Caopingtou Natural Farming Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea

Tie Guan Yin has been completely gone from our collection since the disappearance of the Fanbaoshan plantation. Fortunately, some of the tea trees were being transplanted to the land at Caopingtou (owned by Mr. Chang) since this catastrophic event, and the tea trees have been growing over there since 2020. We have finally obtained a harvest after two years of waiting.

This area, Caopingtou, has appeared multiple times through our Taiwanese tea journey. It was once considered as "Jade Mountain Tea" during its heyday when the "high mountain tea" trend was in full swing at the end of 20th century. Of course, the tea was not grown directly on the slopes of Jade Mountain, the highest mountain in Taiwan, just like many high mountain teas were not grown in the place they were named after. But Caopingtou is very close to the trailhead for the summit of Jade Mountain, making the name "Jade Mountain Tea" a reasonable choice for the marketing strategy of its time.

As the craze "high mountain jade oolong" began to fade away, Caopingtou was the first place to receive the brunt of the shock, and the name disappeared from the memory of the mass market completely. Today's Caopingtou is a quiet and calm place with several tea plantations, including this plantation as well as the one growing our “Buddha Hand” series teas. 

The old trees at Fanbaoshan were grown wildly, and that was even more of the case after the plantation was abandoned, meaning the weakest trees were weeded out by natural selection, leaving only the strongest tea trees remaining. As a result, the tea trees that were brought back to Caopingtou have the strongest vitality to deliver.

If you have tried our "Pacific" series before, you will notice this tea resembles our beloved "Pacific Petal" a lot. The terroir is clean and crisp with the soil at Caopingtou while the elevation is identical to the Fanbaoshan version. We are confident to say that this plantation not only marks the rebirth of that cherished plantation at Fanbaoshan, but also the proud continuation of Taiwanese tea culture. Please take a sip of this authentic Taiwanese-style Tie Guan Yin that you will find at nowhere else.

Harvest: See Options / 見選項

Varietal: Hong Xin Wai Wei Tao (Tie Guan Yin) / 紅心歪尾桃 

Elevation: 1200 M / 壹仟貳佰 公尺

Region: Caopingtou/ 草坪頭

Fermentation Level: 35% / 分之 參拾伍

Roast Level: See Options / 見選項

  Brewing......

 This red heart tgy ancestor always has such a charm, old world or new, bordering the timeless.

Rich and deep character, taste that lingers and sweetens ordinary life.

It’s big beautiful leaves have potency yet are balanced, as it steeps consistently with layers of body and flavors. A strong tea to the core, somehow classic and modern.

 Finally we have a new Tie Guan Yin with an old soul, and at the moment of writing, we are running very low on this treasure. We were unsure whether we would get it or not next year, but still tried our best to make this a signature Tie Guan Yin we have been proud for. It has everything this varietal is supposed to carry and to perform.