Shui Xian Premium AA Spring 2012 (Yunnan Sourcing)

This is Yunnan Sourcing's most expensive Shui Xian.  I had a very favorable experience with their significantly less expensive Guo Xiang Shui Xian.  Could this tea be worth nearly twice the price?  Let's see.

The tightly and uniformly twisted, medium length dry leaf looks typical of high-quality, modern-process Shui Xian.  Once wet, the leaf color and unfurling rate suggest that this tea has undergone a medium-to-medium-light oxidation and roasting.

The tea soup brews up a nice medium amber, and gives off a sweet aroma with components typical of modern-style Shui Xian (fruit, honey, floral).  It's not quite as aromatic as the cheaper Guo Xiang, but the aroma is tighter, classier, and more nuanced, and remains stronger through more infusions.

The tea is balanced in the mouth, fairly smooth on entry, with a nice medium body and grip at mid palate.  It's clean and has some dimension and complexity. There's a punctuating floral Shui Xian flavor at the swallow, followed by some of the chalky coating that is characteristic of rock tea.

The aftertaste is quite persistent, and fairly flavorful.  It's more elegant than overpowering, with a just a hint of chocolate, and an otherwise strongly floral nature.

The dry cup aroma is floral and quite strong.

This tea has a fairly strong constitution and produces several relatively pure tasting infusions.

This is clearly what it's advertised to be: a high quality Shui Xian that displays most of the best characteristics of a modern-style rock tea.  Some of its competitors have a bit more of the honey character, and others a bit more of the complexities associated with roasting, but overall this one is an excellent example of the breed.  It's cheaper ($9.00 for 50 grams) than just about all of the other similarly graded Shui Xian I've seen on the market, so it's a good deal.  However, it's not that much different or that much higher in quality than Yunnan Sourcing's Guo Xiang version, which at nearly half the price, is the product to beat.

Rou Gui AAA Spring 2012 (Ebay-cnteacup)

There's a big difference between this spring Rou Gui from cnteacup and their just-reviewed autumn version. Here's what I found.

The dry leaf is relatively small, with green clearly visible. Once wet, it appears delicate and supple, and a combination of hand and machine picked.  The leaf colors suggest a fairly light oxidation and a fairly light roasting as well.

The tea brews up a medium-light amber/orange.  The moderately strong aroma is that of a clean, minimally processed, modern-style rock tea.  There is a lot of floral varietal Rou Gui character, with a nice balancing fruitiness, but it's not as deeply fruity or peachy as some.  A light hint of roast rounds things out.

Right up front you're greeted with the tea's strongly varietal and floral character. It's clean and direct, and definitely leaning toward the greener side.  It's not quite as nuanced or complex as some of the other modern-style Rou Gui I've had, but it's quite good nevertheless.  After the swallow, there is some of the chalkiness and grip I associate with good rock tea.  More noticeable, perhaps, is the cleansing acidity that helps carry the aftertaste.

This tea has a very nice, lingering aftertaste, with a lemony element. Like the initial taste, it's clean and strongly varietal, and, as you might expect of a minimally processed tea, not terribly complex.

The dry cup aroma is generous and floral.

This tea has quite a bit of strength and can be brewed several times before fading into a pleasant lightness.

Clearly this is a high-quality tea produced in a very modern style.  If you are looking for a tea that's had a lot of complex processing and long roasting, then this is probably not the tea for you.  However, fans of modern-style Rou Gui will probably find this tea both charming and surprisingly affordable ($12.98 for 100 grams).

Guo Xiang Shui Xian, Spring 2012 (Yunnan Sourcing)

This year, Yunnan Sourcing added two Shui Xian to their Wu Yi tea selection, this one and a more expensive AA grade.  At $9.50 for 100 grams, the Guo Xiang seemed like a good bet for a quality "everyday" Shui Xian.  Let's see if it makes the grade.

The dry leaf has a very promising smell, with a nice toasty accent and the aroma of a high-quality, modern-process leaf.  The well-twisted leaf is clean, with very few stems, and of mostly moderate length.  The wet leaf appears carefully processed, with nice green centers, and rust edges and splotches.    It is advertised as spring leaf, and looks like it.  

The tea brews up a medium amber/orange and possesses an aroma rather typical of a modern, light-roast-style oolong.  It's clean and quite aromatic for Shui Xian, with clearly varietal character, and a nice balance of fruit, floral, and toasty components.  It may not be quite as complex or honeyed as the best of the breed, but this tea is not far behind.

The quality shows clearly in the flavor as well, with typical Shui Xian flavor and a nice balance of fruit, floral, and roast.  It's fairly gentle and smooth on entry, with a nice grip before the swallow, a spike in Shui Xian flavors at the swallow, and a mild astringency at the back of the throat that anchors the persistent aftertaste.  However, unlike a typical old bush Shui Xian, this tea can be a bit aggressive and show astringency if you steep it too long or at too high of a temperature.  It seems to perform best with water off the boil. 

The aftertaste is pretty darned good, sticking around quite a while.  The roast and smoke notes are more prominent here than in the aroma and initial flavor.  

The dry cup aroma is surprisingly good.

You can brew this tea several times.  

Well, it should be quite clear that I'm impressed with this tea.   In short, this is a very good, relatively inexpensive example of a modern-style Shui Xian.  Sure there are Shui Xian that are a bit smoother, a bit more honeyed, a bit more complex, and that can be brewed a few more times, but overall this one could compete favorably with most anything labelled as a premium ban yan Shui Xian.  Great selection Scott.