I'm starting to see a pattern with some Fujian red teas, and especially with those from Upton. That is: a tea seems weak with normal brewing, but add quite a bit more leaf, steep 50% longer, and the result is a big increase in flavor and mouth feel, but without the penalty of excessive astringency or bitterness. Is this an expected characteristic of a certain subgroup of Fujian red teas? Or, are these inherently weaker examples of their kind that salvage nicely with heavy brewing? I'm not sure, but my guess is the truth lies somewhere in between.
Anyway, this Golden Monkey fits the above profile. Brewed strongly, it's a nice tea. The dry leaf is comprised of fairly small leaf pieces with a modest amount of golden tips. The wet leaf shows mostly small pieces with an average oxidation. The aroma has a nice balance of classic Fujian red aromas, with a bit of deep cherry/apricot fruitiness, a bit of cocoa, and a toasty hint. In the mouth the tea is pleasantly soft, with some winy deep berry flavors, malt, and a little chew tobacco. Similar flavors follow in the reasonably persistent aftertaste.
At this price ($11.80 for 125 grams), you can't expect this to be one of the best Golden Monkeys, and it isn't. However, it is a good example of Fujian congou, bringing together typical regional flavors and aromas into a pleasant and soft brew. Expect to use extra leaf and time to get the most from this tea.
Showing posts with label Congou. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Congou. Show all posts
Friday, May 4, 2012
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Panyang Congou Select ZP22 (Upton)
UPDATE:
After making this tea several times using somewhat more leaf than normal, I came to the conclusion that it was hopelessly weak and too smoky. So, I went out on a limb and used over twice as much leaf as I normally would. With most tea, this would result in a liquor too tannic and bitter to be enjoyable, but it was just what this tea needed. So prepared, it came into balance with attractive floral and fruit aromas matching up to the smoke. The mouth feel improved greatly and there was much more fruit and cocoa in the taste. With the stronger brew, it's a nice tea that I can recommend, but not one I'd probably purchase again. Too bad my sample pack is totally spent. Oh well, maybe I'll order one more sample in the future and give it another go.
ORIGINAL POST:
After enjoying Upton's basic Congou Panyang, I was excited to try this select version, which, at $8.80 for 125 grams, is twice as expensive. Will it be twice as good?
It should be noted that this tea (ZP22) is a fairly recent addition to the Upton catalog and apparently replaces an earlier, like-named tea (ZP20).
The promising-looking dry leaf consists of medium-sized twisted leaf with some light tips and a noticeably smoky aroma. The somewhat light and matte brown of the tender wet leaf segments suggests a modest oxidation. The aroma of the medium orange-amber liquor is dominated by a smokiness that has both a pine and hardwood character. Some sweet fruit and floral notes can be detected beneath the smokiness, but the balance is strongly in favor of smoke. A similar thing happens in the flavor, were the smokiness is dominant. While the tea seems to possess a smooth, balanced and pleasant character, to my taste it is not sufficiently strong to stand up to the smoke. It appears that this tea was made in a style similar to a Zheng Shan Xiou Zhong (Bohea) but with a base tea too delicate for the task. The moderately-long aftertaste is the most impressive part of the tea, with a strong cocoa note, a nice tang, and typical Fujian red flavors that match up well with the smokiness.
Keep in mind that I bring my biases to this review. I'm not a huge fan of "tarry" Lapsang Souchong, but will occasionally indulge in a lighter-smoked Zheng Shan Xiou Zhong. If you like smoky teas and are looking for a budget Bohea, this may be a good candidate. To get the best from this tea, use plenty of leaf, steep a bit longer, and keep the water off the boil.
After making this tea several times using somewhat more leaf than normal, I came to the conclusion that it was hopelessly weak and too smoky. So, I went out on a limb and used over twice as much leaf as I normally would. With most tea, this would result in a liquor too tannic and bitter to be enjoyable, but it was just what this tea needed. So prepared, it came into balance with attractive floral and fruit aromas matching up to the smoke. The mouth feel improved greatly and there was much more fruit and cocoa in the taste. With the stronger brew, it's a nice tea that I can recommend, but not one I'd probably purchase again. Too bad my sample pack is totally spent. Oh well, maybe I'll order one more sample in the future and give it another go.
ORIGINAL POST:
After enjoying Upton's basic Congou Panyang, I was excited to try this select version, which, at $8.80 for 125 grams, is twice as expensive. Will it be twice as good?
It should be noted that this tea (ZP22) is a fairly recent addition to the Upton catalog and apparently replaces an earlier, like-named tea (ZP20).
The promising-looking dry leaf consists of medium-sized twisted leaf with some light tips and a noticeably smoky aroma. The somewhat light and matte brown of the tender wet leaf segments suggests a modest oxidation. The aroma of the medium orange-amber liquor is dominated by a smokiness that has both a pine and hardwood character. Some sweet fruit and floral notes can be detected beneath the smokiness, but the balance is strongly in favor of smoke. A similar thing happens in the flavor, were the smokiness is dominant. While the tea seems to possess a smooth, balanced and pleasant character, to my taste it is not sufficiently strong to stand up to the smoke. It appears that this tea was made in a style similar to a Zheng Shan Xiou Zhong (Bohea) but with a base tea too delicate for the task. The moderately-long aftertaste is the most impressive part of the tea, with a strong cocoa note, a nice tang, and typical Fujian red flavors that match up well with the smokiness.
Keep in mind that I bring my biases to this review. I'm not a huge fan of "tarry" Lapsang Souchong, but will occasionally indulge in a lighter-smoked Zheng Shan Xiou Zhong. If you like smoky teas and are looking for a budget Bohea, this may be a good candidate. To get the best from this tea, use plenty of leaf, steep a bit longer, and keep the water off the boil.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Congou Panyang (Upton)
This is a tea that's reasonably priced and generally gets good reviews, so I decided to give it a try. At $4.40 for 125 grams, it's the cheapest of the batch of teas I'll be covering over the next few days, and not one I was expecting much from.
Well, this is actually a surprisingly good tea. The dry leaf is dark and wiry, with a dark sweet aroma with cocoa and smoky notes. The liquor is a fairly dark red-brown, and is a bit darker than I typically associate with Fujian congou. The aroma of the liquor is fairly full, with a bunch of things going on. There is a dark berry aroma there that reminds me of a combination of fresh and smoked cherry-flavored pipe tobacco, a dose of cocoa powder, some funky barnyard stuff, and a balancing, but noticeable smokiness that seems more a result of a long, full baking than any smoking over pine. In the mouth the tea seems fairly robust, with medium-to-full body, and flavors that I'd expect based on the aroma: dark berry, cocoa, barnyard, and smoke. I'd expect a tea at this price to be a noticeably flat and dull, but they've done a pretty good job here, with just a hint of the flatness. The aftertaste is fairly decent, with a dark berry note, some smoke, and cocoa.
This tea is a good example of how crafty processing can do a lot with decent leaf. This is not a terribly pure tea, and probably won't appeal to those who value handmade delicate teas, but if a stout tea with a bunch of funky complexity sounds appealing to you, try this one.
Well, this is actually a surprisingly good tea. The dry leaf is dark and wiry, with a dark sweet aroma with cocoa and smoky notes. The liquor is a fairly dark red-brown, and is a bit darker than I typically associate with Fujian congou. The aroma of the liquor is fairly full, with a bunch of things going on. There is a dark berry aroma there that reminds me of a combination of fresh and smoked cherry-flavored pipe tobacco, a dose of cocoa powder, some funky barnyard stuff, and a balancing, but noticeable smokiness that seems more a result of a long, full baking than any smoking over pine. In the mouth the tea seems fairly robust, with medium-to-full body, and flavors that I'd expect based on the aroma: dark berry, cocoa, barnyard, and smoke. I'd expect a tea at this price to be a noticeably flat and dull, but they've done a pretty good job here, with just a hint of the flatness. The aftertaste is fairly decent, with a dark berry note, some smoke, and cocoa.
This tea is a good example of how crafty processing can do a lot with decent leaf. This is not a terribly pure tea, and probably won't appeal to those who value handmade delicate teas, but if a stout tea with a bunch of funky complexity sounds appealing to you, try this one.
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