Jin Xuan 2023

Often called ‘milky oolong’ for the cultivar’s tendency toward aromas of milk and butter, this Jin Xuan takes a detour through the brothy before it decides to get lactic: the first infusions are redolent with the taste and texture of dashi, the seaweed basis for full-flavored miso soup, but subsequent steepings release its characteristic note with a good dash of cinnamony spice and the cooling aftertaste of pear. Lest miso soup and spiced milk sound too disparate to play well together, what can we say? In the alchemy of Camellia, many wondrous things become possible, and the warming sensation of this tea is an embrace from the inside out.