Dew Drop Oolong

Taste

It opens green and dewy, the way the garden smells just after sunrise: spring florals, fresh melon rind, a long clean mineral finish. The pearls unfurl slowly and keep giving across many infusions.

Origin

A high-mountain oolong from Doi Mae Salong, named in the old Alishan way: zhu lu, "pearl dew," for the fog that sits in the high tea rows at first light. Tightly rolled and lightly oxidized, in the style the Yunnanese families carried down from the mountains and perfected at altitude.

We buy this one lot at a time, from a farm we've stood in.

• Origin: Doi Mae Salong, Chiang Rai, Thailand
• Elevation: 1,200–1,600m
• Oxidation: Light, ball-rolled

How to brew

85°C. Gongfu: 5g per 100ml, short steeps, 6+ infusions. Western: 3g per 200ml, 2 to 3 minutes.