Calm Fragrance Oolong

Calm Fragrance has a honey fragrance because it is bug-bitten, much like Eastern Beauty. As more tea farmers have gone organic, they have had to come up with ways to cope with the katydids that come and eat their tea, especially when neighbors use pesticides and all the bugs come to their fields. Allowing bugs to bite the tea, and then processing it accordingly, began with Eastern Beauty in Beipu County, but has recently spread to Nantou as well. The resulting hybrid is sometimes called “Concubine Tea.” This tea is processed more like a traditional oolong, with less oxidation than either Eastern Beauty or Concubine Tea, but much more oxidation and roast than your typical Taiwanese oolong. Allowing the bugs to bite the tea means it will be more oxidized right off the bush. It also means that you can process it to have a honey fragrance. The bugs bite the leaves and their saliva reacts with the compounds in the tea to start oxidation before the leaves are even plucked. Calm Fragrance started with a Four Seasons Spring varietal (Si Ji Chun), which is a natural varietal born in Taiwan. We chose this varietal because we knew we were going to increase the oxidation and roast to get a darker, more full-bodied brew—and hopefully also enhance the honey fragrance. The Qi of this tea is uplifting, sweeping upwards. You will feel elated drinking it. We also have a red version of this tea.