yourself!