Nighthawks (Dark Roasted Red Jade)

Tea Type: Black Tea

Tea Region: Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan

Tasting Notes

• Appearance: Clear, mahogany coloured liquor.  
• Aroma: Complex orchestra of aromas - firewood, coffee, prune and raisins, eucalyptus with a hint of clove, which evolves into ripe stone fruit (dark plum) and floral (violet) aromas. 
• Flavour: Firewood, dark chocolate, prune, raisins, honey, clove, baked apple, dark plum.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied, powerful, complex liquor with smooth mouthfeel and mild tannin. Sustained sweet, refreshing, minty finish. 

Brewing Guidance

• Measure 1g of tea per 100ml water. Boil water to 90℃. Steep for 4-5 minutes

Awards: 1 star at Great Taste Awards 2023

Tips for Tea Connoisseurs

Nighthawks is a name we gave to this tea masterpiece created by our great tea master, Mr. Li, as we thought this wonderfully complex tea deserves the name of the masterpiece artwork by Edward Hopper, Nighthawks (1942).

The base tea material for Nighthawks is Sun Moon Lake Red Jade, the most celebrated and sought-after black tea in Taiwan. Made from tea leaves of Red Jade cultivar (aka. TRES. NO.18), which is the unique hybrid cultivar between a strain of Assam cultivar (i.e. Camellia Sinensis Assamica) imported from Burma and a wild indigenous mountain tea plant in Taiwan, Red Jade cultivar naturally offers a complex flavour profile. 

Nighthawks is made from the tea leaves of Red Jade cultivar (No.18) grown on the hills of the picturesque Sun Moon Lake in Nantou County, a major tea growing region in Taiwan, home to many celebrated oolong and black teas. After the delicately hand-picking and meticulous, slow oxidation process, tea leaves have been carefully roasted over a month with longan wood. FYI, longan is a variety of lychee fruits grown in Asia. 

The result is an incredibly complex and outstanding black tea that offers the flavour of coffee, raisin, prune, caramel, dark chocolate to baked apple and floral notes. It is a truly unique and original specialty black tea that will be much appreciated by fine, dark oolong tea lovers as well as specialty coffee lovers. This masterpiece is an absolute must add to your tea repertoire! 

Sun Moon Lake region was initially developed for Assam black tea cultivation during the Japanese colonisation period in the early 20th century. After the devastating earthquake in 1999, many tea gardens growing Assam cultivar have been destroyed. Taiwan Research and Extension Station (henceforth TRES) decided to rebuild the black tea industry, by introducing unique tea cultivars. In particular, Red Jade cultivar has been a tremendous success since its official introduction in 1999 and its cultivation has brought a renaissance of speciality black tea production in Sun Moon Lake region.   

Black tea is known to be just as beneficial as green tea for our health and well-being. A recent study indicates several health benefits of black tea by demonstrating that flavonoids found in black tea boost the immune system to prevent flu and other viral infection and encourage the growth of healthy microorganism in the liver to boost energy metabolism and weight loss. 

If you like this product you may also like Yunnan Purple Buds, Nangang Honey Black and Sun Moon Lake Red Jade.