Tie Lou Han 2011 (Tea Urchin)

I have to admit, I was drawn to the Tea Urchin website and the story behind the business.  They don't sell inexpensive, or even moderately-priced tea, but you get the impression that you might just get an experience worth the price if you give their products a try.  Here's my impression of their Tie Lou Han.

This dry leaf is bold and nearly charcoal black.  Clearly, it was heavily roasted, but there is no burnt aroma, just the relatively mild scent of an aged rock tea.  The wet leaf is similarly dark, falling somewhere between black and deep mahogany.  There is no green or any significant variegation in color.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, as very traditional, unblended rock teas can be uniformly dark, but the wet leaf on the website shows much more diversity in leaf color, and for me, that disparity is disappointing.

The tea brews up a very dark amber/brown, and is impressively fragrant for a heavy roast tea.  The aroma is big, deep, and very traditional, with sweetness, roast aromas, dark fruit, woody resinous notes, and a hint of mustiness.  In short, it's rich and complex. 

The tea is very smooth on entry, and transitions to big and fat at mid palate.  It manages to have a great mouth feel and be almost velvety soft at the same time.  It's full flavored and quite deep, with  dark roasted fruit flavors, the woody/resinous flavors of traditional processing, noticeable Tie Lou Han varietal flavor, and some of the flavors associated with aging.  After the swallow, there is a noticeable coating in the mouth and a nice tang.

Not surprisingly, this tea has a fairly deep and persistent aftertaste, with notes of dark plum, caramel, roast, cocoa, and wood.  

The dry cup aroma is sweet and rich.

You can brew this tea many times. The tea leaves unfurl very, very slowly.  They're still  dark brown and in the process of unfurling after 8 infusions.  This is one of the most durable rock teas I've tried.   

Tie Lou Han is probably the most masculine of the rock teas, and this is probably the most masculine of the Tie Lou Han I've had.  It's a big tea, with the kind of aftertaste and dry cup aroma that you usually experience only in true Zheng Yan tea from the scenic central area of Wu Yi.  For lovers of big, traditional rock teas that possess some aged character, this tea should be on your short list.  For lovers of clean, nuanced and floral teas, this one might be too bold and straight at you.  While I think $29 for 100 grams is a lot to pay for any tea, considering what you're getting for your money, you might just consider it a bargain. 

A Brief Interlude

Up to this point, the Wu Yi teas I've blogged about have ranged from quite inexpensive to moderately priced, the most expensive being $9 for 50 grams.  The following four reviews--and yes I've added three more teas to the initial dozen I said I'd review--are of significantly more expensive teas, the cheapest of them priced at $29 for 100 grams.  These are, at least for me, special occasion teas.  They are the tea analog of fine aged Cognac.  This coming week I'll blog about these loftier cousins.   Are they worth all the extra dough.  I'll let you know what I think.

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).

Rou Gui AAA Autumn (Ebay-cnteacup)

Up to this point, the Wu Yi teas I've commented on have been primarily from the Shui Xian bush. I'm a big fan of Shui Xian, but I have to admit it's probably the least overtly characterful of the well-known Wu Yi oolongs. Nevertheless, it's excellent at playing second fiddle, and that can be a good thing. It's almost always comforting and rarely abrasive, it goes very well with a variety of foods, and, for me at least, it's less likely to cause the jitters.  Rou Gui is not at all like that.  It demands attention and, often careful brewing.  At its best, it has a beautifully unique and piercing aroma and flavor, and an energizing kick.  Here's my experience with cnteacup's relatively inexpensive autumn version of Rou Gui.  They also have a more expensive spring version which I will be reviewing in a later post.

The dry leaf is rather typical in appearance, moderate in length, and with a slightly purple hue. The wet leaf shows signs of moderate oxidation and moderate-to-light roasting.  It appears to be a blend of hand and machine gathered leaf.

The tea liquors up a fairly deep amber/red.  The moderately intense aroma is heavier and deeper than that of a typical light-roast Rou Gui, with dark stone fruit aromas and just a hint of cocoa.  It's pleasant and rather similar to that of a Fujian red tea, but also a bit reticent.  The typical artifacts of roasting are barely discernible here.  

This Rou Gui is fairly full and mellow, but the flavor is a bit more generic and muted than in-your-face varietal.  It's still clearly Rou Gui, just not in the kind of piercing manner I'm accustomed to.  As with the aroma, there isn't a lot of the green/floral character showing, nor the complexities of the more heavily roasted versions.  The similarities with Fujian red tea show here too, with darker, cherry-like fruitiness and firm tannin.  After the swallow the tea shows a noticeable acidity and a nice grip in the throat.  

The aftertaste is quite persistent, and of moderate intensity, with hints of dark fruit and cocoa.  It's quite attractive.

This tea has more endurance than I was expecting.  It can be brewed several times.  

 At $9.99 for 100 grams, this may be the least expensive Rou Gui out there.  It's a quite a good tea, but, if you're aiming at the low end of the price range, I'd spend a bit more and get this vendor's spring Rou Gui (to be reviewed) or the Rou Gui from the Ebay store Shanghai Story.   

Wuyi Shui Xian Top (Ebay-Goshopstreet)

Today's review covers the top grade Shui Xian carried by the Ebay store Goshopstreet.  I'm not sure what this vendor's rating actually means, but this tea is listed as AAAAA grade.  Top grade Shui Xian for $16.98 for 150 grams seems like an unbelievable deal.  Is it?  Let's see.

The dry dark brown leaf is moderate in length and surprisingly fragrant.  There is a deep sweetness, along with earthiness, the smell of aging, vanilla, and the resinous aroma of very traditional processing. The wet leaf shows an interesting mix of leaf, probably due to the blending of several batches.  The majority of the leaf is compact (for Shui Xian) and shows heavy processing and roasting, but there is a smattering of mid-process leaf and a few greenish leaves too.

The tea liquors up a medium-deep amber and is quite aromatic, at least during the first steeping. The aroma has a distinctly resinous traditional character, with sweet caramel, some roast, some mustiness, and a tinge of herb.

The tea is very smooth on entry, with very little astringency. It's quite flavorful, but, at the same time, not particularly full bodied nor particularly deep.  The flavor, like the aroma, has that distinctly traditional resinous character that reminds me vaguely of creosoted wood.  Overall, the flavor is quite complex, and nicely balanced and will probably appeal to those who like a traditional aged rock tea.  The tea leaves a noticeable dose of chalkiness and a nice tang in the throat.

The fairly rich aftertaste is quite persistent with above average strength and a nice sweetness and complexity.

The dry cup aroma smells of sweet, toasted coconut.

This tea can be brewed many times.  Its intensity falls off fairly sharply after the first brewing, but it delivers quite a few pure-tasting cups after that and possesses the  nice creaminess in the later brews that I've come to associate with good high-roast rock tea.

I struggle with this tea.  It's a high-quality Shui Xian with many of the characteristics of a good genuine rock tea, but it's also a bit too resinous and traditional to be ideal for me.  I'm not sure if I'll purchase it again, but for those who like a complex traditional Shui Xian at a good price, or for those who are drawn to the taste and smoothness of aging, this one should merit consideration.  This is a long roasted tea, so the leaves unfurl fairly slowly and last through many infusions.  As a result, it performs best with a high leaf-to-water ratio using multiple infusions.

Organic Wu Yi Oolong (Arbor Teas)

This tea is a bit of a departure from the mostly Shui-Xian-based teas that dominate the mid-to-lower-priced Wu Yi teas.  I would group it with those teas that are composed predominantly of the Qi Zhong varieties, i.e. varieties that have not achieved famous status, but still produce a nice cup.  Of all the Qi Zhong, it is the Qi Lan variety that is most prominent in this price class.  In particular, the Qi Lan grown around Tong Mu Guan, the home of Lapsang Souchong (Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong), has been the standard bearer for this type of organic Wu Yi tea.  However, with the growing  popularity and availability of these organic Wu Yi oolongs, quality in general has slipped.  And, now it seems, so has supply.  Rishi tea, which sold a version of this tea that was specifically labelled as a Qi Lan, now describes their organic Wu Yi tea as a blend of different teas re-roasted for consistency.  Seven Cups, who offered a high-quality version of the tea, is either out of supply or has removed it from their offerings.  Let's see how the Arbor version holds up.

The dry leaf, which has a pleasantly smokey aroma, is rather typical in appearance and somewhat shorter than Shui Xian, for example.  Once steeped, the leaf shows signs of moderate roasting, and medium to medium-light oxidation.  There are a moderate number of stems in this leaf.

The tea brews up a medium amber, with an interesting aroma.  The aroma is more pine-like and smokey than typical, with a moderate intensity, a nice sweetness, and hints of earth, wood, light-roast coffee, caramel and just a bit of the floral.  Overall, it's very pleasant with a nice dose of complexity.

The tea soup is soft and smooth, with a moderate-to-full weight, a fairly complex flavor, a bit of sweetness, and a smokey note.  In the mouth, the tea is more soothing than exciting, and transitions fairly smoothly into an attractive aftertaste.

The moderately intense, and quite persistent aftertaste has a bit of a tang mingled with a some wood, fruit, and smokiness.

The dry-cup aroma is nice and sweet.

You can brew the leaves a few times.

Overall, this is a very pleasant tea that I particularly enjoy on a cold afternoon with a good book.  Having had better examples of the genre, specifically teas that were picked in spring and more carefully processed, I can't help but notice the comparative coarseness evident in this tea.  Nevertheless, I still enjoy this tea very much and would purchase it again.  At $16.50 for 7 oz., it's a nice alternative to similarly-priced Shui Xian.

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.  

Wuyi Mountain Shuixian Oolong (Strand Tea Co.)

I reviewed this tea--or perhaps a different batch of it--some time ago on this blog. Here's my latest take.

The dry leaf is typical of a modern-style Wu Yi tea, but perhaps just a bit lighter and greener.  The dry leaf aroma is promising, though not terribly strong, with a nice hint of smoke and roast. The wet leaf shows careful processing, and is a bit more green and less roasted looking (the greens are still quite bright) than most light-roast Wu Yi.  It looks like spring leaf, but I could be wrong.

The tea liquors up a medium-light amber, somewhat lighter than I typically expect from this type of tea.

The clean, moderately-intense aroma carries a "raw green" Shui Xian varietal character that vaguely reminds me of artichoke and green olive.  It's also quite smoky and less fruity than expected.

This is the most "green" tasting Wu Yi Shui Xian I've had.  It's clean, distinctly varietal, and well made, but also on the dry side, with less of the stone fruit and honey notes that are fairly typical of Shui Xian.  There's also some smokiness in the flavor, particularly in the first brewing.  I'm drawn to the subtly complex flavor of this tea, but it may not be for everyone.

The tea does not have a lot of rock character, at least as it is typically expressed in the back of the throat, but the aftertaste is still quite satisfying and fairly persistent, with a distinct wood smoke note.

The dry cup aroma is quite good.

The tea can be brewed a few times, and while later brews are not terribly strong, they taste more pure and less flat than I've come to expect from oolongs of this price.

I like this tea and will probably purchase it again.  It's a nice change from the heavier and sweeter rock teas and, at $8.95 for 4 oz., it's quite affordable.

Organic Shui Xian Oolong (Arbor Teas)

I had ordered a sample of this tea about two years ago and thought it quite nice, so I put in a bigger order (7 oz. @ $14.25) this past fall.  This batch came across as much bolder than that earlier sample, and I find myself very conflicted about this tea.  It's actually a great counterpoint to the Lao Cong Shui Xian of the previous post.  That tea exhibited proper flavors and aromas, but left me wanting for something a bit more extroverted and complex.  This tea, comes at it from the other direction.  Here's how I see it.

The dry leaf of this tea is a typical dark brown, but there is quite a bit of variability in the leaf finishing.  Some leaf is well twisted, but much isn't. There are a large number of stems in this batch as well, and some of those stems are stout and hard. The dry leaf has quite a strong aroma, but it isn't a particularly refined one. Needless to say, the dry leaf is not inspiring. The relatively stiff and sturdy wet leaf is dark green with brown edges and splotches, suggesting a moderate oxidation and baking.

The tide turns upon brewing.  The tea liquors up a medium-deep amber/brown and gives off a generous aroma with a nice sweetness.  The aroma is multidimensional, with floral, fruity, and woody notes, and, in general, characteristics typical of medium-roast Wu Yi. At the same time, there is an underlying component to the aroma that I associate with summer teas. This may be viewed as a desirable complexity by some, but it puts me off.

This Shui Xian is medium bodied, quite flavorful and smooth. The flavor is surprisingly sweet, with fruit, wood, and, to a lesser extent, floral notes. The tea is quite quaff-able, yet has a  bit of grip on the swallow and a decent, tangy aftertaste. The "summer-tea" component shows here too, marring the experience somewhat for me.

The sturdy leaf delivers several infusions.

I checked reviews of this tea on the Arbor website just before writing this. Clearly, many really like this tea, and they have reason to. It's flavorful, it's exceptionally sweet, both in aroma and flavor, it's smooth and very quaff-able while still being multidimensional, and it pairs well with food. But, it's not a particularly pure tasting tea, and that's why I won't be purchasing it again. But, don't let my taste in tea stop you from trying it. Many others have enjoyed this tea and you might also.

Lao Cong Shui Xian AAA (Ebay-cnteacup)

A good Lao Cong (Old Bush) Shui Xian can make a most enjoyable cup of tea.  In general, Lao Cong Shui Xian undergoes a fairly heavy oxidation and roasting, and usually comes across as far softer and smoother than other Shui Xian.  The best examples I've tried have been deep and thick in the mouth, with hints of cocoa, red fruit and a bit of a camphor/menthol-like flavor.  The problem with the better ones has always been their price.  Good old bush is never cheap.  So after having a good initial experience with the Ebay store cnteacup, I decided to purchase their value-priced autumn old bush.  It seemed rather unbelievable that they could be selling a true AAA grade of this Rock Tea for only $18.00 for 250 grams.  I suspended my disbelief, forked over my $18--the shipping was free--and here is what I found.

The dry leaf is quite uniform, quite dark, and contains very few stems.  The aroma of the dry leaf is modest, but clean, and with the smell of a fairly heavy roast.  The wet leaf looks quite good.  There is a lot of whole leaf in this tea showing a fairly high picking standard.  The leaf colors indicated a moderate oxidation and moderate roast. 

The tea liquors up a dark amber, and, if you don't give the tea a quick initial wash, the aroma has a slightly acrid smokiness.   After a 5-10 second wash, the roast comes into balance with the other elements, and the aroma comes across as pleasant, soft, clean, and somewhat restrained, with the sweet and smokey mingling nicely.  However, the aroma strikes me as more generic, and not too terribly varietal.  You smell the Shui Xian, but it certainly doesn't come out of the cup screaming.  

Typical of Lao Cong Shui Xian, the tea is soft and smooth with a fairly full body.  It's pleasant, clean, and proper, but, as with the aroma, it's not particularly varietal, deep, characterful, or complex. The tea finally shows its rock character after the swallow, leaving a nice mineral coating at the back of the mouth, along with some zest and a distinct and creamy Shui Xian flavor.  The aftertaste is surprisingly good, especially after the tea's ho-hum initial flavor.  The empty tea cup aroma is also charming.

This tea can be steeped several times.  The tea remains fairly clean and colorful through several infusions, but its taste remains pretty generic and plain.  

In the end, I have to question the meaning of this vendor's AAA rating.  Overall, the tea strikes me as  rather commercial and solid, devoid of any significant flaws, but also, lacking in the complexities, depth, and nuances of higher-priced examples.  Also, the tea appears to have been finished with an electric roast at a fairly high temperature, leaving a slightly burnt flavor with few of the complexities  that I associate with a charcoal roast.  If you are looking for a nice, value-priced dark oolong without the coarseness of much of the similarly-priced Shui Xian, this could be your ticket.  It goes well with food, and brews up very much like the Shui Xian that used to be served in Chinese restaurants.  I will probably not reorder this tea, but will continue to enjoy it as a first-cup-of-the-day tea.  

"Wu-Yi" Water Fairy Oolong (Upton Tea Imports)

NOTE:  The tea reviewed here was from last year's batch of the Upton Water Fairy and may not be representative of their current offering.

Upton clearly states that this is not a true Wu Yi tea, but an affordable alternative grown elsewhere in Fujian province.  Let's see how it stacks up.

The long, brown-black dry leaf is pungent with an aroma typical of highly processed Shui Xian.   Once wet, you can see that the leaf is a fairly uniform and muted dark brown-green, indicating moderate-to-heavy oxidation and baking.

The tea soup is a deep amber and gives off a fairly rich aroma, with some smoke, some barnyard (cow barn), some sweetness, and a woody resinous quality.  The resinous quality, in particular, is quite prominent and reminds me somewhat of creosote and varnish.

The tea soup is gentle and fairly flat on entry, but there is pretty good grip and flavor appearing in the back of the mouth after the swallow.  Here the resinous quality shows again along with some of the  barnyard.  The complex flavors resulting from the fairly heavy processing are nicely balanced by a pleasant sweetness and a hint of floral character.

The aftertaste is marked by a nice smokiness, some sweetness, a woody-resin note, a pleasant zing, and a nice persistence.

This tea can be steeped a few times.

While this tea is a bit too resinous for my taste, it's a good example of traditional Min Bei (North Fujian) Shui Xian oolong at a fair price (100g @ $7.60).  It's certainly better than the inexpensive canned Shui Xians available at a Chinese grocery, and the raw leaf used to make it definitely better than that used in many of the cheaper Wu-Yi-area teas I've had.

Organic Wuyi Oolong (Fairway Market)

This organic Wuyi Oolong comes from Fairway Market, an upscale, New-York-City-based grocery store.  This is the only tea in this series that I didn't purchase via the internet, and it doesn't appear to be available via their on-line store.  Priced at $25.98 per pound, it comes in as the cheapest tea in this tasting series.  I didn't really expect much from this tea, but, as it turned out, I came away pleasantly surprised.

The dry leaf was fresh and fairly impressive, with moderately-long, well-twisted leaf, few stems, and a fairly prominent aroma.  The aroma hinted at mid-quality raw material with a moderate degree of processing.  The wet leaf confirmed that this tea received a moderate amount of oxidation and roasting.

The brewed tea's aroma was moderate in intensity, with some smokiness, an underlying sweetness, and a hint of wood and earth.  It was surprisingly complex and satisfying, even while betraying the less-than-stellar raw material from which it was crafted. There was some Shui Xian character in the aroma.

The tea was fairly full in the mouth, a bit flat on entry, but quite flavorful, showing surprising balance, dimension, and complexity.  Again, the flavor and texture suggested that Shui Xian was in the mix. A nice grip and a pleasant astringency showed after the swallow.  The first steeping flavor, in particular, was really quite  impressive for a tea of this price.  The aftertaste was fairly persistent, sweet, and flavorful, yet without quite the charm of the more expensive rock teas.

This tea re-steeped quite well, although the flavors of mid-quality leaf intruded in the second steeping and beyond.

Overall, Fairway Organic Wuyi represents excellent value, and would be a good introduction to Wu Yi oolong.  It certainly outshines the Wu Yi in a can that you'll find at the Asian grocery.  I probably wouldn't purchase it again, favoring instead a more expensive tea made from higher quality leaf.