Introducing the second tea from 2022 Spring harvest from Manipur, the young tree oolong! Processed exactly like our old tree oolong, we've also made sure that it is plucked from the same area and on the same day this time, making it taste very close to the old tree oolong!
 
We are releasing it a bit early this year making it possible for you to understand and experience what the resting time after roasting does to the tea, especially the wild teas from Manipur! We'd recommend stocking up on this tea and ageing it, the charcoal roasted oolongs from Manipur just keep getting better with age and you'd be amazed by how different and matured it feels after 1.5-2 years from now!
 
It is a delight writing detailed tasting notes for these teas, so let's get started on it! The dry leaf smells fruity and honeylike, with the fruity part resembling cranberries. After the wash, which we recommend for opening up the leaves, the aroma resembles red berries and sweet gooseberry preserve. The first infusion is rich in cranberry and honey notes, the aftertaste is long lasting with notes of green apricots. The second infusion is sweeter with the honey note having more depth to it, resembling darker wild honey we get in Manipur forests. There is a gooseberry note as well which presents just a hint of its bite and it transforms into a much sweeter taste, very similar to how the fruit behaves, only without its tangy taste. The aftertaste is something once again which adds to the beautiful complexity of the tea, with notes of guava and green apricots dominating. The third infusion has notes of raw Indian jujube and has a milky sweetness on the finish, similar to custard apple. The custard apple notes are much more prominent if brewed lower temperature or also if you let the liquor cool down a little. The fourth infusion has the milky custard apple note taking centerstage along with the aftertaste notes of previous infusions like guava and green apricots also present. The finish on this infusion has a hint of spice resembling clove and pepper, this might subdue after a few more months of rest as that has happened with our previous batches. All the infusions have a sweet honey and baked fruit notes and we expect them to be more prominent with a few months passing! As is always the case, this is a tea with incredible complexity yet the notes come together to form a distinctive Manipur Oolong taste, which we simply love! We hope you enjoy this tea and treasure it over the years while observing it change!
 
Appearance : Light Yellow
Taste : Honey, guava, green apricot, Indian jujube, Indian gooseberry, cranberry, custard apple, clove, pepper
Steeping Time : 3 minutes western style, 25 seconds gongfu style adding 5 seconds every subsequent steep
Leaf to water ratio :  0.7 gram per 100ml for western style, 3.1 grams per 100ml for gongfu style
Recommended Steeping Temperature : 92°C
Recommended Steeping Method : Works better gongfu style
Harvest Season : Spring 2022