Jade Qilin is a very special True Cliff oolong from within the Wuyi Mountain Nature's Reserve in Northern Fujian. The magnificent Wuyi Mountains, a protected Nature Reserve in Fujian, is home to some of the most treasured and highly sought after oolongs in China. An UNESCO World Heritage site, it famously consists of 36 peaks, 72 caves and 99 cliffs. This area is so treasured that each of its unique geological features has been depicted in writings and drawings for centuries. Tea from this area is called yancha 岩茶, "cliff or rock oolong." True yanchas are rare, as they come from the limited number of tea trees located within the Nature Reserve that are harvested according to ancestral rites. The varietal of this tea, Yu Qilin, is extremely rare amongst the already rare Wuyi cliff oolongs. One from within the Nature Reserve is near impossible to come by. With gratitude for the connections that allowed us to source this tea, it is truly a privilege to be able to share it. Yu Qilin, or "Jade Qilin," is the name of a unicorn-like chimerical creature from ancient Chinese mythology. It is one of five auspicious animals whose appearance, ancient people believed, brought good fortune. The Qilin is a symbol of kindness and harmony, and is often used to describe people with integrity and high moral standards. We can taste this tea with great curiosity as to why it would be named after the auspicious Qilin. Perhaps it is on account of the rarity of this varietal's appearance. It could have something to do with the fortifying and generous characteristics of the tea itself, as the liquor has a medicinal quality that seems to speak directly to the body and its energy. It could also be an acknowledgement of the profound integrity of its taste: the tea produces a smooth and descending liquor, with a flavour so fused it is impossible to pull apart into individual notes. Whatever it may be, the mystical name certainly suits this tea, whose slightly opaque liquor tastes neither floral nor architectural as we would expect, but rather seems to suspend something unlikely and unearthly within it.
