China Qi Zhong – Oolong

Brew & Taste

After brewing, Qi Zhong tea leaves unfurl into a sparkly amber to golden brown tea. First you’ll notice the slightly floral aroma reminiscent of mountain herbs after a rain, shortly joined by a decent note of minerals. Regarding taste, Qi Zhong oolong is velvety and harmonious. The first sip brings a round, full flavor without any disruptive astringency underlined with notes of minerals common among rocky oolongs from Wuyi. On the palate, you’ll slowly uncover a slight sweetness which gradually melts into a floral finish with a very pleasant, pure, and mineral finish. After the last sip, you’ll be rewarded with a lasting, dry yet gentle feeling of cool freshness. You can infuse this tea repeatedly – each new cup will highlight its mineral character and make the floral notes even milder.

Origins

Qi Zhong oolong comes from the Wuyi Mountains, a mountainous area in Fujian Province in southeastern China. And if you visit the cradle of the famous Yan Cha rock oolongs, you can look forward to steep rock faces, narrow valleys, and terraced tea plants. All this creates a landscape that looks more like a natural amphitheater rather than a typical tea-growing region. It is no coincidence that Wuyi is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its unique combination of nature, ancient tea gardens, and millennia-old culture.
The tea plantations where Qi Zhong comes from are located at an altitude of approximately 800 meters above sea level. Cooler nights, morning mists, and slower maturation of the leaves give the plants time to accumulate more minerals and aromatic compounds. The result is a rich yet delicate infusion. Actually, it’s precisely this combination that Wuyi rock oolong lovers seek so much.
The Wuyi Mountains are famous for their Yan Yun, or ‘rock charm’. This is a specific mineral trace that the location imprints on the taste of the tea. That’s thanks to the local basalt soil, which is incredibly rich in minerals. As the leaves grow, they absorb the character of the rocky subsoil, which then reflects in their taste.
The method of processing oolong teas here has a long tradition. The leaves are carefully picked by hand, allowed to partially oxidize, and then carefully heated and dried to develop the aromas typical of rock oolongs, i.e., fullness, smoothness, and a distinctive mineral character without the grit.
Qi Zhong is one of the four famous rock oolongs, so it also carries a mark of prestige: each sip is a small excursion into the tea history of Wuyi Mountain, where top-notch oolongs were created for centuries.

Tea packaging preview

We pack our teas in a strong, zip-lock aluminum packet which allows you to easily re-seal its contents. This container protects the quality of the tea against humidity, light or foreign odors, all of which could noticeably affect the quality of the brew.