{"title":"Start Here","description":"\u003ch3\u003eBuild Your Own Starter Pack\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere are a few of our favorite and most popular teas. You can choose one or a few to dive into with our 30 gram sample size.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe've tried to include an offering from across the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/floatingleaves.us\/blogs\/explore\/the-oolong-spectrum\" title=\"oolong spectrum\"\u003espectrum of oolong tea\u003c\/a\u003e. It's a wide category with many different flavor profiles, so we like to start people off with a range so you can find what you like.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe think that this Dong Ding Traditional A is a great representative of what Taiwanese oolong can do. It is a satisfying tea with gruff personality. We love it so much we even made \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/floatingleaves.us\/blogs\/explore\/dong-ding-documentary\" title=\"dong ding documentary\"\u003ea documentary about it\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHigh Mountain Oolong shows off the mastery of aroma from modern Taiwanese tea production. They can be floral, buttery and citrusy, with light body and excellent aftertaste. If you like beautiful, complex aromas this is a good place to enter the world of Taiwanese oolong.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"2017-spring-dong-ding-traditional-a","title":"Noah's Dong Ding","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is our most mature, nuanced take on traditional Dong Ding oolong. It is painstakingly processed in the old, slow methods and roasted with an eye towards ultimate depth and aging potential*. It is the same material that would go into Mrs. Su's finest Dong Ding Traditional A.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach micro-batch is different, but our litmus test before we decide to release a batch of this tea is that it is full in body, expansive in the mouth and can spread out to cause a long lingering aftertaste in the throat. The roast lends it a pleasant toastiness like that of toasted grains, but not an outright charcoal flavor as you might find in dark Tie Guanyin. It is a textural tea with bold, mouthwatering development that reaches into the belly with a warm, grounding feeling. This is a tea that we feel represents the heart and soul of Taiwan. Hearty, genuine, hospitable and unpretentious.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWe roast in tiny batch sizes, and your batch will be identified by the roast date written on the bag. Current batch finished on March 30th. This is a 5 roast batch with what I consider a very classic traditional Dong Ding taste. Toasty-grainy and stone fruit with a mineral quality that makes the broth run through the mouth like a refreshing stream. It's not as heavy as five roasts may imply, but it defintely has some fire to it. Overall a very yummy and classical kind of a batch!\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you're going to try one tea from Floating Leaves, we hope it will be this one. Dong Ding has taught us so much over the years, and we want to share it's humble, heartfelt beauty with you. It is our unofficial flagship tea.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMake sure to brew with boiling hot water - and pre-warm your teaware. This tea loves the heat.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e*Note on aging : \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDue to its slow, staggered roasting method, this tea is an excellent candidate for aging. We find it really blooms in 3-6 months after the roasting date. If you can wait 2 years, you'll have something that far outperforms what you paid for. In 7-10 years magic can happen. That's the beauty of traditionally processed and roasted Dong Ding, unlike modern versions it gets better over time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eFacts\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHarvest Location : Dong Ding, Nantou, Taiwan\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRoast Date : 2026 March \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCultivar : Soft Stem [Ruan Zhi Wu Long]\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFarming : From a garden regularly tested by SGS as having 0% pesticide residues\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePodcast Episode\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe data-name=\"pb-iframe-player\" style=\"border: none;\" width=\"100%\" height=\"122\" src=\"https:\/\/www.podbean.com\/media\/player\/vv2pp-c217b6?from=usersite\u0026amp;skin=1\u0026amp;share=1\u0026amp;fonts=Helvetica\u0026amp;auto=0\u0026amp;download=1\u0026amp;version=1\" title=\"Stories from Dong Ding Plateau\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Floating Leaves Tea","offers":[{"title":"25g","offer_id":39651319480527,"sku":"","price":10.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"75g","offer_id":39651319513295,"sku":"","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0561\/0455\/0607\/files\/light_DDA.jpg?v=1756941784"},{"product_id":"sweet-cream-alishan-high-mountain-2024-winter","title":"Sweet Cream Alishan High Mountain 2026 Spring","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis tea reminds me of why I fell in love with Alishan. The adorable milk candy aroma endears itself to you while the brighter floral notes give it a lively feeling like it's dancing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBroth is full, round and creamy. A fullness reaches deep into the throat and settles into the belly. Throaty aftertaste is prominent, an effect of its more traditional processing style. Leaves have a nice, thin red ring around the perimeter and broth is a nice bright golden color. In other words, excellent oolong processing skill. Leaves are also picked at the goldilocks stage for this tea, just on the tender side of fully mature, where the smaller top leaf is just fully open, leading to a smooth laid back tea free from grassy tastes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis farmer's quantity has been low these past few seasons, and this Spring we only got 1\/3 of what we had in Spring 2025. In the Winter of the same year we didn't get any. If you're a big fan of Sweet Cream, make sure to jump on it early.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"p1\"\u003eFacts\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHarvest Location : Alishan, Chiayi County, Taiwan\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHarvest Date : April, 2026\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCultivar : Qing Xin\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFarming Method : Conventional\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAltitude : 1250 Meters\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Floating Leaves US","offers":[{"title":"25g","offer_id":44113014423759,"sku":null,"price":13.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"75g","offer_id":44113014456527,"sku":"","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0561\/0455\/0607\/files\/sweetAli24Sp.jpg?v=1714933903"},{"product_id":"alishan-black-2025","title":"Alishan Black *Winter Sprout*","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlthough we've used the name Alishan \u003cem\u003eBlack\u003c\/em\u003e for years this is more accurately a Red Oolong - that means it is a kind of hybrid processing of black (or red) tea and oolong tea that results in the full, dark and sweet flavors of red tea arranged in an oolong type of profile. The fragrance is more complex and the mouthfeel more oolong-shaped. On top of that, this is in the Taiwanese tea category of 'honey fragrant' (Mi Xiang) red oolong, meaning it has a unique aroma of honey like Taiwanese bug bitten teas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur Alishan Black is an extremely fragrant tea, with notes ranging from tropical and stone fruit (peach, longyan) to sweet honey to rich carmalized flavors. A bit malty with a juicy texture. It is a big and flavorful fun tea that is grabs the attention of new oolong drinkers immediately. That's not to say old tea heads aren't drinking it though, some of our oldest customers drink this tea daily. Kind of desert like, we like to drink it after a meal to satisfy our sweet tooth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis batch was a rare 'winter sprout' (Dong Pian) harvest, a tiny quantity of leaves that some years will sprout during the colder months - December or sometimes early January. The cold weather slows growth so that the leaves collect lots of extra nutrients and produce special high notes. This gives the tea a lighter body and unique aroma that you just have to taste for yourself - it tastes like winter sprout! Twist my arm, there is just so much honey flavor in this batch, but a kind of herbal version like a late Autumn fireweed honey we once tasted.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt recently underwent it's final processing steps, and we have found the body was 'closed up' when it first arrived in Seattle. In the last three weeks it's opened up a lot, and we predict it will continue to do so. I think it's fair to say you can expect it will only improve with age!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eFacts\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHarvest Location : Alishan, Taiwan\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHarvest Date : December, 2025\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCultivar : Qing Xin\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Floating Leaves Tea","offers":[{"title":"25g","offer_id":44560133914831,"sku":null,"price":8.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"75g","offer_id":44560133947599,"sku":null,"price":23.75,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0561\/0455\/0607\/files\/2023dongpianAliBlack.jpg?v=1710543503"},{"product_id":"midnight-loose-shou-puer","title":"Midnight Loose Shou Puer","description":"\u003cp\u003eLoose shou puer mao cha from 2009, aged in Taiwan. The picking style is 'silver needle' or Yin Zhen, meaning the leaf was picked as a nice and tender bud  that gives rich, complex tea broth. With shou puer production, material quality can sometimes become and afterthought, but this tea has some seriously nice leaf.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBroth is velvety soft and thick, coating the mouth and soothing the throat. Sinks down to the belly with a deep warming quality. I chose this tea for its grounding energy and mellow mouthfeel, but aromatically it is no slouch. I notice dried fruit (like Chinese dates and Longyan), resiny old wood, dark chocolate and just a hint of smokiness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinding modern production tea of this caliber for anything approaching a reasonable price is getting difficult. On top of that, careful storage for years in Taiwan has done wonders for this tea, and the seller really hasn't calculated much of that into his cost. This was a sweet find.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBrewing note : As with most aged Shou Puer, we find that it's best practice not to rush the tea. A long brew time for the first infusion can lead to a nice strong taste out of the gate, but can rush the tea leading to less complex development later in the session. We try to ease into an aged shou puer session - meaning the first and second infusions might be a little thin, but it'll pay dividends as the session progresses. Plan for many brews.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eFacts\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHarvest Location : Menghai, Yunnan\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHarvest Date : 2009\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Floating Leaves Tea","offers":[{"title":"25g","offer_id":44797846585551,"sku":null,"price":12.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"75g","offer_id":44797846618319,"sku":null,"price":33.75,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0561\/0455\/0607\/files\/midnight.jpg?v=1769210321"}],"url":"https:\/\/floatingleaves.mom\/collections\/starter-pack.oembed","provider":"Floating Leaves Tea","version":"1.0","type":"link"}