The individual leaves are curled up into tight but still very big lumps, and despite being more than 4 months old, are still very green. Even under close inspection, one would be hard put to see that this is a wulong tea, as there is little or no oxidation on the leaves. As it is a very light wulong with a delicate scent, I have used my Phoenix teapot to steep the tea. The original tea I used for the Phoenix teapot was called 翠峰灵芽 (Cuì Fēng Líng Yá or Wonderous Buds from Jade Peaks), which is a very green wulong by Tenren. Alas, it is not available every year, as they have very high standards for this tea and if conditions are not optimal, they may harvest very little or even none for that year. Moreover, the tea is only made once a year, during Spring. One last consideration is price. The tea, if a batch does make its way to Singapore, can be quite expensive, and although i quite like it, I am able to get a rather good Tie Kuan Yin, or Gaoshan for the same price. This means that opportunities to steep tea in my Phoenix teapot comes few and far between, as both Tie Kuan Yin and Gaoshan have very distinctive flavours that I don’t wish to mix into the teapot. Perhaps I will buy a teapot eventually just for Tie Kuan Yin….
Comments
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Hi, I’m trying to identify a tea given to me as a gift from Taiwan. I’ve identified it as “Pear Mountain Tea” and it comes packaged in a gold canister with “Pear Mountain Tea” on a gold sticker in Taiwanese characters. Was the Li Shan tea you purchased packaged similar, or do you know if it would be the same tea? I love this tea so much so want to buy more over the internet, as I don’t want to ask the people who sent it to me for more - apparently it was expensive and is the highest quality tea.
Thanks
Kate
Posted by Kate on 08/08/05 at 10:42 AM -
There are a number of tea plantations at that location and all will label their tea as “Pear Mountain tea”. It’s like buying a Cabernet Sauvignon: could any one of more than dozen different vineyards, all with the same grape, but varying quality! The only thing you can do is if you find someone who sells it on the internet, then try a small amount, and if you like it then buy more. Personally, I think that Pear Mountain tea is overpriced: it generally retails for around $100 per 100g (or more!). it is a lovely tea, but my personal opinion is that a good High Mountain tea can be just as good for half the price. You will also find the tea on sale at auction (even on Ebay), but a quick search shows most of the transactions to be carried out in Chinese, and I don’t think it is possible to make any guarantees.
Posted by 醉茶生 on 08/08/05 at 11:26 AM -
I just got the “Oolong Tea” from my friend in Taiwan. Anybody knows the differences with the “Pear Mountain tea”?
Posted by hotel in Taiwan on 08/11/10 at 04:07 PM -
Hi there hotel in Taiwan,
“Oolong” is a category of tea, like black or green tea. Pear Mountain is a place (among many, in Taiwan) where tea leaves are grown. So the Oolong tea you received, is Taiwanese Oolong tea, but not necessarily from Lishan. As to what differences they might have, depends on what kind of Oolong you received (ie. how strongly fermented or roasted it is, where it was plucked from, etc…).
Hope that helps clear things up a little!
Posted by Miss Neddy on 08/11/10 at 05:30 PM -
Li Shan tea is known as the “King of Teas.” It has a fruity fragrance that is not found in other Taiwan teas. Its high price is due to its superior quality and also the fact that it is produced in limited quantities with just two harvests per year.
Posted by Tea on 09/02/03 at 03:23 PM -
TeaLi Shan tea is known as the “King of Teas”? Really? I never heard about this. My favorite tea is the Tieh-Kuan-Yin, literally means Iron Goddess of Mercifulness. Anyone tried this?
Posted by sdtraveller on 09/02/24 at 08:48 AM -
(from 醉茶生)
Tieh-Kuan-Yin or tieguanyin 鐵觀音 (there are multiple correct spellings)
is a variety of tea. If I take an analogy from wine: it is like
calling a wine “Carbernet sauvignon”: it is a variety of grape and you
can get Cabernet Sauvignon from Australia, South Africa or Chile.
Lishan 梨山 is a mountain in Taiwan, and only tea grown on that mountain
can be called “Lishan”. Again using a wine analogy: this is like
appellation d’origine contrôlée. Claret only comes from Bordeaux:
There is no such thing as an Australian claret or a Chilean claret.
Buying a tieguanyin is like buying a Cabernet sauvignon. Some are good
and some are terrible. You only know what variety the tea is made
from, but the quality of the tea is dependent on the terroir, the
degree of oxidation, the roasting and a hundred other factors. If you
have found one that you like then well done you! But there is no
guarantee that tieguanyin from a different plantation will be any
good.Posted by Miss Neddy on 09/02/26 at 11:59 AM -
Hi Miss Neddy. Would you know the health benefits of drinking these? Is it equivalent to drinking green tea?
Posted by Puzzle games on 11/12/05 at 02:38 PM
