Organic Strip-rolled "Big Leaf" Black Tea

$6.00 USD

Free shipping over $75 (US only).

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.

Cherry Muscatel grape Plum Light citrus Rhubarb

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.

Clear-headed feeling Focus Creativity

Qing Xin Da Pan - The Big Leaf Varietals

Made from the rarer Qing Xin Da Pan (青心大冇) cultivar—literally “Big Fat Green Heart”—the large leaves produce a rich cup of fruity, malty, and slightly citrus-forward flavor with the delicate floral finish this cultivar is known for. Because Qing Xin Da Pan is much less common than the more widely grown Taiwanese cultivars, teas made from it are especially interesting and increasingly difficult to find.

These large tea leaves are processed into long, thin strips, bringing out a deeper and more fruity character than you might expect from a black tea. An interesting point of detail for fellow tea nerds, is that the tea leaves were oxidized to just 80% instead of the full 100% for typical "black teas" (红茶). Additionally, its been lightly bug bitten and lightly charcoal roasted, resulting in a tea that's much closer to an Oriental Beauty or darkly oxidized "Red Oolong" rather than "Hong Cha" (红茶).

Notes from Staff: When I start drinking this tea in the morning, after lunch, or even early evening, I never want to stop drinking it. There are plenty of flavors to pick out, and after 3 or 4 steeps the fruitiness starts to give way to a subtle floral character, making this a very fun tea to drink.

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.

This tea's honeyed, fruit-forward character isn't an additive — it comes from insects. Leafhoppers feed only on gardens grown without pesticides, and their bites trigger the plant to release aromatic compounds no processing technique can fake. The tradeoff: bitten leaves are smaller and far less abundant, so gardens that allow this yield a fraction of a normal harvest.

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.

Read our full guarantee →

Extremely Rare CultivarOrganic FarmsSmall Batch ProductionHand-harvested & ProcessedNo Added Flavors or Preservatives — Ever!Secure Checkout30-day Returns

Not sure yet? Try a Discovery Set

Origin & Terroir

Cultivar About this cultivar Qing Xin Da Pan (青心大冇), also known as Qing Xin Da Mao, Qing Xin Damou, or Ching-shin dah-pan, is a rare Taiwanese heirloom sub-varietal of Qing Xin. Developed through generations of farmer selection and natural cross-pollination in Taoyuan, Hsinchu, and Miaoli, it retains some genetic variation between individual plants rather than coming from a single standardized breeding cross. It is prized for its high bud production and exceptional response to bug-biting, making it the traditional cultivar used for authentic Dong Fang Mei Ren (Oriental Beauty). Although it shares the Qing Xin name, Qing Xin Da Pan is genetically distinct from standard Qing Xin and is found primarily in northwestern Taiwan, accounting for roughly 6% of the island’s tea production.: Qing Xin Da Pan(青心大冇) (literally "big fat green heart")
Status: Extremely Rare Cultivar
Processing method: Heavy Oxidized, Bug Bitten, Light Roast
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.: (15% · Low)

Region: Zhuolan Township, Miaoli County, Taiwan
Harvest: Summer 2025(Organic)
Elevation: 440 meters
Climate: Humid, Tropical, Mountainous
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.: (80% · Medium-High)
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 Why bug-bitten tea costs more These leaves were bitten by tiny leafhoppers, which only feed on pesticide-free gardens. Their bites trigger the plant's natural defenses, producing honeyed, fruity notes — but damaged leaves mean a much smaller harvest.: (20% · Low)