Harvest Date: Summer 2024
Harvest Location: Emei Township, Hsinchu County, Taiwan
Cultivar: Qing Xin 
Production: 70-80% oxidised, non-roasted. Lightly curled strips
 
In the hills of Hsinchu County, where warm summer breezes stir the tea groves aa tradition continues—one that’s as much about patience and trust in nature as it is about craft. This is where our 2024 Oriental Beauty begins, in the low-to-mid elevation gardens of northern Taiwan, where the magic of this tea unfolds.
 
In early summer, as temperatures climb and humidity rises, tea green leafhoppers (Jacobiasca formosana) arrive. Rather than harming the tea, their gentle nibbling triggers a natural defensive response in the leaves, causing them to oxidize prematurely while still on the plant and release defensive enzymes that develop complex aromatic compounds.  Farmers here don’t shoo them away. They welcome them. 
 
This 2024 harvest was blessed by a temperate, steady summer—not too wet, not too dry—ideal for encouraging both healthy leafhopper activity and optimal leaf development. It was hand-plucked in mid-June, selecting only the most tender, tip-heavy buds with their distinctive five-color array: silver-white fuzz, olive green, rust-red, soft gold, and cocoa brown. These hues signal a high degree of oxidation, typically around 70–80%, giving Oriental Beauty its signature richness.
 
Unlike high mountain oolongs that aim for ethereal clarity, Oriental Beauty is about earthy elegance and perfume-like complexity.  It is best enjoyed slowly with each infusion unfolding new layers of its story.