2015 Huang Guanyin - Yellow Goddess of Mercy

I'm seriously backlogged on getting teas up on the site, but that means that things are busy and that is a good thing. I've been prepping for the upcoming Assessing Assam Tasting, which will be this Saturday at 1pm for anyone that wants to join. It's a free tasting during which we will compare six different orthodox Assams from the 2015 second flush harvest. Should be fun!

This is a look at Huang Guanyin (Yellow Goddess of Mercy) from the 2015 harvest. Huang Guanyin is a relatively new hybrid cultivar that comes from a cross between Tie Guanyin (Iron Goddess of Mercy) and Huang Jingui (Yellow Gold). The cultivar was developed by the Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences - Tea Research Institute in the late 1980s and adopted in the Wuyishan area of Fujian Province in the 1990s. The cultivar name is ART.NO.W003A (or WYA38): Huang guan yin. Picked only in April, this oolong is roasted and rolled unlike the two varietals that it comes from - Tie Guanyin and Huang Jingui are usually ball-rolled, with Tie Guanyin being either medium to heavy roasted (traditional style) or light roasted (more modern style) while Huang Jingui is usually lightly roasted (for an excellent version I often buy the Yellow Gold from Teance). 

This is perhaps one of the best Wuyi oolongs to get people excited about these amazingly complex teas. Medium roasted, with a nice sweetness and floral orchid notes, this tea is hard to go wrong with. The one exception is if you try and brew it in a pot - I really don't think Wuyi teas respond well to pot brewing, and need/must be brewed in a gaiwan with lots of leaves and quick steeps. I like 7grams in a 100ml gaiwan with ~20 second steeps. On this one, the charcoal roast notes dropped off after the first 3 steepings or so, but the honey and melon flavors persisted well into the 7th steep. Wuyi oolongs are not cheap, and if you do find a cheap one, it will probably be a disappointment. You pay for what you get, and in this case, paying for a quality Wuyi will make all the difference.

Beautiful leaves.

Nice quality plucks.

Couple of other teas that I got with the Huang Guanyin.

For this tea, the readings were:

Water
TDS - 67
PH - 7.07

Brewed Tea
TDS - 310
PH - 6.06

Difference
TDS - 243
PH - 1.01

A Comparison of Four Da Hong Pao Oolong Teas

We sell a lot of oolong tea in our cafe, primarily because it is delicious, but also because it is a good intro tea for many people. This is especially true for those who try the light roast oolongs from Taiwan or Anxi in China. With their high floral notes, slight sweetness, and forgiving steep times, they make a perfect introduction for many people to venture into the world of tea. More complex oolongs, such as the twisted oolongs from Wuyi, Fujian, China are a bit harder to get just right on the steep time, and often the charcoal roast puts people off until they know what they are doing and what they are drinking. We have a fabulous 2015 Winter Harvest Long Feng Xia and 2015 Winter Harvest Ali Shan right now, both of which are high mountain green oolongs from Taiwan. We also have several other oolongs (a couple competition oolongs from Taiwan done in the traditional style, a Mao Xie [Harry Crab] and medium roast Tiequanyin from Anxi, China, as well as an amazing Baozhong twisted oolong from Taiwan. However, we have not had a good Da Hong Pao or Wuyi oolong to offer so I have been on the hunt for one.

Over the past two weeks I compared four different Da Hong Pao oolongs from various vendors, trying to find one that I thought was the best. All of them were very good, with some slightly better than others.

For the tea to be a true Da Hong Pao, it must come from within the Nature Preserve located just outside of Wuyishan, Fujian, China.

This is Tongmu Guan village, where Cindy's tea comes from.

As you can see, the mountains are not just rocks, but they are rocky. The tea farms can be seen spreading up the hillsides a bit from the village, as well as the extent of the mountain environment and the little villages located up and down valley.

This sample came from Lydia, and although I enjoyed it, I did not end up buying it. The aroma was wonderful, with shifting flavors of honey and melon. After 4-5 steepings, the flavor dropped off significantly.

Water
TDS - 79ppm
PH - 7.47
Temp - 165

Brewed Tea
TDS - 181ppm
PH - 6.42
Temp - 165

Difference
TDS - 102ppm
PH - 1.05

This sample came from Scott, and again, I found it to be another fine tea, if not slightly subdued to the other two samples with a slightly heavier roast profile coming out in the tea.

Water
TDS - 67ppm
PH - 7.39
Temp - 165

Brewed Tea
TDS - 178ppm
PH - 6.17
Temp - 165

Difference
TDS - 111ppm
PH - 1.22

The next one is one I have actually bought over the years. It comes from Winnie and is a delicious example of a Da Hong Pao. Full of complex flavors including lemon, honey, citrus and orange - really a top notch tea.

I didn't take any photos of the tasting for some reason; must have been busy that day.

Water
TDS - 73ppm
PH - 7.53
Temp - 165

Brewed Tea
TDS - 161ppm
PH - 6.53
Temp - 165

Difference
TDS - 88ppm
PH - 1.18

The final one, coming from Cindy, is perhaps the best of all of them. Sweet on the tip of the tongue, with smoke at the end, the tea is smooth and more complex compared to the others. Sitting with the tea and enjoying the flavors transmute as they cross your palette is a wonderful way to pass the afternoon.

Water
TDS - 106ppm
PH - 7.45
Temp - 165

Brewed Tea
TDS - 232
PH - 6.38
Temp - 165

Difference
TDS - 126ppm
PH - 1.07

Interestingly, Cindy's tea had the largest difference in terms of TDS, but was third in terms of PH. Both Winnie's and Scott's were slightly more roasted, and that is apparent in the greater change in PH, as charcoal roasting makes the PH of the tea water turn more alkaline because of the carbon. Cindy's TDS change was the largest, resulting in the more complex flavor profile that was noted in the tea.

Da Hong Pao's are amazing teas, and although I cannot claim to be an expert by any means, I'm pretty happy with how the tasting went. Both myself and a good friend who tried all of the teas with me agreed that the two best were from Winnie of Teance and Cindy of Wuyishan.

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Now to get into the harder part - what varietal is Da Hong Pao? I'm hesitant to put anything out there, as there seems to be a lot of confusing opinions on exactly what varietal Da Hong Pao comes from. Babelcarp states that Da Hong Pao is both a varietal and a type, meaning that there are true Da Hong Pao tea bushes, but that any clippings or clones taken from these original Da Hong Pao bushes (depending on who is doing the counting, there are 4-6 of these original bushes still alive today) are also Da Hong Pao. However, it gets confusing because the clones of the original bushes have been given their own names - Dahongpao, Shui Xian, Qi Dan, Bei Dou, Rougui, and others. Austin of Seven Cups says something very similar, in that Qi Dan is a varietal, but originally came from a clone of the original Da Hong Pao bushes. Winnie of Teance, who is an expert and a person I highly trust, states that Da Hong Pao is a blend of these clones. A short thread on TeaChat also supports this theory, that Da Hong Pao, whatever it might have been in history, is now a name for a type of oolong coming from the Wuyishan area of Fujian, China. Scott from Yunnan Sourcing simply states that Da Hong Pao is a varietal, but doesn't say anything more.

Part of the problem is that no one has actually done any genetic tests, or at least there are no English language sources if such tests have been conducted. One genetic study supports the notion that Da Hong Pao is a varietal and a type, in that Dahongpao, Shuixian, Qidan, and others are all of the same genetic family. Other genetic studies have demonstrated that the varietals - whatever they may be - do cluster around their own regions, so that Fujian varietals are more closely related than they are to those found in other growing regions.

So, what is Da Hong Pao? My understanding currently is this - when I write Da Hong Pao I am thinking of the TYPE of oolong, coming from several sub-varietals that most likely were at some point taken from the original plants but now have been given their own names. This oolong is also more tied to terroir, processing, and style, most likely a blend of the various sub-varietals. When I write it as Dahongpao, that is in reference to an actual sub-varietal that may be made into Da Hong Pao, but could also be made into Shui Xian or blended with other sub-varietals to end up with Da Hong Pao. There is no definitive answer, because there are no definitive studies.

But really, for most people none of this matters. What really matters is whether one enjoys the tea, and a good Da Hong Pao is certainly an enjoyable experience.

Two Different Oolongs, Similar Backgrounds

In the last post I noted my disappointment in finishing off the last of the Alishan High Mountain Oolong from the 2014 Winter harvest. As I predicted there, the remaining Alishan was gone by the following day. However, I assured anyone reading it that I had some Long Feng Xia to put out and share. Perhaps one of the best High Mountain oolongs coming out of Taiwan at the moment, a quality Long Feng Xia is a pleasure to drink and enjoy. As with the Alishan, it is a "green" or "jade" oolong - slightly oxidized, primarily unroasted, light in the cup but full of aroma, subtle flavors, and delicious tea oils. The 2015 winter harvest just took place, and this year's batch is quite good, and well worth the price.

It took me a bit, but I found "Dragon or Phoenix Gorge" on Google Maps and zoomed in via the Earth overlay. As you can see, there are lots of tea farms right in the area, all of which fall under the label Long Feng Xia.

Here is the same spot in the topo overlay. Zhushan township is just to the north and west, while Lugu township (which is also well known in the Taiwan oolong world) is just to the north. The Long Feng Xia area is between 1400m and 1800m (4,500 feet and 5,900 feet).

This map shows the boundary of Zhushan township. Long Feng Xia (Dragon Gorge) is located in the Shan Lin Xi district, which in turn is in Zhushan township, Nantou County, Taiwan. Meishan township is directly below, which is where many good Jin Xuan oolongs come from, as well as where Alishan is located, the other exceptional High Mountain oolong area.

High Mountain oolongs should exhibit a high pluck standard, such as in the picture above. The batch I ordered for the shop is from the Qing Xin varietal, which is an "indigenous" varietal. By that I mean it is one of the original ones to come over from Fujian, China sometime during the late 1800s, versus the newer varietals created by TRES in the 1980s, such as Jin Xuan or Tsui Yu. As this oolong is unroasted and only lightly oxidized, it readily gives up its qualities to the water it is steeped in, as exhibited by the measurements I got:

Water
Temp - 150
PH - 7.3
TDS - 79ppm

Brewed Tea
Temp - 148
PH - 6.27
TDS - 449ppm

Difference
PH - 1.03
TDS - 370ppm

The name of this post is "Two Different Oolongs, Similar Backgrounds." I titled it that because the other oolong, which I had a few days ago, is called Jin Chuen. It is from Fujian, China. What could be similar about these two oolongs other than that they are both oolongs? Well, it turns out that Jin Chuen is Jin Xuan! So, here is an example of an oolong varietal developed by TRES in 1980 and labeled TRES #12, Golden Daylily, or Jin Xuan, which was taken back to Fujian, China and grown there. The similarities stop there, as the Jin Chuen tastes nothing like Jin Xuan oolongs coming out of Taiwan at the moment. Rather it is lightly roasted in the traditional Chinese method, imparting a bit more earth, muting the floral notes, and presenting the drinker with a flavor profile that clearly carries an "old world" sensation. Not the most popular among contemporary US oolong drinkers for this very reason, I found the Jin Chuen to have it's own enjoyable qualities, taking me on a journey to ancient farms, ancient soil, and ancient techniques. I found it to respond best to a few longer steepings instead of my usual multiple, quick steepings.

The pluck standard is not the same in China as it is in Taiwan, so the leaves were primarily single leaves with either no stem or a single stem.

The readings I got were:

Water
Temp - 150
PH - 7.30
TDS - 80ppm

Brewed Tea
Temp - 152
PH - 6.12
TDS - 414ppm

Difference
PH - 1.18
TDS - 334ppm

Talking Taiwan Oolongs, Superior Puerh, and Green Needle Tea

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.

Four New Teas To Try - Gold-Flecked Green, White Forest Oolong, Tsui Yu Competition Oolong, and Chamraj Extra Long Nilgiri

It's amazing how busy things have been - sourcing new teas, tasting teas, selecting which teas to put out and which to hold back on. There really are a lot of quality teas on the market and it is hard to balance what one needs to fill out a cafe's tea selection versus which ones I personally want to try. However, I'm very happy with these latest offerings, some of which we were able to only secure a small quantity of. 

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Four new teas arrive on our shelf this month – a delicious summer green, two rare oolongs, and a black tea from the Nilgiri Hills of southern India

Gold-Flecked Green – Plucked at the beginning of the summer season, this green tea from Anhui Province, China exhibits a deep, rich flavor characteristic of a fine summer green. Ball-rolled and twisted, the golden amber liquor and leafy-green aroma make this a prefect everyday green tea.

Beautiful, rolled, twisted leaves.

A delicious green with a fresh, vegetal liquor.

Nice, uniform full leaves.

White Forest Oolong – Located just across the border from Darjeeling, the Pathivara Farm has been working to raise international awareness about Nepal’s fine teas for some time now. With a similar terroir and climate as Darjeeling, the teas produced from the this farm are processed in a twisted oolong style, resulting in a fresh tea that is a cross between a First Flush and a Moonshine Darjeeling. A unique tea that is not often found outside of the region (although this is changing, especially after the 2013 Darjeeling labor strike that pushed many to purchase Nepali teas, as well as the end to the Maoist insurgency which made many to abandon the tea estates in Nepal until just a few years ago when they were brought back under cultivation).

The fine hairs on these leaves really stand out.

Compare these leaves to one's from Darjeeling and you will see how similar they are.

The flavor is similar to a cross between a First Flush Darjeeling and a Moonshine Darjeeling.

Tsui Yu Oolong – Produced by the Nantou County Tea Trade Association for the 2015 Spring Oolong Competition, this tea is a rare treat. With only 2.2kg available for public purchase, we were lucky to secure a small lot. Submitted into the Tsui Yu varietal medium roast category, this tea was awarded a Superior Grade and placed within the top 20% of 2,400 entries. Photos and more on the Tsui Yu Competition Oolong can be found in this post.

Chamraj Estate Black – An organic black tea coming from the famed Chamraj Estate high in the Nilgiri Hills of southern India, this Extra Long Orange Pekoe tea provides a smooth, winey cup with hints of tropical and citrus fruits. On the lighter side of black teas, it can be drunk as a standalone tea, or with milk and sugar.

The color of this tea is simply beautiful.

Although an orthodox tea, many of the leaves are slightly broken.