Charcoal Roast Oolong

Description

Roasting is where this style is won or lost. This tea goes over charcoal in several slow passes across the summer, resting between each one so the heat travels to the middle of the pellet instead of scorching the outside.

The result is amber rather than gold, and it drinks like something baked: warm grain, dried fruit, a little caramel at the edges. It is the tea we reach for when the weather turns and the light goes early.

How we drink it

Rinse it briefly to wake the roast, then pour that away. Keep the first infusion short. It is forgiving — leave it too long and it deepens rather than turning bitter.