Hou Zi Cai or Ma Liu Mi (Cantonese) is a greener, lightly roasted Monkey Picked variety of oolong from Anxi county, famous for producing Tie Guan Yin. This lovely spring harvest offers a very light cup that is gorgeously intricate in profile with a lingering, pronounced floral note.
About the leaves:
Grown between 500 and 1200 meters above sea level, our 2019 Ma Liu Mi is a lighter roast oolong harvested in May from 10-year-old trees. Its picking standard is one bud and 2 or 3 leaves, which can grow up to 8 cm in length. The leaves are then fired by hand and roasted once.
Oolong Tea | Moderate caffeine | Steep at 180° for 2-3 minutes.
Anxi County is often synonymous with Tie Guan Yin, “Iron Goddess” tea. It is known infamously throughout the world as one of China’s top 10 teas. Ma Liu Mi or ‘Monkey King’ Oolong belongs to the zhengchao style of Tie Guan Yin, with a satisfying brisk and smooth flavor.
As the legend goes, the cliffs where this tea is cultivated are too steep for people to pick the tea leaves, so monkeys were needed to climb the cliffs and pick the tea for the farmers. Alternatively, it is said that farmers must tie a rope around their waist during harvests, allowing them to scale the cliffs and trees much like monkeys.
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When does this tea lose its flavor after it is harvest? How long can it be stored?
