18 Ruby

Description

Tea: 18 Ruby (black tea)

Grower: Alfredo Lin

Teamaker: Alfredo Lin

Origin: Mingjian - Nantou, Taiwan

Elevation: 300m (980ft)

Cultivation: Natural (Organic, but no certification)

Harvest Date: July 2018 (Summer)

• • •

Complex and well-balanced. Notes of sarsaparilla, cherry, and spearmint.

Brisk, well-rounded texture with long-lasting, cool menthol aftertaste.

• • •

The Tea

18 Ruby is Alfredo Lin's take on Taiwan's famous Ruby #18 black tea. He patented the name "18 Ruby" in Taiwan for his own batches, which are of superior quality. Like many other famous teas, Ruby #18 is often poorly processed material that depends on marketing and packaging. However, Alfredo's "18 Ruby" is truly fantastic, thanks to two reasons:

(1) Alfredo learned to craft Ruby #18 from Master Aones, the Taiwanese teamaster who first perfected and popularized the tea. Like many Taiwanese teamakers, Alfredo's background is in oolong tea. He quickly became an award-winning black tea specialist under the tutelage of Master Aones.

(2) Alfredo harvests the tea from his own all-natural tea garden. This tea garden was once depleted by chemical use, and the soils were very poor; as a result, the tea plants were not very healthy. Alfredo has revived the tea field by reintroducing native micro-organisms to the soil, and by using organic fertilizers. It has become his passion to convert conventional tea fields into healthy, biodiverse gardens.

In Alfredo's garden, the tea plants have a distinct pink-yellow hue in the young shoots. This reflects a particularly high thearubigin content in the leaves, thanks to the incredibly healthy soil and environment.

The Ruby #18 style is named after the No. 18 cultivar, Hong Yu "Red Jade", which was developed by Taiwan's Tea Research Extension Station (TRES) for black tea production. The cultivar is a cross between a large-leaf Assam cultivar, and the native Taiwan wild mountain tea tree. Cultivar No. 18 produces a distinct herbaceous, bright fruit and menthol profile, and exhibits high thearubigin content when cultivated correctly.

• • •

Recommended Brewing Instructions:

Use 2tsp (~4g) per 250ml cup. Brew for 2 minutes.

- 195F for a smoother, lighter profile with honeysuckle notes.

- 205F for a bolder, fuller profile with stronger malt and sweet citrus notes.

This tea can be rebrewed up to 5 times, with hotter water and longer infusions.

Reviews

FlavorVotesAvg Strength
Fruit::Tree Fruit::Cherry36.0
Sweet::Candy36.7
Mineral22.5
Overall Score: 83.75 (1 review)
Top Leaf Aromas: Fruit::Berry (1x),
Top Liquor Flavors: Fruit::Tree Fruit::Cherry (3x), Sweet::Candy (3x), Mineral (2x),
This chart illustrates tasting notes most identified and their respective intensities (referring to Tea Cupping Standards by World of Tea).

Contact the Grower

Contact us to schedule an online meetup with this grower.

18 Ruby

Grower: Goe Tea
Inventory: 24.00 lbs

Goe Tea

Region: Nantou, Taiwan