Moychay Mihuan Qilan GABA
28 Hours Vacuum Fermentation
Dry Leaf
Dark, tightly rolled pellets with subtle copper and chocolate undertones, dense and slightly glossy from prolonged processing. The aroma is deep and unusually complex from the very beginning: baked peach, dark honey, roasted plum skin, cocoa, and warm mineral wood layered over the unmistakable sweetness created by extended GABA fermentation.
Produced by the Moychay Phuket team using a carefully controlled 28-hour vacuum fermentation process, this tea was designed to push the Mihuan Qilan cultivar toward greater depth, softness, and aromatic saturation.
Pre-Infusion Observation
When warmed in a gaiwan, the leaves release an intense and almost dessert-like fragrance. Notes of caramelized fruit, baked pear, rye bread crust, cinnamon, and cream emerge rapidly, while a cooling floral-mineral undertone keeps the aroma from becoming overly heavy.
The prolonged oxygen-free fermentation gives the tea a distinctly rounded aromatic structure — less sharp and floral than conventional Qilan oolongs, but noticeably deeper and more enveloping.
Infusion
As the leaves slowly unfurl, the liquor develops a rich amber tone with reddish-golden reflections. The aroma rising from the cup is dense, sweet, and warming.
The bouquet of the brewed tea evolves continuously throughout the session. Early infusions emphasize baked fruits — peach compote, dried apricot, plum, and date syrup — supported by darker notes of toasted grain, cocoa husk, and roasted wood. With later steeps, softer nuances begin to dominate: vanilla cream, warm honey, orchid nectar, and hints of sweet tobacco.
Taste
The texture is exceptionally smooth, thick, and almost velvety. The tea coats the mouth completely, creating a lingering sensation of warmth and softness.
The flavor profile balances fermented sweetness, roast, and mineral depth with remarkable cohesion. Notes of baked stone fruits, dark honey, cocoa, roasted nuts, and warm wood intertwine with creamy undertones and subtle returning florality from the Qilan cultivar itself.
Unlike lighter aromatic oolongs that move quickly across the palate, this tea unfolds slowly and deliberately. The 28-hour vacuum fermentation gives it an unusually calm and rounded structure — edges softened, sweetness amplified, bitterness nearly absent.
There is a distinctly grounding quality to the session: physically relaxing, mentally quieting, almost meditative in concentration.
Aftertaste
Long, sweet, and deeply warming. Lingering impressions of dried fruit, cream, mineral wood, and caramelized sugar remain in the mouth for several minutes, accompanied by a gentle cooling sensation in the throat.
Empty Cup Aroma (Cha Hai)
As the cup cools, the aroma becomes increasingly rich and confectionary: baked apple, vanilla cream, honey cake, cocoa powder, and faint orchid nectar.
Overall Impression
A dense, immersive, and technically expressive GABA oolong showcasing the possibilities of extended vacuum fermentation. Crafted entirely through Moychay’s own production approach, it combines the floral DNA of Mihuan Qilan with the darker, softer, and more introspective qualities developed through prolonged anaerobic processing. A tea built less around brightness and more around depth, texture, and emotional atmosphere.