Alishan Light Roast High Mountain Oolong
I feel a bit bad for posting this, as we got in around 300 grams of the Winter 2014 harvest to taste and review. I've had Alishan High Mountain from many sources, and the one we got this batch in from is one of the best (and the price reflects that). Aromatic, light, with plenty of tea oils to coat the back of the tongue and throat, allowing you to continue to enjoy the subtle flavors well after the last sip. This is what the modern, light roast, "jade" or "green" oolong is all about. I put out the 300 grams and it is pretty much all gone - if you are reading this today, there is enough left for a pot or two. However, don't fret, as I've put in a large order from the same farmer for several pounds of this winter's harvest. We do have some excellent Long Feng Xia High Mountain oolong, which is very similar but comes from the Shan Lin Xia area (Jhushan township of Nantou county) to the north. Alishan is the principal high mountain in the Mei shan area of Chiayi county, just south of Nantou in central Taiwan.
 |
| The tightly rolled leaves and stems open quickly in one to two steepings. |
 |
| The big, bold leaves still attached to the stem. |
This Alishan is from the Jin Xuan varietal, and the large, robust leaves reflect that. The readings I got on this tea for the third steeping of 30 seconds was***:
Water
TDS - 73ppm
PH - 7.72
Brewed Tea
TDS - 371ppm
PH - 6.34
Difference
TDS - 298
PH - 1.38
The Long Feng Xia, which I tasted on the 15th and will post later, for comparison, had a difference of 370 (TDS) and 1.03 (PH).
Superior Puerh - Shou Style 2010
Puerhs are an interesting thing - the cultural packaging around this tea has reached almost mythological proportions. "Symbols associated with Puer tea represent new national, regional, and individual identities to counterbalance prior identities and ongoing globalization" (Zhang, 2014, p. 23). These symbols and the cultural packaging around Puerh tea that has happened in the last 20 years are fascinating, and here in the West we have fully bought into them, as have many Chinese and others. "Many Yunnanese are confused by them, especially by the sudden appreciation for the flavor of aged Puer tea, which ironically was 'artificially' created by a group of advocates in only about five years..." (Zhang, 2014, p. 21). I'm just now delving in to this packaging and re-packaging of at one point what was thought to be a simple beverage, but that does not deny that I do enjoy good Puerh, and the Superior Puerh we have from 2010 is an excellent example of this recent mythology allowing one to enjoy a "drinkable antique."
 |
| An old leaf, but still partially intact. |
We have been sitting on this Puerh since 2010 when we acquired it. I have no idea as to the "factory" that it came from, as the package was unlabeled other than the name and date. It is certainly not from Menghai, but most likely one of the other larger factories. We have a number of "mystery" puerhs that we have acquired over the past 20+ years - does that make them any less exciting in terms of the tea itself and the journey it provides? I don't think so, and perhaps that makes them even more exciting, they are truly one-of-a-kind teas and their is only a small amount of them that we can offer. There is also a reason that these puerhs have no provenance - prior to the past 5-10 years, that was how puerh was packaged and sold. Even today, most puerh is blended in some fashion, even "wild arbor" stuff.
The readings I got doing the standard third steeping at 30 seconds:
Water
TDS - 103 (high day?)
PH - 7.68
Brewed Tea
TDS - 322
PH - 6.07
Difference
TDS - 229
PH - 1.61
Rainflower Needle Spring Green
This green was picked towards the end of the spring season in Jiangsu Province, China, and arrived on US shores in August during the start of the second green season. In the US, there are really four or five green seasons when buying: the first pre-qingming greens which we air freight directly in from China, the pre-qingming greens that come over on the boats and arrive later, the first summer greens again air freighted over, and then the summer greens that come via boats. Each has a different price point and freshness quality. This Rainflower (Yu Hua) green comes from Nan Jiang area, one of the ancient capitals of China and current capital of Jiangsu, located on the edge of the Yangtze River delta. Lower in elevation than other tea regions, this area has four distinct seasons, with spring being the best for producing fresh greens before the hot and muggy days of summer arrive.
 |
| Tightly hand rolled, then pan fired leaves in the form of needles. |
 |
| A spring leaf, obvious when compared to the size of the ones above. |
This Rainflower Needle batch is very good, exhibiting all the qualities that I enjoy in a spring green: freshness, vibrancy, vegetal flavors with sweet undertones. Steep it too long and it will become astringent, but flash steeps of 20-30 seconds produce lovely cups. It is always a gamble with boat greens, as you don't really know what kind of conditions the tea was subjected to on the long journey across the Pacific, but this batch seems to have survived well. Nice to have it around for a bit.
The readings I got were:
Water
TDS - 64
PH - 7.75
Brewed Tea
TDS - 396
PH - 6.25
Difference
TDS - 332
PH - 1.50
*** I'm collecting TDS, PH, and now temperature of every tea I drink and will post it here. There are several lines of investigation that is involved with this, but until I can at least come up with some baseline data, I will not conjecture about anything revolving around these numbers. However, tends are starting to make themselves apparent.
No comments:
Post a Comment