18 Ruby


$ 11.00




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. 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 tea to differentiate it from the inferior “Ruby 18” teas available on the commodity market. This tea is of superior quality because of the skill in processing and care used in cultivating the tea plants.

Alfredo Lin, founder of Goe Tea, comes from a long line of tea growers and teamakers. His extended family has been farming for hundreds of years. His mother still plucks tea in their fields. He 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.

Alfredo harvests the tea from his own all-natural tea garden near Sun Moon Lake. 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.

Provenance:

  • Origin: Shuili Nantou, Taiwan
  • Grower/Teamaster: Alfredo Lin, Goe Tea
  • Elevation: 300m (980ft)
  • Harvest Date: July 2018
  • Cultivar: Tres or Ruby #18 (a cross between a large-leaf Assam cultivar, and the native Taiwan wild mountain tea tree)
  • Cultivation: Natural (Organic, but no certification)
  • Plucking Standard: A bud and two leaves, handplucked
  • Nickname: 18 Ruby, Hong Yue (Red Jade)
  • History/Pedigree: 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.

Brewing Suggestions1:

  • Water: 195-205˚F
  • Tea: 2g per 4oz of water (about a heaping 2 teas2)
  • Infusion:
    • Western: 2 minutes with 2-4 additional infusions at higher temps and/or longer times. Or you can do a longer infusion of 3-5 minutes with no or less additional infusions.
    • Eastern/Gong fu: Start with a quick 10s infusion and then increase infusion time by 50% until you reach 60s. Continue at 60s until steeped out (e.g., 10s, 15s, 22s, 30s,45s, 60s,…)

Tasting Notes:

  • Complex and well-balanced. Notes of sarsaparilla, cherry, and spearmint.
  • Brisk, well-rounded texture with long-lasting, cool menthol aftertaste, distinct herbaceous and bright fruit profile; smoother, lighter profile with honeysuckle notes at lower end of temperature range, bolder, fuller profile with stronger malt and sweet citrus notes at higher end.

1 Brewing suggestions are just that. Try it the suggested way then experiment. Some tea drinkers like to use slightly hotter and longer times for each subsequent infusion.

2 Weighing your tea is always the best way to control your dosage. I provide approximate volume measures for convenience, but they can be problematic due to the variance in tea leaf shape and size. It’s best to use the single appropriate volume measure for the tea, i.e., don’t try to measure 1.5TB using two spoons meant to measure 1 TB and a ½ TB. Use an actual 1.5 TB measuring spoon. Yes, they make them! I like the oblong ones to handle longer leaf styles.


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