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.