Avant-Garde /ˌæv.ɑ̃ːˈɡɑːd /
adj. favouring or introducing new and experimental ideas and methods.
Oriental Beauty Avant-Garde from Tea Repertoire is certainly an avant-garde version of Oriental Beauty oolong tea, given that none of the following criteria - tea terroir, cultivar, harvest season and production method - fits exactly in the common definition or established understanding of the prototype of Oriental Beauty, a legendary oolong known as champagne of tea.
How avant-garde is it then? Except that it’s still made from bug-bitten tea leaves, it’s unconventional in every respect - It’s made from Jin Xuan cultivar (a well-known cultivar to make Milk Oolong) instead of Qing Xin Da Mao cultivar, the conventional cultivar to make Oriental Beauty. It’s high grown in Ali Mountain, above 1200m, instead of low-grown in Hsinchu in Northern Taiwan. It’s not made from summer crop, but from winter harvest. It’s not only oxidised, but also has been roasted. The tea leaves are not twisted but rolled into pellets...
By now, one might wonder if this tea can be still called as Oriental Beauty. Whatever your opinion could be on this definition and nomination issue, you will be nonetheless impressed by the magnificent orchestra of its delightful flavours - vibrant and persistent muscat, peach, honey and orange blossom notes. An exceptional tea that will bring you to a truly belle epoque as your glass of Perrier-Jouet would.
The article, written by Sujin Lee, was shared with CaffeineMag, London, UK. An inspired version was published.
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