Notes of aged balsamic, longan fruit, and propolis.

Oolong from Fujian・May 2021・肉桂岩茶・Organic

Wuyishan yancha oolongs are intense, aromatic, and richly flavored, qualities inherent to these heady cultivars and layered charcoal roasts. Of the 80+ yancha cultivars, rougui is Peter’s most favorite. Prized for their natural stone fruit notes and aromatic fragrance, the intensity of rougui yanchas has singled them out as the current “it” tea, and along with shuixians, their demand is responsible for the industry’s dizzying prices. And while competition is fierce for these teas, we couldn’t simply walk away from such a favorite.

Thus our challenge became finding a tea whose character was true to that of a classic Wuyi rougui, without the markup inherent to rougui grown within the Wuyishan ecological preserve. And we finally found it, just 1.5 hours drive southwest of Wuyishan proper.

This tea was crafted by a grower and maker who has deep experience with yancha oolongs from growing through roasting. Rougui carries an innate fruitiness to its leaves that shines through both light and dark roasts. We chose the latter, more traditional style, candying those flavors through rounds of high-heat charcoal roasts. We then let the tea set for a year’s time, allowing the tang of the charcoal to mellow, and redolent notes of aged balsamic, sticky longan fruit, and rich propolis to come to the forefront.

Classic Rougui retains all the concentrated qualities of a tea grown in Wuyishan preserve, and is, in a word, a wild tea. From the moment hot water hits your leaves, you’re in for an aromatic, intense, and fully consuming cup of tea.

Brew: 6 grams・150 ml・208° F・1 min