The area around the legendary tea mountain Ali Shan is located in the central southern part of Taiwan directly under the equally important tea region Nantou. The vast area of Ali Shan is attributed to the Taiwanese province of Chiayi, is extraordinarily mountainous and varies in altitude from 360 to over 3900 meters above sea level. The main tea growing area is located at altitudes ranging from 1200 to 1600m. The vegetation presents itself diverse due to the heterogeneous landscape. Subtropical forests in the lower regions change to evergreen deciduous forests in higher levels to oak, coniferous forests and then increasingly to vegetatively sparse areas in the upper regions.
The great natural diversity makes Ali Shan one of the most important tourist destinations in Taiwan, and the local Ali Shan Railway is the third highest of its kind in the whole world. Sunrises over the Ali Shan Mountains, including spectacular views across the sea of fog into the mountain forests, are among the must-dos for Taiwan visitors.
Tea cultivation benefits from this unique terroir. At an altitude of over 1200m, the plants are exposed to an ideal stimulating climate with strong temperature changes from day to night, a lot of precipitation and only little direct sunlight. The soil there itself is generally very rich in minerals, especially shale.
For our Anaiza Ali Shan Oolong, the cultivar preferred in Taiwan for High Mountain Oolongs is Qīng Xīn (engl. green heart). It is particularly resistant to cold and grows comparatively slowly, which ensures a greater content of minerals and consequently a more complex flavor.
The leaves for the tea come from the first harvest of the year in spring. As is common with most highland oolongs, the bud is harvested from the fresh shoots with up to three additional subsequent leaves. Quality characteristics for high quality Taiwan Oolong are a shiny green, fresh color, and little to no stem material.
In detail, the production for the raw tea proceeds in the following steps:
- Approx. 1.5h withering to reduce moisture content and first, light oxidation. The leaves are turned 1-3 times to decelerate the oxidation process.
- Approx. 7-9h indoor wilting: the leaves are taken out of the sunlight for further indoor wilting. In this process, they are first widely distributed and later more heaped. Here, the leaves are lightly tossed twice and strongly tossed twice for better evaporation and fermentation. The first cracks appear in the leaves, especially at the edges, and allow the cell sap to escape easily. Enzymes separated in the intact cell (e.g. phenoloxidases) and other ingredients, such as polyphenols, come together and react with oxygen (oxidation)
- Approx. 8-15 min. "Big waves stirring": In this process step, the plant cells are broken up more intensively by intensive agitation, partly by machine, partly by hand. Oxidation is specifically promoted.
- Approx. 3-4h oxidation: The tea leaves are piled up to a layer of approx. 5cm thickness in order to store heat and to specifically promote oxidation.
- The approx. 8-minute oven heating (78°C) now stops the oxidation of the leaves (Green Kill).
- Rolling of the leaves in Ball Cloth Rolling Machine (approx. 2 min.): the leaves are broken up by a rotating ball, cell juice flows out of them and spreads on the surface, gives a special aroma.
- Ball Cloth Rolling Machine: pressing, rolling, shaping (ball shape) and drying of the leaves in a cloth bag, clamped in a clamp with a rotating bottom plate,
- Drying: the tea is dried in an oven under 80°C (until moisture below 3%), the drying and Ball Cloth Rolling are repeated several times for 10h.
- Then, the tea is roasted in an oven at temperatures ranging from 85-120°C, depending on the desired degree of roasting. Traditional Ali Shan Oolong like this one undergoes only a short, careful roasting to preserve the natural floral fresh aroma.
