The folk pedigree of the Oolong plants goes:
Wulong -> Amanita -> Shui Xian -> 10 original Phoenix fragrance types
This flight is the first three generations of this genetic lineage, with 10 gram sample bags of:
Wulong 烏龍品種 - The ancestor of the tea plants collectively known as Oolong tea is Wulong, or Dark Dragon. The custom of harvesting specific lineages to make individual varietals is one of the main innovations defining Oolong tea as a category (the other being the elaborate processing techniques involving oxidation and roasting with charcoal). This ancestral plant gives its name to the whole style - Oolong is just a phonetic spelling of Wulong. To distinguish this cultivar from oolong tea in general in Chinese, it is referred to as Wulong Cultivar. Wulong plants would be intentionally propagated and back-bred to produce a stable strain. It is rarely seen anymore because it is very low-yielding, producing about 2/5 the amount of more popular Oolong cultivars. Our Wulong is produced by Lin Yao Bin from a heritage stand of old Wulong plants. It is lower oxidized than most Phoenix oolongs, and has a complex floral character, with notes from other Phoenix oolongs detectable from its ancestral genome.
Amanita 紅茵 - One of the descendants of the Wulong plant, this cultivar gained popularity in its own right under the name Hong Yin meaning "Amanita". It has a delicate perfume and is one of our most fragrant Phoenix oolongs. It is more oxidized than its ancestor Wulong and is notable not only for being an outstanding tea but for being the ancestor of Shui Xian.
Shui Xian - A descendant of Amanita, this tea's name means "Water Immortal". Shui Xian is one of the most cosmopolitan tea breeds and can be found in the Wuyi Mountains, Southern Fujian, and Taiwan. Much of the founding genetics of these other Oolong-producing regions comes from Shui Xian. Most importantly, Shui Xian is considered the ancestor of all ten of the original Phoenix Mountain fragrance types, from which the hundreds of varieties of Phoenix Single Bush oolongs descend.
