TeaHQ

Cui Yu

Released alongside Jin Xuan by Taiwan’s tea research station and its counterpart in character: where Jin Xuan is creamy, Cui Yu is sharply floral and slightly herbaceous. The two were bred as a pair and are usually sold as one.

OolongModerate intensityAccessible to appreciateForgiving to brew翠玉
Brew at 90–95 °CUse 5–7 g per 100 mlFirst steep 25sGongfu brewing (gaiwan)Full schedule and equipment →

Character

Bright and sharply floral without Jin Xuan’s milkiness. Anyone who dislikes that creaminess usually likes this instead.

Flavour
Floral, Grassy, Sweet
Aroma
Orchid, Fresh
Mouthfeel
Medium, Silky
Complexity
Moderate
Notes
gardenia, fresh herb, green melon
Aftertaste
Sharp, floral and clean.

Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.

Provenance and production

Origin
Taiwan
Region
Nantou
Cultivar
Cui Yu
Oxidation
Lightly oxidised
Harvest
Spring
Processing
Withering → Bruising (shaking) → Oxidation → Kill-green (fixation) → Cloth-ball rolling → Drying

Brewing

No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.

If you like this

Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.

Editorially linked

Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.

  • Jin Xuan

    The pair as bred. Cui Yu is sharply floral, Jin Xuan is creamy, and they were released together precisely so a drinker could choose.

  • Baozhong

    Both sharply floral Taiwanese teas with little body, arrived at by cultivar in one case and by low oxidation in the other.

Similar sensory profile

Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.

  • Qing Xiang Tie Guan Yin

    Shares 6 descriptors with Cui Yu: floral, sweet, medium, silky, orchid and fresh.

  • Wenshan Baozhong

    Shares 6 descriptors with Cui Yu: floral, sweet, grassy, silky, orchid and fresh.

  • Wenzhou Huang Tang

    Shares 6 descriptors with Cui Yu: sweet, floral, grassy, silky, fresh and orchid.

  • Alishan oolong

    Shares 5 descriptors with Cui Yu: floral, sweet, silky, orchid and fresh.

  • Anxi Huang Jin Gui

    Shares 5 descriptors with Cui Yu: floral, sweet, medium, silky and orchid.

  • Bai Ji Guan

    Shares 5 descriptors with Cui Yu: sweet, floral, silky, fresh and orchid.

Compare this tea with another

Journeys featuring this tea