Red Jade Gaba oolong tea, Taiwan 紅玉佳葉龍茶

An unusual  tea from Taiwan, Red Jade GABA (紅玉佳葉龍), also known as Ruby GABA. This tea is made from Hong Yu TRES No. 18 cultivar. Hong Yu translates as Red Jade or Ruby, hence the name for this tea. GABA tea is also known as Jia Ye Long in Chinese (佳葉龍). This batch is from october 2024 harvest.

The Red Jade cultivar was developed in Taiwan very recently in an attempt to reinvigorate black tea production of the country. This cultivar was developed from an Assamica strain from Burma and the local wild tea from Taiwan. Wild Shan Cha compares interestingly to the new Red Jade cultivar. They both exhibit similar qualities, however the teas made with the new Red Jade cultivar have a unique eucalyptus and mint edge to them.

Our Red Jade GABA is organically grown around Mingjian Township of Nantou County. After plucking and rolling, this tea undergoes oxidation in an oxygen deprived environment. This is the unique process that is employed to achieve all GABA teas. The tea is placed into large tanks. Oxygen is then flushed out with nitrogen and the tea is left to oxidise. As the environment is oxygen deprived, the oxidation process happens very slowly. This results in a much larger amount of GABA molecules being present in the finished tea.

Red Jade GABA  tea comes in tightly rolled oolong-style leaves, producing a medium strength liquor with a scent of raisins and currants. The taste is crisp and very mellow, which is the result of the slow oxidation process. The flavours prevalent are of sweet raisins and tart dried fruits. The flavours linger in your mouth and there is a definite minty aftertaste detectable that is a characteristic quality of this tea. Although the flavours do linger, the finish is very clean without any tannins or astringency. A very interesting and unusual tea – definitely worth taking time to enjoy this one!

Origin- Ming Jian, Nantou County

Garden elevation- 300-350meters

Oxydation level 60-70%

Production date- october, 2024

Picking style- hand picked leaves

Cultivar- Hong Yu  TTES.18 

Producer- Mr Yu, nitrogen process