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.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Saturday, January 12, 2013
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.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
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.
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.
Monday, January 7, 2013
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.
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.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
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.
Friday, January 4, 2013
"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.
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.
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.
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