Sun Moon Ruby

Sun Moon Ruby is our polished take on Taiwan’s most charismatic black tea from the Sun Moon Lake basin in Yuchi, Nantou. Picked in late autumn and made as elegant, twisted strips, it delivers a clean, menthol-spice lift over a round, honeyed body — the kind of clarity that keeps you refilling the cup. What makes it worth a permanent place in your tea rotation are three simple things: precise handpicking that favors pluck-by-pluck sweetness, a gentle, unbaked finish that preserves freshness, and a micro-region whose warm days and cool nights coax out that unmistakable wintergreen-and-cinnamon perfume. Grown with nature-friendly methods and handled by an experienced local producer, this is a transparent, place-driven tea that rewards both quick weekday sessions and slow weekend tastings. Expect a calm energy, a long, cooling finish, and a flavor story that’s unmistakably Sun Moon Lake in character yet refined enough to feel special.

Yuchi Origin

Yuchi Township surrounds the famous Sun Moon Lake, a low-mountain basin at 600 m where red loam soils and lake breezes temper the humidity. That mix matters because slightly warmer fields ripen sugars while cool nights slow the plants — a balance that concentrates aromatic oils responsible for minty, camphor-like high notes and silkier texture. Our Sun Moon Ruby comes from a small garden tended with nature farming practices, meaning careful hand work, ground cover, and low-input husbandry to keep soil life active. The result is clean leaf and steady flavor from season to season without heavy intervention. After harvest, the tea stayed sealed in dry, cool storage in Taiwan before export, and we continue to keep it in a stable, low-humidity environment in the EU so the lifted aromatics stay crisp and the finish remains vivid. If you’re exploring Taiwan black tea for the first time, this origin gives you the benchmark.

Winter Leaf

Picked in November 2024, this late-season batch shows why winter harvests are prized in Yuchi. Cooler nights concentrate sugars and slow sap flow, so the leaves enter the factory carrying more potential for sweetness and clarity — you taste that as dark honey and ripe stone fruit rather than blunt malt. Hand-pickers selected tender, mature leaves for balanced tannin; those leaves were rolled into neat strips that infuse with control and stretch over many short steeps. Winter yields are smaller than spring or summer, which adds quiet scarcity without drama, and the calmer weather at this time of year helps the producer manage long, even withers for cleaner spice notes. If you’ve ever wondered where the wintergreen character in Sun Moon Lake black tea comes from, this is a textbook seasonal example: slow plant metabolism, careful picking, and patient air movement in the withering room.

Gentle Craft

Mr Lee’s approach is classical and restrained. The leaves are withered to relax the cell walls, then rolled to start oxidation, and allowed to develop to a full 90–100% oxidation — key for deep color and that plush, syrupy body — before being dried without additional baking. Skipping a roast matters here because it preserves the tea’s bright eucalyptus-mint lift and keeps the spice precise rather than smoky. The cultivar is TTES 18, also known as Hong Yu or “Red Jade,” a modern Taiwanese cross selected for large, resilient leaves and a naturally cool, mint-and-cinnamon aroma. In plain terms, the plant itself brings the perfume; the processing simply polishes it and fixes it in place. Expect the first steeps to open quickly, then settle into a steady rhythm where each infusion shows a different facet — more cacao one moment, more camphor the next — without heaviness.

Cup Profile

From the first pour, Sun Moon Ruby is vivid and clean. The nose suggests wintergreen, cinnamon bark, and a hint of lemongrass over dark honey. On the palate, think cacao nib, warm cedar, red date, and a ribbon of malt that never turns murky. Texture is medium-full, silky rather than thick, with fine-grained tannins that carry sweetness instead of drying your mouth. As the liquor cools, a cooling sensation creeps up — the hallmark of this origin — and the aftertaste lingers with mint, cocoa, and orange peel. A splash more time brings out deeper chocolate and black cherry; shorter steeps spotlight the high, almost eucalyptus brightness. If you enjoy Sun Moon Lake black tea but want something a touch more polished, this captures the region’s signature while staying refreshingly precise.

FAQ

Is this Sun Moon Lake black tea organic?
It’s grown with nature farming methods — low-input, hand-managed, no herbicides — focused on soil health. No formal certification is claimed.

What flavor notes define Yuchi Red Jade black tea 2024?
Expect wintergreen, cinnamon bark, dark honey, cacao, and a gentle malt line. Cooler November harvest at 600 m concentrates sugars, so the cup tastes clean, sweet, and cooling.

Is Sun Moon Ruby caffeinated and when should I drink it?
Yes — it’s a fully oxidized Taiwan black tea with moderate caffeine. Enjoy as a morning or afternoon cup; use shorter steeps for a gentler lift without bitterness.

How was this TTES 18 processed for the 2024 winter harvest?
Handpicked leaves were withered, rolled, and oxidized to 90–100%, then dried without baking. Skipping roast keeps the minty, camphor-like high notes and a precise, clean finish.