A Xian Lin Xi olyan — szerintem kivételes minőségű — oolong tea, amit lágyabb ízvilágú ételsor mellé vagy után, illetve bármilyen ételsor elé, vagy akár helyett ajánlok. Mint minden oolong, maga is zöld tea, világoszöld főzettel. A 2-3 csészére elég vizet befogadó kanna kiemelhető szűrőjébe tett, apró gömbökké zsugorított egész tealevelekre öntjük a forró vizet, majd ízléstől függően kb. 1 perc után a szűrőt kivesszük a vízből és a mellékelt tálkába tesszük. A tea 5-10-szer újraforrázható, mindig kissé más, de értékes ízeket hangsúlyoz.
Íme egy stuttgarti teakereskedőháztól átvett kép és leírás:
This wonderful oolong takes its name from Yang Gui Fei, a concubine of the Chinese emperor during the Tang Dynasty who was known for her extraordinary beauty. Although the origin of the tea’s name goes back a long way, this is in fact a relatively new type of tea that first came about after an earthquake forced tea farmers to evacuate the village of Feng Huang, Hsinchu County (Nantou) in 1999. When the farmers returned to the village they noticed that green leaf hoppers (tiny jassids, “Jacobiasca Formosana Paoli”) had bitten into the leaves and stems of the tea plants. Rather than lose the whole crop they processed the least damaged leaves and noticed that the tea tasted completely different – with an intense sweetness they had never known before.
As is the case in Oriental Beauty (Bai Hao / Dongfang Meiren), Concubine oolong is therefore a jassid-bitten oolong. Oriental Beauty is also made from tea leaves that have been bitten by jassids and, according to legend, was also created “accidentally” when a tea farmer decided to produce tea from jassid bitten leaves rather than discard his crop.
The similarity between Concubine Oolong and Oriental Beauty ends there though. This tea, 40-50 % oxidized and grown on Mount Lin Xi at 1500 meters, has tightly rolled leaves, is from different cultivar (Qing Xin) and has been roasted, which means it will keep well and even develop more interesting flavours with time.
Drunk young this tea is clean and fresh, with no bitterness at all. Aromatic and bright, the liquor is lovely dark amber colour and is fruity and sweet. With plum and even guava notes, the body is smooth and of medium strength. With light floral undertones that linger in the mouth this is a fantastic example of a concubine oolong. More intense than Oriental Beauty it makes a nice contrast to the less oxidized oolongs and would be a great introduction to stronger, roasted oolongs.