Tea preference transition compared to wine

I was talking to an old friend about tea experience, and started in on comparing the natural preference transition cycle to what tends to occur with wine, typical exploration and changes in what people like.  I think I've typed all this out here before, but I'll run through it all again anyway, since that was probably years ago, and my perspective would have shifted.

The idea is this:  I tend to recommend certain kinds of teas to people as a good place to start beyond Lipton and flavored blends, and see some kinds as more of an acquired taste, as a much less natural place to start.  Standard patterns of exploring types would be normal.  The same happens with wine.  I was a restaurant server working with that friend then, in one of the two main ski resort areas in the US (the Vail Valley), so wine experience is familiar to both of us.

A lot of times it helps to write something to a specific person, because it sets a clearer context than just writing to an abstract, general audience.  This is formally written for that general audience but it will help writing what I would tell him.  It was what I was going to write to him, but I'll tell everyone else here too.

not so reassuring for subject expertise; red wine with the wrong glasses in a Utah park camping area

a friend who shared wine knowledge in the past; just the salt of the earth, a great guy

A natural wine preference curve (based on my own, really)

It's natural to start in on wine from really inexpensive versions, for more than one reason.  One part is the cost, but also some versions are "designed" and marketed for people who more or less don't drink wine.  "Box wine," or wine that literally comes in boxes (in a thick bag inside that box, with a nozzle device), are very inexpensive, sweet, and often oak-chip flavored, perfect as an introduction, close enough to soda or a fruity mixed drink.  That's what I mean.

evaluated very positively, by this article reference where the photo is from

This will run through a natural pattern in what someone might explore next, and entire "typical" cycle, although personal experience would always vary.  Different experience or preference "paths" would make sense.  This example will circle back to how one example route applies to tea experience.

Then moderate quality merlot is a reasonable next step (as red wine goes; it's going to help to narrow this to one broad type and color, so I will).  Those tend to be fruity, drinkable, not challenging in any way (not astringent or "structured"), and quite sweet.  They're not an ideal pairing with most foods, per how that theme is often said to go, but definitely easy to drink, maybe even for people who don't like wine.

Then next maybe Red Zinfandel would work; they're a little stronger flavored, often including some sort of berry or spice aspect, maybe even a trace of black pepper.  "Zin" isn't challenging, but then that applies across the next couple of steps too.  It's probably challenging enough that the merlot would've worked better first, but really that does depend on general food preference.  In rare cases someone might be able to just start straight in with dry, hoppy pilsner beer or peat-intensive single-malt Scotch, skipping the intermediate steps that would often tend to make the most sense related to liking those.


Next maybe syrah / shiraz would be appealing (Australians use that second name instead).  That typical range is not hard to appreciate but someone might move off liking an intense, sweet red wine and desire something different, if not actually a wine that is more subtle.  From there they could go more subtle and get into Pinot Noir.  It goes without saying, all this works only to the degree that expressing these types of broad generalities does; for sure they are partly accurate, but they also drag in almost as much error as accurate generalization, in order to make a point.

Wine blends trade off a narrower set of aspects found in single-type wines, and can be very balanced and well structured, so maybe Bordeaux blends would work well next, that set of five grape inputs, from there or places like California.  I kind of "left off" at Californian Rhone-style blends myself a long time ago (according to this reference maybe I was ahead of my time, since that was forever ago).

Skipping ahead, cabernet seems like a later-preference range. Those are more astringent, heavier on tannins, often coming across as slightly less sweet, but really it's more about the balance varying.  French reds can be something else altogether; even good versions can taste like there's a rusty nail inside the bottle.  People adjust to liking different things in wines as they explore, and move away from needing a lot of sweetness and soft feel, and actually crave complex structures and takes-exposure-to-like flavor aspect range.  Tea is like that too.

Early preference for teas

I typically tell people that light rolled oolongs, like Chinese Tie Guan Yin or Taiwanese oolongs, or soft, sweet, complex black teas, like Dian Hong, are good places to start.  They are approachable, pleasant, good in inexpensive versions (usually--not always), and easy to brew (of just harder to screw up, really).  Even a Wuyi Yancha, Wuyishan-area "rock oolong," can be harder to appreciate, and harder to brew, even though most versions of those really don't take that much getting used to.

Dian Hong; relatively large leaf Yunnan black tea

a light rolled oolong.  I only have old pictures of those, nothing very clear.

This "hard to brew" theme can relate to a split between Western brewing (using a teaspoon per cup in a pot, or making it the same way in a French press or infuser device) and Gongfu style brewing.  I'll have to leave that part out, since that level of tangent would derail this theme, but this intro-themed post goes into that.

a gaiwan, or lidded cup, my favorite brewing device

The parallel with the early wine preference curve scope, box wine, and even to some extent the drinkable merlot, would only equate to lower-medium quality versions of these first two tea types.  Then again, there definitely could be such a thing as a very high quality version of merlot.  The grape itself doesn't necessarily limit it to a certain style range, it just favors one, and demand themes also parallel that.  The same is true of "basic" teas, especially lighter style Tie Guan Yin; some can be great.  Adding a bit of oxidation and roast adds potential to develop a lot more depth and balance, a sub-theme that comes up again here in related to a slightly different but related scope.


Next branching into other oolong types seems to make sense, to me.  Wuyi Yancha and Dan Cong come to mind; both are quite pleasant across a broad range of styles and aspects.  Above average Dan Cong is pricey, so maybe if budget is an early determining factor skipping that might work better.  Taiwanese oolongs span an interesting range too.  Oriental Beauty--bug-bitten, more-oxidized oolong--seems a rare kind of tea that could appeal to a lot of people who aren't into tea at all, or to people fairly far through a preference development curve.  Those can express a lot of fruit flavor, maybe in citrus or muscatel range, along with grape or cinnamon spice.  They can be intense in flavor but reasonably well balanced at the same time.

an aged Oriental Beauty; leaves always tend to darken over time

More-oxidized rolled oolongs, which people might equate with a Dong Ding style (Taiwan region) could also work for a broad range of people.  Those can be complex, within a limited scope, novel, good value across different quality levels, and somewhat easy to brew.  Hatvala (a Vietnamese vendor) sells a Red Buffalo version that is essentially this.  More oxidized oolongs, sometimes referred to as "red oolong," based on black tea being called red in China, aren't exactly the same as better Dong Ding, which tend to carefully balance oxidation and roast inputs.  Better quality tea usually relies on very high quality tea to start, not necessarily depending mostly on oxidation level closer to black tea to change the theme to a warmer, earthier, still quite sweet agreeable character.

a "red oolong," a tea type that's often just as close to black tea as conventional oolong

Where are we on the mapping back to wine?  I think Syrah / Shiraz might still be similar to this Oriental Beauty / more oxidized rolled oolong range.  Levels of sublety and positive balance can vary, but the range still seems a bit basic (even if there often is something refined about OB that's hard to pin down, the way the aspects balance together).  Syrah can be subtle and balanced, but Pinot Noir moves on from there, or at least has the potential to.  Those can be very refined, not as sweet in some cases, expressing more light structure and earthy undertones in others.  That was especially true in Northwestern US versions, based on what I tried long ago, probably when the global wine industry wasn't nearly as developed as it is now.

This range might still map back to where Dan Cong oolongs land; higher quality versions of those are really positive and distinct.  Or better Wuyi Yancha; it's funny how you can keep drinking lower medium quality Da Hong Pao for a long time, only to later discover that you had never really experienced what the category range is all about.  Maybe to stick with the parallel structure here a tea experience might move onto more subtle range at this kind of point; you might first "get" white teas.  A lot of silver needle seems to just be flavorless, and it's hard for me to relate to appreciating feel and only feel.  Bai Mu Dan, a version with buds and fine leaf content, works better for me, for being more complex.


Maybe around this comparable stage better Darjeeling or Nepal white teas would come up; that works well as a parallel.  Oddly those are two relatively completely different things, even though they aren't so far away from each other as growing regions.  Darjeeling spans a range, with more progressive plantations continuing to experiment and see what works (notably a favorite related set, Gopaldhara and Rohini, are like that).  Nepal white teas have a characteristic style with a lot of pronounced underlying mineral and citrus pop.  It's possible to appreciate them mostly for flavor but it helps a lot to be able to relate to a more refined and subtle tea character, related to a lot of other oolong scope at least.

white tea comparison, versions from Nepal and Laos

a Nepal white (which do vary in appearance)

It's hard to draw a close parallel to tea with better blended wines.  I can think of what is probably the most obvious connection, but the parallel structure between the two beverage scopes has to fail in a sense to use this example:  that of sheng pu'er.  Sheng is not approachable, in general; it takes exposure to appreciate, for the most part.  I guess this draws us onto the parallel with Cabernet in one sense then, an interesting and less approachable red wine version that most typically takes some getting used to.  Of course I generalize; a child could probably drink Silver Oak and appreciate it, and that brand / version isn't exactly inexpensive.

Anything in the lower half of all sheng quality is probably hard for anyone to appreciate, unless they get started into that range and just stay there.  Cheap or bad sheng is often described as tasting like kerosene or chewing tobacco, the dip / snuff kind, not the larger and more whole leaf version.  It's rough.  Even good sheng can have pronounced bitterness in younger versions, and an unusual form of astringency, both of which work better after some exposure.

Laos loose sheng (maocha) from old plant sources

how sheng often looks, pressed as a cake or bing

sheng or shu (all pu'er) can come in different shapes, like this tuocha (a 2009 Xiaguan, not quite ready yet)

So the idea here is that although a Bordeaux wine blend is typically very easy to relate to the way in which that mixing can achieve very balanced and positive results is going to map over.  The general style and target audience theme is just different.

An inexpensive, lower quality wine blend would be compensating for flaws in inputs instead; getting the most out of relatively bad wine.  To me that's closer to what goes on with English Breakfast Blend black teas (no offense intended, if that's your thing, but I'll need to speak plainly here to say anything).  Inexpensive versions of Assam can be a bit rough, intense in flavor (malty) but also rough in feel, and lacking depth.  Inexpensive Ceylon versions can be lighter and more subtle but can lack intensity, or have other gaps or flaws.  Mixing the two can make a better mixed version, in some cases.  Let's move on to the other range though, about how all this maps out on the higher end, and in relation to a completely different tea type.

I don't really need to even say that some Bordeaux blends, in France and in California, are not just covering up for flaws in the wines, right?  They are shooting for an end product that is novel and exceptional, unusually well balanced, based on using wines that may not stand alone as well but that are definitely not flawed.  Assume that all that is clear to you already, even if it's not.

It's going to help to set aged sheng aside for this.  That's a little odd, because for many with advanced preferences in sheng that's what they drink.  Even at the very beginner level a common understanding is that all sheng is better when older, regardless of type or age.  I disagree.  To me some sheng is best very new (young), and it's much more common for some very exceptional types to hit a sort of peak for character within a few years of being produced, and then other versions with other character really need that transition.  I can circle back to sheng aging cycle later, and how transitions go, and just assume that I'm talking about relatively young (new) sheng here, without being clear on any of that.

a 2007 sheng photo from this year

There are two main ways in which sheng is produced and presented, as single-origin teas, most often sourced from a very narrow area (eg. one local farm, or arbor, a set of somewhat natural-growing tea trees), or as a mix of inputs, a blend.  Just like that we're back on theme.

The narrower source area has the benefits you would expect:  positive, interesting aspects stand out as distinct.  It has the drawback you would expect too:  any limitations or flaws in that tea really stand out (missing a character / aspect range, like sweetness, or mouthfeel, inclusion of a negative flavor element, etc.).  Using a range of inputs allows producers to compensate for any of those limitations, and balance them out, and get the most out of lower or medium quality tea material.  I suppose it's possible that the mapping to a very high end blend could occur but in general a lower or medium range is represented, and that paradigm related to the best Bordeaux production, and going for a great result using very good source material, more or less drops out.

I suppose for being less common exceptions might be no less valid, cases where the result is making something truly exceptional.  This seems to relate to production and marketing for White 2 Tea, for example; that producer seems to try to make much better than average tea by mixing inputs.  Or at least that's the story.  Since another part of that strategy relates to keeping inputs and product descriptions vague (unknown, really) it's hard to be clear on that.  Still, maybe it's that the exception proves the rule.  Since I've never tried any of their teas all of this is just passing on hearsay anyway, to be clear.  Maybe they aren't so great, in general, and it's all smoke and mirrors, until you get to generally unidentified versions based on single-source inputs, which could sell for a lot more in their product range than the blends.

Two other examples will clarify what is typical (back to upper-medium level quality blends as a theme).  Dayi / Taetea 7542 (a numbered-type example) is often held up as a benchmark version.  That large producer would sell teas from within a broad area that is identified, maybe like the US wine example version of Napa Valley, but essentially large scale producers mix inputs to get the result they want to achieve.  Or at least they make a tea that will sell, that seems somewhat similar to past years' versions. 

Yunnan Sourcing, another main Western vendor, sells a few different lines of blends, and their "Impression" series is presented as an attempt at making a better alternative to 7542.  I've only tried two years of their Impression versions, 2017 and 2018, and only own the 2018, but based on that limited sampling I would say that they've succeeded (although the style is a little different).  The tea is cheap, and pretty good.  It's not as distinctive and narrow in aspect range as some narrow source versions but it works.  The targeted blending result works out.

the 2018 Yunnan Sourcing Impression label; pretty cool design

I never got there myself, with wine, but this is more or less onto what natural end-points in tea preference might be.  Constant exploration might work, but I'd think people might naturally settle in on one or more ranges for preference.  Maybe just one, for primary preference, and then they might also mix it up.  Sheng is one of the main end-points, for sure, probably more represented by aged sheng than younger version preference.

Oolong range is another likely natural end-point, settling on something like Wuyi Yancha or Taiwanese oolong scope as a favorite, with plenty of range to explore within both.  Or Dan Cong, but to me those seem to cover a slightly narrower range; there is just less scope to focus on.  And they cost more, and finding very high quality examples is as difficult as with any tea type.  That's always how it goes, across all types, but I mean that there are divides between lower quality, medium, higher, and very high that somehow seem all the more distinct for that particular tea type, and versions of the last two levels can be hard to turn up.  Other types seem to work out as more of continuum, so that the middle and higher ranges can be quite distinct.  Across quality scope many tea versions still seem to share a lot of common ground, just adding some effect, better balance, a bit more thickness in feel or aftertaste, or different flavor range.


Now that I think of it, how would I know if I'm there with tea, closer to an end-point for preference, or what would be typical?  I "only" started into tea interest 8 or 9 years ago, and really only shifted to put a lot of focus on exploration around 7 years ago.  Even for trying a lot of versions a decade of input is just getting started.  My attention span for hobbies and food interests is on the short side so I almost never put that decade in, regardless of the subject.  But maybe I'll stick with this theme for awhile.