In both urban and rural Taiwan, small roadside eateries often display signage that contain three characters: 古早味 (gu zao wei). Translating to mean “old early taste”, these words indicate the establishment’s commitment to traditional dishes and ways of cooking.

Red Water Buddha’s Hand is a homage to this old taste. Made in a style over a century old, this tea comes together in a warm, dark-roasted oolong that tastes like home.

The Buddha’s Hand cultivar is named for its uncharacteristically large leaves. Fully developed, they can span the width and length of a person's hand. The name also alludes to the similarity in scent of its leaves to the zest of the fingered citron.

This tea can be traced to its origins to Fujian Province's Yong Chun county, arriving in Taiwan by way of settlers who planted the cultivar in the tea region north of present day Taipei. The popularity of other cultivars soon eclipsed Buddha's Hand, and it is now increasingly rare in Taiwan.

This tea was grown on Alishan by the same tea maker who brought us our original Buddha’s Hand, a rolled oxidized tea using these same leaves. It was picked in spring and charcoal-roasted to develop its deep intense woodsy, flavors.