Cloud Gate

Cloud Gate is a very special Taiwanese oolong. It is one of our all-time favorites. It is a 1988 Alishan oolong that is very rare because it was intentionally aged. Most aged oolong is leftover tea that somehow made its way down the years, which means that there is very often storage issues like excessive oxygen and/or humidity, and we rarely know the specifics of the tea’s origins. With Cloud Gate, the best possible Alishan tea was purchased and aged in sealed jars, resulting in a very clean and immaculate vintage of tea. It was a traditionally processed oolong, with more oxidation and roast, which is from our perspective the ideal candidate for aging since oolong tea oxidizes over time (as opposed to puerh or black teas which ferment and oxidize). The traditionally processing means the tea had less water content and will therefore change more smoothly. Cloud Gate has beautiful Qi that rolls up into the clouds and tastes of berries and nuts. It also tastes of sour plum, which is a feature of aged Taiwanese high mountain oolong teas.