Oolong · Faxiang Village, Taiwan
Organic Qing Xin "Legacy Cultivar" Oolong Tea
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Tasting notes
About these tasting notes
These are the tasting notes we and others pick up most often. Palates vary, so you may catch some, all, or different ones — flavor is personal and subjective. Nothing is added: there are no added flavorings in this tea. Any notes you find developed naturally in the tea plant through rediscovered artisanal processing techniques.
About these tasting notes
These are the tasting notes we and others pick up most often. Palates vary, so you may catch some, all, or different ones — flavor is personal and subjective. Nothing is added: there are no added flavorings in this tea. Any notes you find developed naturally in the tea plant through rediscovered artisanal processing techniques.
Effects
About these effects
These are the effects people most often report from this tea. Bodies differ, so treat them as a common guide rather than a promise — most people notice at least one, but what you feel is personal.
About these effects
These are the effects people most often report from this tea. Bodies differ, so treat them as a common guide rather than a promise — most people notice at least one, but what you feel is personal.
Qing Xin - The "Preeminent" Heirloom Cultivar
Qing Xin ( 青心) "Green Heart, Soft Stem" is one of the most revered and classic "heirloom" cultivars for making premium Taiwanese and high-mountain oolongs. The composition of this cultivar is very delicate and hard to grow, as the "soft stem" portion of the name indicates. It yields a highly aromatic, smooth, and delicate tea characterized by vibrant floral notes, a velvety mouthfeel, and a lingering sweet aftertaste.
Notes from Staff: Perfect tea to enjoy before cleaning the house, working on a project, or to impress friends at your next social event. Best brewed in short steeps of 15-20 seconds. Typically this cultivar is turned into very expensive heritage Tie Guan Yin, so this tea is terrific value for money!
Why charcoal roasting costs more
Most tea today is roasted using an electric method, because it is faster, cheaper, and requires less skill, thus making it more consistent. This tea was roasted the traditional way: by an artisan's hand, over charcoal embers, using low heat over the course of many days under careful supervision. It takes far more knowledge, fuel, and time than electric roasting, but it rewards the tea with deeper flavor and the ability to age gracefully for decades.
Old Mountain Tea Guarantee
Our teas are guaranteed free from harmful chemicals. We source directly from small, clean family farms that take real pride in their work — no middlemen, no anonymous blends. Many of these teas are bug-bitten, and leafhoppers only feed on gardens grown without pesticides, so the leaf itself is living proof the garden is clean. Every tea is grown to organic standards and traceable to the farm that made it.
Origin & Terroir
- Cultivar
About this cultivar
Qing Xin (青心), meaning “Green Heart,” is one of Taiwan’s most time-honored tea cultivars. Originally from Anxi, Fujian, it was brought to Taiwan by settlers in the 18th and 19th centuries and became foundational to many of the island’s finest teas. Also known as Ruan Zhi (软枝), or “Soft Stem,” Qing Xin is prized for its naturally high levels of the terpenes linalool and nerolidol, which contribute to its distinctive floral fragrance and deeper, more complex flavor compared with common cultivars such as Four Seasons (Si Ji Chun).
A naturalized traditional cultivar that predates the Taiwan TRES/Tai Cha numbering system, Qing Xin has also played an important ancestral role in later generations of tea cultivars, including Jin Xuan. Its low yields and sensitivity to wind, pests, and disease make it difficult to cultivate, but also help explain its premium reputation. It remains a defining cultivar in high-mountain oolongs, Dong Ding, Oriental Beauty, and WenShan Baozhong.
- Qing Xin(青心) literally, "Green Heart"
- Status
- Rare Cultivar
- Processing method
- Medium Oxidized Oolong - Heavy Roast(Zhòng-Huǒ) (重火)
- Charcoal roast level
Why charcoal roasting costs more
Roasted by hand over low charcoal embers across multiple sessions and days, far slower than electric roasting. It deepens flavor and lets the tea age well, which is why charcoal-roasted teas cost more.
- Region
- Ren'ai Township, Faxiang Vilage, Nantou County, Taiwan
- Harvest
- Winter 2025
- Climate
- Cool, Mountainous, Temperate
- Oxidation level
What oxidation level means
Oxidation is what turns green tea into oolong or black tea — as leaves are bruised and rested, enzymes react with oxygen and deepen their color and flavor. Green tea sees almost none; oolong ranges widely; black tea is oxidized fully.
- Picking style
Why picking style matters
Hand-plucking means workers select each bud and leaf by touch, one at a time — far slower and more expensive than machine harvesting, but gentler on the leaf. As labor costs rise, fewer gardens still pick this way, making hand-plucked tea increasingly rare.
- Hand Plucked
- Bug-bitten level
- 0%
How to brew it
Leaf · 5 g
Water · purified soft water, freshly boiled
First infusion · 20 seconds
Each infusion after · add 15 sec
Up to 12 infusions
Leaf · 5 g
Water · purified soft water, freshly boiled
First infusion · 2 minutes
Second infusion · 5 minutes
Third infusion · 10 minutes
