Mosquitoes have started their reign of terror, and before I knew it, I’d binged all of Coffee Prince in a week. Summer has fully arrived.
Today is Mangjong (Grain in Ear), the solar term for sowing bearded grains like rice and barley. Temperatures surge, rain pours, and plants and people alike feel inexplicably restless. Green spreads with alarming speed—we’re approaching the climax of the season when growth becomes labor.
For this restless mood, the fitting tea is Oriental Beauty. This Taiwanese oolong is made from insect-bitten leaves. When tea leaves are attacked by the tea green leafhopper, the plant triggers a defense response producing aromatic compounds—the key condition behind Oriental Beauty’s distinctive honey, fruit, and floral notes.
Mangjong is when insects become a full part of the season. Oriental Beauty is the tea that transformed that disruption into fragrance. I hate bugs, but I can’t help feeling a little shameless for relying on their involuntary co-production.
As the story goes, Queen Victoria called it Oriental Beauty, saying it was as beautiful as a dancing Eastern beauty. Whether true or not—seeing how a single name can change the fate of a tea, the power of branding indeed!
Soothe the boiling summer threshold with a cup of this small Taiwanese luxury, born from the peculiar collaboration between leafhopper and tea plant.
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