Ba Xian 八仙

Ya Hou, Feng Huang Shan (Phoenix Mountain), Chao Zhou, Guang Dong Province, China

Ba Xian gets its name from eight ancient tea trees related to the famous Eight Immortals in Chinese mythology. Tea Drunk's Ba Xian hails from the village where Ba Xian originated from, Ya Hou. This village is the most prized location for the cultivar and sits at ~900 ft elevation.

Category: Wu Long (Oolong) Tea

Sub-Category: Chao Zhou Wu Long (Dan Cong, Phoenix Wu Long)

First, the freshly picked leaves of a Dan Cong need to be sun wilted. Once the leaves are silky and soft, they move inside to wilt under shade and gently flip occasionally. The signature step to making Wu Long (Oolong) tea is the shaking step, where the tea maker shows their skill by regulating how the water travels from the stems to the leaves and out. It is traditionally done by shaking the leaves on a bamboo tray but is commonly done with a tumbling machine. This step varies by tea and weather; it takes a thoroughly experienced tea maker to decide how soon and often to shake the tea. This step usually takes tea makers all night to complete. After the tea has rested for a few hours to ferment, the leaves are transferred to a firing wok or machine to have all the residual enzymes killed early in the morning. The hot teas are then transferred to a rolling device, rolled into string shapes, and spread out evenly onto baking trays to be baked dry. After the tea season, the refining process starts with the tedious step of picking out old stems and leaves, usually taking months to finish. Then the "cleaned" teas are charcoal roasted over a very dim ash fire for 6-10 hours. Many teas need to repeat this step, with at least three weeks' resting time between each roasting.

Ba Xian is a late budding cultivar known for its elegance and mild citrus and orchid notes. Tea Drunk's Ba Xian showcases its top terroir with pronounced Cong Wei.

Please see above for the category specific brewing specs for Gong Fu brewing. For brewing in a teapot, mug, or single cup visit this article here.

This foundational course is a great resource to help you understand the methods and motions of Gong Fu Brewing.