2016 Pomelo-Aged 8 Immortals (柚子裝陳八仙, Yòu Zi Zhuāng Chén Bā Xiān, "Pomelo-Packed Old 8 Immortals") - This unusual aged tea hails from Jieyang, Guangdong, where it is a form of folk medicine. A pomelo is a large Chinese citrus fruit, similar to a grapefruit but with less bitterness. The fruit is hollowed out and the skin is filled with Eight Immortals Dan Cong oolong, wrapped with wire and twisted to press it tight, before being smoked and aged - sometimes for decades. The wrapping and pressing of the fruit gives it its characteristic "pumpkin" appearance. It is prepared by chiseling a chunk of tea and rind off and steeping it or boiling it. The tea and rind are prepared together, with a thumbprint-sized piece of the rind included with a 7-gram dosage of tea. The resulting tea is dark and rich, with a distinct citrus character and a deep, strong Qi.
1 Review
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enter the strange and fun
Throw any preconceived notions of brewing out the window. These cluster-chunks of herbaceous joy are on their own time. Just pay attention to the liquor. And be patient. A nice deep orange-brown will do. For my tastes. Cause I’m lookin for love. In a mean ‘ol world. Liquid joy. The nosefeel is citrus, and I presume, pomelo. What to say of these ancient Chinese folk tea medicines? a) they are delicious; and b) they taste better than that whiskey-stuff your granny used to make when you were young. Not that that was terrible, swaddled in the comforting arms of nostalgia. But this is noticeably better in the right now. ‘Patience is a virtue’ the women of my matrilineal line have been saying for untold generations. It seemed my mom would say it every 15 minutes when I was a kid. In other words, let it unfold. They were Daoists and didn’t know it. When the timing is right, take a sip. Tell us about it. I’m lookin for love. A tea like no other I’ve had the pleasure to sip. Sip sippin. Trip trippin on the lip lippin. Citrus tang palpable on the tongue. Brightness. Beneath that, an earthy minerality. Gut-bucket blues. Played so nice you can’t help but smile. Slap your thighs. It’s another rainy, rainy day here in southern Appalachia, which we’ve had a lot of lately. I’m done trying to predict the weather. It was snowing in LA yesterday on the cusp of March. Thankfully for me, I sit in a dry space, drafty 110 year-old cabin though it may be. But this tea. Has uplifted me. In the span of 15 minutes I’ve went from groggy-at-best to ready to unify the world from my kitchen. Come on in my kitchen, baby. Let’s drink tea. Maybe Ancestor Lu and his cast of Immortals will drop by sometime. When we’re least expecting it and have hit that tang-minerality spectrum just right, by their standards. Any tea invoking immortals is worthy of our attention. Thankfully, graciously, this one delivers the love.
