Oriental Beauty of Gaba
--
Sapphire Gaba Oolong
Oriental Beauty by Gaba
Harvest: March 2022
Terroir: Tea garden at 1000 m above sea level in Ali Shan (this tea garden is certified organic in Taiwan)
Roast level: medium
Degree of fermentation: 55%
Fermentation method: anaerobic fermentation
Gaba content: 235 mg / 100 g
Oriental Beauty by Gaba? How?
The leaves of this Sapphire Gaba Oolong were visited by small green cicadas (Empoasca onukii) and partially eaten as the tea was grown in a garden that is certified organic in Taiwan. The result of being bitten by the green cicadas is a very fruity, sweeter and flourishing Tea, which is why the famous Taiwanese tea Oriental Beauty is fruity, sweet and floral. That is why we describe this tea as the Oriental Beauty from Gaba. However, since it was not intended by the farmers to be visited by green cicadas, it was pure luck of nature, not every year Sapphire Gaba Oolong can be as fruity and floral as an Oriental Beauty Oolong.
taste
Compared to our Lishan Gaba Oolong, which tastes like ripe fruit or cooked fruit, this Sapphire Gaba tastes like it sweet fresh fruits reminiscent of nectarine, ripe peach and dates. The flowering is very pronounced, but it is not easy to tell which flower. It's like the aroma of a tropical flower that you smell in a tropical botanical garden or in the rainforest in Southeast Asia.
This is a very balanced and harmonious combination of taste and aroma when you notice how easily some Gaba Oolong taste too strong and heavy due to the fermentation process.
A little about Gaba
GABA is the abbreviation for gamma-amino-butyric acid, an amino acid that is one of the most important neurotransmitters in the central nervous system. An additional step of fermenting the oolong tea in an oxygen-free and nitrogen-rich environment for less than 30 hours increases the Gaba element in the tea.
Gaba tea was an invention of the Japanese. But the Gaba tea made from Japanese tea leaves is quite astringent. Nowadays, more Gaba tea is made in Taiwan because when it is made from Taiwanese high mountain tea, the astringency is much lower and the tea is much smoother and more delicious.