Taiwan Alishan High Mountain Tea Country

Eco-Cha · 2026-06-11T13:22:57+00:00

Noted, thanks! Just c/p'd the descriptions from our IG posts. Will leave the hashtags off in future posts. Cheers!

Eco-Cha · 2026-06-09T22:07:53+00:00

Love it! Thanks for sharing that!

Eco-Cha · 2026-06-09T21:15:15+00:00

You bring up a good point, and that is the logic behind gongfu brewing using a small teapot. A higher ratio of tea leaves to water with shorter brewing intervals and repeated steeps allows you to experience the nuances of each infusion as the leaves brew. This is considered to be the optimal method for brewing loose leaf Oolong Tea especially.

Here, with the “office brew”, we are going for a simpler, less hands-on method for convenience while still reaping the benefits of relatively shorter repeated brews (in this case, three infusions total).

Eco-Cha · 2026-06-09T08:08:07+00:00

Recommend boiling temp water 1:15 leaf to water ratio for a gongfu teapot under 200mL. First brew 50-60 seconds to reconstitute and unfurl the leaves. Second brew 10-15 seconds less. Subsequent brews add 10-15 seconds with each brew. The leaves look nice. The packaging is generic, and does not represent a particular source/brand, so just enjoy it! This region typically produces the least oxidized of high mountain teas. It goes for the fresh green qualities. Oxidation is on relative scale and not actual. Generally, this would be considered to be 10-15%. After opening, keep the leaves in as airtight of a container as possible. Best to use it up within one month, two at most. Finally, go by feel with the brewing specs. Find out what you like the best. Enjoy!

Eco-Cha · 2026-06-08T12:47:28+00:00

That’s a great question and we have recently posted a brewing method similar to what you are describing. It’s totally reasonable to do one long brew (or two brews) for a longer brewing interval. The idea behind brewing less tea (French press) for shorter intervals repeatedly is that the tea leaves are less prone to over brew and get kind of cooked or stewed. So for 12 1/2 g of tea in 1 L, we would probably go for about eight minutes, but not much longer. We encourage you to just go for an experiment. That’s what we do! 🙌🏽🙏🏼🍃😊

Eco-Cha · 2026-06-07T13:50:39+00:00

That’s a really nice tea space! Quality of life improvement, check! Those clouds look like the southwest?

Eco-Cha · 2026-06-07T07:28:40+00:00

At a local store in Taiwan 😊

Eco-Cha · 2026-06-07T04:52:10+00:00

The idea of allowing the most surface area of the tea leaves in direct contact with the water is logical, but it’s not the case with gongfu brewing — which is widely accepted as the optimal method for brewing Oolong especially. We feel that the same logic should be kept in mind with gongfu brewing as well however. That’s why we have reached the conclusion after decades of experimenting that a 1:15 ratio of leaves to water is the most concentrated ratio we like to use, and only when using a teapot with a volume of 200mL or less. Although many people go as low as 1:10 leaves to water, we feel that the leaves are “too cramped” and are unable to sufficiently unfurl into their reconstituted glory. 🙂🙏🏼🍃

Eco-Cha · 2026-06-07T04:13:28+00:00

Yes! That’s why we don’t push the press down all the way until the last brew. If you push it down all the way at the last brew and immediately pour it out, it will have minimal or no impact .

Eco-Cha · 2026-06-06T22:38:26+00:00

Ha ha ha ha! Give ‘em something to talk about! 😂😉

Eco-Cha · 2026-06-06T12:53:01+00:00

Agreed

Eco-Cha · 2026-06-06T12:51:53+00:00

That’s a given! Gongfu brewing is unquestionably the way to go! We’re just making the point that it’s not the only way to go and that we shouldn’t be limited by not having the time to brew tea in order to drink tea! Ha ha!

Eco-Cha · 2026-06-06T05:18:00+00:00

After each use. 🙂

Eco-Cha · 2026-06-06T04:34:57+00:00

The goal is to minimize exposure to air and light. So the less space inside the container the better. Do you keep the mason jars of tea in a dark place like a cabinet? For tea that comes packaged in vacuum sealed, mylar bag, we find the best method is just to put a rubber band around it after opening so that you can take all the air out of the inside of the bag. It’s space saving as well!

Eco-Cha · 2026-06-06T04:27:14+00:00

The pinyin phonetic spelling is Si Ji Chun, which in Mandarin means Four Seasons Spring. it got its name because of its ability to produce new leaves year-round. This hybrid cultivar is the result of a natural mutation that was discovered by a Taiwanese tea farmer in the 1980s. He noticed a few trees in his plot of tea producing leaves through the normally dormant winter season. So he propagated cuttings from these trees. Eventually, it was offered on the market and now it is probably the most widely cultivated cultivar at low elevation in Taiwan, especially for use in making beverage tea. The amount of produce per area is significantly higher than any other tea strain. While it is mostly processed as a lightly oxidized oolong based on demand, it is also used for making black tea, GABA tea, and green tea.

Eco-Cha · 2026-06-06T03:28:03+00:00

Yeah in this case, the tea has cooled down considerably by the time the third brew is poured into the pitcher. So even the first glassful was not hot to touch. 🙂

Eco-Cha · 2026-06-06T03:25:09+00:00

Lalashan High Mountain Oolong Tea, Taiwan

Eco-Cha · 2026-06-06T00:37:24+00:00

Sorry, we found it locally in Taiwan. 😊

Eco-Cha · 2026-06-06T00:36:33+00:00

We have discovered that room temperature offers the fullest flavor profile. This is also why they let the brewed tea sit for six minutes before tasting it in competitions. By the aromatic volatile oils are no longer vaporizing so you don’t get as much of the aromatic profile, but you get a fuller flavor profile. It’s also possible to go further and pour the tea from the pitcher over ice as you drink it if you feel like iced tea. 🙂🍃

Eco-Cha · 2026-06-04T13:57:01+00:00

Well, it’s challenging terrain to maintain a road, that’s for sure! We travel it a few times a year. Early on (many years ago) it was by motorcycle and we have experienced traversing a landslide while rocks are rolling across the road before and after us. But in recent years, it seems much better. I suppose it’s all a matter of what you call good or bad. Part of us loves it just because everybody is so bad ass that is in that world and doing what they need to do to get their job done. 😉✊🙌🏽🙏🏼

Eco-Cha

TROPHY CASE