Premium Ruby Red

This special, premium-grade Ruby Red won first prize in the Sun Moon Lake red tea competition this year. It was produced by Mr Wang (王證程), who also makes our Shan Cha. His Ruby Red gardens are also ecological, like his Shan Cha. The leaves were hand-picked and all selected because they were bitten by the katydids that affect Eastern Beauty tea (Empoasca onukii). This lends the tea a honey fragrance, as well as a depth and roundedness. The uniformity of the picking and special care taken during processing make this tea special. If you love Ruby Red, this tea is amongst the best we have ever found. Many unique varietals were created to suit Taiwan. "Ruby Red," or Taiwan Cultivar No. 18 is a hybrid of the large-leaf trees from Myanmar and wild indigenous Taiwanese trees. The artificial crossing was accomplished at the Yuchih Branch of the Tea Research and Extension Station in the 1950s, and had the experiment number of 40-58, so the local farmers also called the hybrid “40-58” (or someti