Alishan Gao Shan (阿里山高山茶)
archetype: Cloud deer
A light deer on a cloudy plateau: floral freshness, a cool sweetness, the gentle breath of the mountains.
History
Alishan Gao Shan is one of the chief high-mountain Taiwanese oolongs. The plantations were laid out on the slopes of Mount Alishan in Chiayi in the 1980s; the main cultivars are Jin Xuan and Qing Xin Wulong. Light oxidation (10–25 %), gentle roasting, the leaf rolled into a pearl. The wide day-night temperature swing at 1000–1600 m gives the leaf a dense sugar load and a fine floral aroma — hence its characteristic 'cloudy' lightness.
Terroir
The best gardens are Shilu, Shizhuokeng, Long Feng Xia. Leaves above 1300 m give the longest, finest floral aftertaste.
Leaf
white orchid, pear, creamy sweetness, a long cool finish; in long infusions a grassy note of the plateau long, cool, leaving 'mountain air' in the throat — a light sweet echo
Properties
rich in theanine and volatile esters; gentle stimulation, favourable for breathing and sleep light, rising into head and upper chest; felt as a 'straightening of the shoulders' moderate (30–45 mg)
Brewing ritual
a white gaiwan, 110 ml; 88 °C; 7 g / 110 ml. 12s — white orchid, cool pear; 10s — the peak: creamy sweetness, floral pollen; 12s — a light grassy note, the cool of the plateau; 18s — a long sweet trail; 30s — a thin orchid — an echo; 45s — the finale: coolness in the throat, like high air.
When to drink
day and early evening. spring and summer — especially when it is stuffy. when the lower body feels heavy; when the breath needs to be lifted; for fatigue in the shoulders