This is the second review covering more teas from that friend who shared them, Alex Phanganovich / Alexey Zykov. This is the first of two Thai shengs, this one from Wawee area material (Assamica, of course), actually processed in Doi Mae Salong, a separate area, better known for oolong production.
There's not much more to cover; that's all the background I know. Teas from that area are almost always referred to as wild growth material, and I suppose most could be, and this could be that. As I said last time Alex may sell these teas, or he may not, or maybe he just bought some to be able to sell and then it wouldn't last long. He can be reached on Facebook and he could talk about that, or maybe pass on advice about local sources. I've reviewed very similar teas from two local Thai sources in this blog; searching would turn those up.
One thing that I mentioned in that last Russian teas review (of a white and gaba red / black version) I'll repeat here, that I think my impression was altered for those for the styles not being familiar, which led to the individual aspects not matching what I already like. The opposite occurs here; after many years of long exposure this particular style is very familiar, and the aspects are what I value in tea experience. Just a half dozen years ago the considerable bitterness in this version would've seemed negative, but now it's really not.
Review:
First infusion: a bit light, not really brewing at normal intensity yet, but very pleasant and promising early on. This is exactly what I would've expected, or I suppose even hoped for. Sweetness level is good, even light complexity is coming across well, with plenty of floral range and other flavor filling in beyond that, including a nice mineral layer that should strengthen. There's no pronounced green or really strong and fresh range aromatic edge, which is what one would expect from a sheng that has rested for a year and a half. There is fresh flavor range, but the form changes after that much time. Bitterness is moderate, but at the right level to support the rest. It's quite good; even brewed light the balance and refinement are unmistakable. I'll add a more detailed flavor list next round.
Second infusion: bitterness ramped up considerably for brewing that a bit long to make sure it was well wetted, around 15-20 seconds instead of the usual 10 or so. That's fine, better for identifying some of the aspect range and quality, just not as good a match for optimum related to what I prefer. Warm tones make this exceptional, on the fantastic side instead of just well-balanced and good. Floral range is there too, and mineral undertone, and that bitterness, but warm aromatic range really complements the rest, towards an incense spice tone. Other "green" range also picked up, a bit of wood or plant stem, but the way it all balances works really well. Pronounced sweetness is part of that; that effect seems to help other range tie together well. The clean nature of it all helps a lot to, and the refined character; nothing here seems like a flaw, or out of place. Aftertaste is good, pleasant rich and structured feel is nice; it all works.
I made a big deal of how catchy one particular flavor note was in another Thai sheng, that I drank a lot of, finishing most of one of two small cakes in the 7 weeks I spent in Hawaii. It included bitterness, and a touch of vegetal range, but was mostly about a really catchy floral aspect range, or I suppose how it all tied together, really. This is the closest I ever remember having a tea to that. It was pretty new, this year's tea, and that difference alone could account for the warm tones adding in to this one. Resting for a year as a maocha, instead of being pressed into a cake, as that was, could allow for the earlier initial starting point to be nearly identical, or about as close to identical as teas ever get. That's a promising range and comparison, as I see it, since I liked that sheng version about as much as any South East Asian sheng that I've ever tried.
To be fair that's partly a statement about personal preference; I don't think it necessarily works as well as an affirmation of general and objective quality level. But the tea is quite good, both this one and that one, and they're clearly very well made, surely based on use of very promising material. Whatever this is I would definitely recommend buying it. If the pricing is crazy, towards $1 / gram range, then it's back to concern over budget issues, and fairness, but at any type-typical price this tea would be a great buy.
That part gets a bit odd, doesn't it? A vendor can talk about ancient, wild forest product teas, and mention doing well in some convention contest, and then the tea is suddenly worth $1 a gram. Different vendors tell different stories and market essentially the same teas in completely different ways, at very different price points. There is no market value for this tea then, because it's too rare a find for that to work that way, but to me buying a 100 gram cake of this for anywhere near $100 would be too much. But then you could probably easily buy tea that's not as good for towards that general range.
It's interesting that all that gushing over how good this is was based on a round brewed a little stronger than I typically like best. That extra bitterness from overdoing it slightly integrates that well, in a very positive form.
Third infusion: bitterness hangs in there even at a lower infusion level, but it's still really well-balanced. I actually had two teas from Apiwat that were different versions, one on the brighter and sweeter side, and one including really notable bitterness, and I was just comparing this to the first, but bitterness might be closer to the second, or I suppose in between the two. People tend to mix up bitterness and astringency effect, since they are often present at the same time, and of course I'm not saying that this is anything like the harsh-edged effect of drinking young, chopped material factory sheng. Mouthfeel is totally different. This is rich in feel, with a little bite to it, but not harsh at all. It doesn't need more time to age and smooth out to be quite pleasant; it's there now.
It might really peak for balancing more depth and broader flavor range, and more sweetness and richer feel, after another couple of years, but it wouldn't seem in order to age-transition this in a hot and humid environment, like where I am, in Bangkok. Moderate level of transition in a drier environment, that's not bone dry, could coax out a limited shift that works even better. Two more hot and humid years wouldn't ruin it, but to me this tea type range is probably well suited for slower, cooler, slightly drier aging.
It's hard to break down the experience further into a flavor list. The plant-stem type bitterness is somewhat dominant still, and ample floral range beyond that is hard to split out to specifics. It's light, sweet, and bright, along the lines of plumeria, but there may be more complexity to the floral range than I'm able to notice. The overall flavor range expresses depth, with mineral and some degree of warm tones underlying the rest. That could seem more like aromatic wood, cedar or something such, than a spice tone. It works, however you interpret the breakdown. Bitterness is strong enough that at least a bit of water between rounds might be good to cleanse the palate a little, to let you experience the full shock of that effect again and again. Just trying that, it's cool how the water tastes extra sweet, part of the carry-over effect of bitterness shifting to sweetness, which many others probably wouldn't be hesitant to refer to a hui gan.
Fourth infusion: bitterness eases, and honey sweetness ramps way up. Floral tones shift to a richer, different range as a result, like how a buttercup flower might smell, or at least how those look like they should smell. As with that one other Thai sheng one oddly pleasant part of the effect is how clean this is, quite intense, but all in a very positive way. In a different tea type form one would see that as "refined," but here it just balances exceptionally well. It's easy to miss all the parts contributing to cause that, how rich feel really is factoring in, and how extended quite pleasant aftertaste also does.
Fifth infusion: similar to last round; I'll just enjoy drinking this and give the notes a break.
Sixth infusion: those warm tones are picking up. I think I'll mention the next round and then drop taking more notes though, trying to pin down the split here between warm mineral tones, spice range, and aromatic wood tones. Maybe that's all there.
Seventh infusion: this is definitely not losing depth or complexity, or changing much, so there's not much to add. It's just great at this stage.
Conclusions
It's crazy that tea producers in an oolong region made this, in Doi Mae Salong. This is really good tea.
Related to the point about this style being a personal favorite, and it not being fair to those Russian teas that I didn't care for them because they were sour, this level of bitterness I really wouldn't have liked in the past. I've drank plenty of sour teas too, and can also relate to that aspect better than I could've a half dozen years ago, but sourness never became a favorite input, and I never matched the same appreciation for sheng with other tea types. Great oolongs can be just as good, I think, but not if they are sour, and those tend to be about refinement and complexity instead of intensity.
This version is as good as two recent Thai sheng favorites, this one (the Moychay cooperative version) and this one. Really this is closest in style to the maocha from Gaw Khee Cha (Apiwat), reviewed in the first linked post, with the second pressed version a little less bitter, but still similar. All three are about as good as any South East Asian teas I've tried, and not surprisingly a bit similar in style. For people not yet exposed to sheng frequently enough to appreciate bitterness the Moychay cooperative tea might seem best, then the sweeter (less bitter) version from Apiwat, then maybe this one, then the more bitter version from Apiwat. To me there was something about the second I linked to that eclipsed the rest, a dynamic floral intensity, with bitterness perfectly matched to adjoin that, but again I'm talking here about how oolong drinkers might interpret these teas instead.
I hope that all would come across as good to many people, but it would relate to how one takes that bitterness, just as my more negative judgement about sour Russian teas weighed in as negative in those. But that faded after the first two rounds, for both, so that's a little different, since it took 5 or 6 rounds for this sheng bitterness to really ease up.
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I'm way out of the habit of sharing personal photos. Happy belated Songran! |
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a cool image from a Chinatown outing, a dragon wearing a Santa hat |
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not so many places feel like home as much as that Bangkok Chinatown |
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a nice market area for picking up an informal dinner |
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