The other side of tea

Lao Lee is one of Doi Wawee’s most famous historical producers. Arrived from Yunnan in the early 1950s, the Lao Lee family naturally focused first on the large-leaf varieties endemic to the region and the production of puerh, which made them famous. They bought plots of old tea plants for this, and in the 1950s they planted new old-fashioned gardens. At the same time, Lao Lee also planted various wulong gardens, on the model of Mae Salong nearby. Unlike many growers, he didn’t use the cultivar Si Ji Chun (four seasons), known for its superior yield and strong adaptation to climatic conditions, but the classic Qing Xing, considered in Taiwan as the noblest cultivar, which offers less yield and requires more care but allows the production of higher quality teas. Although the terroir is rich, and the gardens are particularly neat, the quality remains for us lower than what can be found in Taiwan for the same price. However, one tea is an exception and has particularly marked us, by its originality and its aromatic richness! This is a “Mixiang Hong”, a creation that plays both on high oxidation (hong wulong) and on the production methods of the Mixiang (also called Guei Fei), a particular wulong family known for their honeyed notes. This amazing Thai wulong is also not rolled into a pearl, as most wulong are today, but twisted old-fashioned, like rock teas from Wu Yi or Baozhong.