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Tie Guan Yin on the left (of course) |
More reviews of teas sent by a vendor for review, part of an effort to get more exposure about their product range by sending teas out to a number of people. All fair enough! The last teas were pretty good, but I liked a Yunnan Dian Hong black version more than a Yingde black tea. I think oolongs will make for a more conclusive finding, since this complex and often refined range of teas really shows off quality level, or on the other side exhibits even minor flaws more clearly.
I've not discussed background with them, so I might only cite some basic product descriptions during editing, and move on to tasting notes here initially.
I might also mention that side by side tasting can help identify subtle differences in similar teas, for example to make it clear when one has a thicker mouthfeel, or great complexity. Tasting dissimilar teas like these together actually makes judgement less clear, instead of more so, because it just adds more noise to filter while it's going on, more to experience that doesn't actually help. I've been through both kinds of combined tastings many times over the last decade so I'm not too concerned about that. I might've pulled out one or two more minor flavor descriptions for either tea in a singular tasting, but in general the assessment should be the same.
Tie Guan Yin ITeaWorld listing: (a bit over $15 per 100 grams, converting what I see listed in Thai baht; pretty good value related to already trying it)
There isn't much of a written product description, so I'll paste some background mentioned here, and a spiderweb chart description:
Surrounded by mountains and veiled in mist, Anxi has an average annual temperature of 15-18℃, a frost-free period of 260-324 days, and an annual rainfall of 1700-1900mm. The relative humidity is above 78%. The soil is mostly acidic red soil with a pH value of 4.5-5.6. The soil is deep and rich in organic matter and mineral substances, which contributes to the unique flavor of the Tie Guanyin tea trees.
Mi Lan Xiang Dan Cong listing: (maybe about $38 per 100 grams, which seems fair, given that it seems like much better quality tea)
From Old Tea Trees over 100 Years Old in Deep Mountains. Sweet. High Brew Tolerance. Low Astringent Taste.
Sexual tea tree varieties over 100 years old. One tea tree in an area of 6-8 m². Picked 1 flush a year.
When consuming the tea, the mouth is enveloped by the natural aroma of the tea leaves, resembling a sophisticated perfume. Hence, fenghuang dancong tea is often hailed as a drinkable perfume by tea lovers.
There is a bit to unpack in that description. It doesn't really break down an aspect description of the tea directly, but it's how one would expect from what is there, true to type, heavy on a particular floral input (what the name is a reference to, honey orchid fragrance), on the sweet side with medium level fermentation input. Roast level is light enough that you can't clearly identify it, which is good, but it probably was one input.
Sexual (natural) plant reproduction refers to how monoculture, often lower elevation and high chemical input supported farming, can tend to utilize plant clones, versions with identical genetics. If the plants really are 100 years old, or even just decades old, branch cutting practices of propagation were probably still available back then, which is all it takes to make a genetically identical plant from one already growing. It doesn't add that much if there is slight genetic diversity from natural plant reproduction (which is a bit similar to how mammals have sex, only relating to pollen exchange instead of the rest for combining genetics).
The "deep in the mountains" part implies natural, and perhaps even organic growing conditions. It just doesn't say that. How much space each plant has to grow is a novel inclusion; I suppose that would be relevant, but it doesn't mean much to me.
I tend to take descriptions about tea plant age and growing elevation (not mentioned) with a grain of salt anyway; it would be easy for vendors to include content that may or may not be accurate. If they are growing and also processing the teas they sell all this should be accurate, but if they actually produce most and also resell some there would be no way to know which was which, and if producer source claims are actually accurate.
It is important that plants are harvested only once per year, to keep the intensity at a maximum, and preserve the value of the processed leaves that are picked (per input from a producer friend, who also makes Dan Cong).
Review:
I should also mention that I'm brewing 7 grams of each, instead of the 3.5 per small sample. That's not because that's more optimum; it relates to me being quite familiar with that quantity and proportion for brewing approach. It's pretty much how I prepare all teas, for tasting or for everyday consumption. It would be good if I could brew 3.5 just as naturally and effectively, but even for paying more attention to the change in process it wouldn't be the same.
For anyone new to Gongfu brewing, who doesn't have this sort of established preference and routine, just using 3.5 grams is fine, and using longer times, more like 25 seconds or so, until you see if that should be slightly longer or shorter per your preference, or adjust that per round based on results last time. Later in a cycle, maybe only 5 or 6 infusions in for it going faster at higher proportion and longer brewing times, it might help to bump timing to keep infusion strength up. One might naturally wonder if there really is an optimum infusion strength by tea type, but as I see it this ties more to preference.
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not bad brewing advice, except timing escalation may be a little fast |
Dan Cong: this is more intense, definitely not related to it being more intense in general (although that could be true); it's that this tea form will brew a lot faster early on, the long strips and more oxidized version. It doesn't need to open up. It's pretty good; the flavor and character is as it should be. That oxidation level and very moderate roast balance seem quite favorable to me; often Dan Cong can be a little light in style, not quite to a most natural balance point for oxidation. Tipping past that optimum balance point would be worse than stopping short, leaning over towards black tea, because even lighter styles are still quite favorable, but it would be a shame to shift this to taste more like black tea (the oxidation level), or to roast it too much (the separate roasting input).
This may be Mi Lan Xiang [editing note: later added to their website description, confirming that, which hadn't been present earlier on]; it's quite floral, bridging over to lean towards a fresh ripe peach flavor. The character that is there is all very positive; the flavor is in the right range, mouthfeel is good (but it could be a little thicker), aftertaste lingers, and refinement is good, without any trace of negative aspect inclusion. The only limitation relates to intensity still being in a moderate range, and thickness of mouthfeel backed off a little, with aftertaste positive but not as extended as it could be. All this puts too much pressure on final judgement on a first round though; this tea is just getting started. I'll see if depth and intensity pick up a bit from here.
Tie Guan Yin second infusion: it's pretty good. Flavor intensity picks up, and this is in a positive range, including plenty of bright floral scope, typical for the type. Some of what I was saying in the last round about the Dan Cong repeats here; this seems like pretty good tea, but there seems to be a clear higher quality level beyond this experience. Flavor range is positive, and right for the type. Mouthfeel and aftertaste aspect range are fine, both positive, but there is another level beyond this for both to be a lot more intense. For people new to trying better teas it would be hard to notice that, or to appreciate it whether it's there or not, so to be clear I'm describing what people judging teas conventionally value. More thick feel and prolonged aftertaste add more dimensions to the tea experience, they give it a much greater depth, more than any one of these being inherently positive on its own is an issue.
Sweetness could bump a little but it's fine. There aren't any other noticeable flaws, beyond what I've described that I see more as limitations to the quality level. Medium quality TGY can have more of a sweet corn flavor than floral, and I suppose this flavor range is complex, and someone could judge it as including that, but I see it as primarily floral, and the right range of that, a sweet sort of orchid-like range (but I'm not great with mapping distinct floral descriptions, to be clear).
Dan Cong: intensity did pick up in this, and it transitioned just a little. Warmer tones are more dominant, leaning a little towards cinnamon, but not really quite reaching that exact flavor experience, just towards that range. Floral range still stands out most, a much richer and deeper form than for the other tea. It still leans a little towards peach flavor but that's harder to pick up related to warmer tones increasing. A perfume-like character sets in more; I'd like to describe how I see that as relating to a quality marker, using that concept in a non-standard way I've evolved as my own way of interpreting tea experience (not to take credit for renovating tea tasting; the point here is more to separate what I'm saying from expectations that this is how people trained to taste tea tend to describe it).
Trueness to type, good balance, complexity, and intensity can all be valued in tea experience; all of these are positive. To a limited extent I see certain particular aspects related to each tea type as identifying quality in a different way, only for that particular tea type. To offer a counter-example I don't necessarily notice such a thing related to the Yunnan black tea (Dian Hong) that I reviewed from ITeaWorld last. To me that type is great for being approachable, intense, complex, and for conveying the experience of depth even when teas seem to have a simple flavor profile. No one aspect marks a version out as quite good, or most standard. The aromatic range I'm describing here, related to this Dan Cong, serves that role. It's a perfume-like experience, so that in some forms it even seems to take on the character of the solvent in perfume, not only floral aromatic compounds and such.
The tea is good, very pleasant to experience; some of all that might be overthinking it. To be clear it's not as if I'm saying this is probably an example of a $.75-$1 a gram more exclusive, much higher quality level version; it may well fall into the top end of a rarer middle range of Dan Cong, not quite there. Really good Dan Cong can be just amazing related to intensity, balance, and refinement. This is pretty good, and the aspects there are quite positive, but it might fall just a little short of that more intense and refined range.
Tie Guan Yin third infusion: not much change. It's nice to experience a pretty good Tie Guan Yin version, and for sorting through Chinatown shop tins you might never encounter one on this level (although you really should, but random shop versions can all be iffy), but it's also limited related to the quality potential it didn't achieve. If this is selling at a moderate price it's fantastic value tea, and if the pricing is more medium that's just normal, and it would match billing. Note that the whole range for TGY is generally different than for Dan Cong; ordinary versions tend to be a little lower in quality level, and pricing is reduced to match. It's not an inferior type, necessarily, it's just one that is often prepared as a commodity tea, produced and sold as higher volume and lower cost versions. For vendors adding lists of superlatives and demanding the highest pricing for versions this tea version isn't up to that, even though it's probably as good as versions from many vendors who use such tactics, and don't back up the talk appropriately.
It's a little better than a tea you would just enjoy as a nice complement to breakfast food, and at the low end related to a version being so special it warrants spending an hour outside just focusing on tea experience. I appreciate what each tea offers, so it's fine for me for that, but many tea enthusiasts would need versions to rate high on some sort of scale of experiences, or even break new ground, and it's not there.
Dan Cong: this version may suffer from some of the related limitations I've just described but to me it's a little more interesting than that, for a few different reasons. That very pleasant balance of oxidation level and limited roast input really works (assuming that it's roasted at all, but it must be). The bridging of flavors across complex range works, the warm spice-like range, pronounced floral, and some fruit. Thick mouthfeel and drawn-out aftertaste aren't necessarily exceptional, but there's enough going on with them to support an experience of some complexity. Then a subtle perfume-like character probably tips all that balance positively.
It also helps that you could try a number of Dan Cong versions (probably Mi Lan Xiang) and they would be similar to this, but not very close to it, so novelty enters in. Tie Guan Yin is easier to assess for quality level because the aspects experienced tend to be more standard, until you branch into more traditional more oxidized and roasted versions. That version is the now-common greener and lighter style, which many people highly value and some people hate.
One drawback to doing combined tastings using a high proportion is that you can only get so far through a brewing cycle, unless you have a tolerance for drinking lots of tea. Or if you are only tasting some and dumping the rest out, but I wouldn't do that. I'll take a short break and eat something then try one more round, and 8 small cups of this will be plenty for now. I don't think there is a lot of story to get back to, about how these will evolve across a whole cycle, since the TGY is already not transitioning and the story for the Dan Cong should be more about durability than later change. Even if I leave off making notes I'll drink the tea, so I can mention it if anything interesting comes up.
Tie Guan Yin, fourth infusion: vegetal flavor range is picking up but the tea is still nice. For being a kind of medium quality level TGY this is fine, it's good. I cut and pasted the vendor descriptions into this post between rounds and this version is priced considerably lower than the other, matching my expectations related to how it comes across. For me personally I wouldn't want to pay more to experience a bit more depth, flavor complexity, thicker mouthfeel, and extended aftertaste, since the general experience is still similar for these kinds of medium quality level, very light TGY versions. People naturally value different things though, and holding the opposite opinion and preference is fine too. Budget comes into play; for plenty of people spending $15 on 100 grams of tea is enough, and for plenty of others it's not different at all from spending $30.
Mi Lan Xiang Dan Cong: the individual flavor aspects seem to integrate a bit more, seeming less distinct as rounds go on, with the most intense floral range and an early hint of peach giving way to stronger supporting warm mineral tones. That's still nice, just different. At this point interpreting some flavor range as aromatic wood instead of spice-tone would make sense. Strong floral tone is still a main part of the experience.
Quality level interpretation is completely different for this version; it sells for $30-some per 100 grams instead of $15, and it's clearly higher quality tea, of a type that tends to run high in demand, and command higher pricing. Under $20 per 50 grams is still kind of a lower medium range for Dan Cong pricing, related to how a lot of specialty tea vendors in the US position it. For this particular type of tea I get it why paying more to climb the quality level ladder makes plenty of sense, for people with this type as a main preference, and the budget to go there.
I'm a sheng pu'er drinker at this point, and my budget is relatively bottomed-out related to other life-input concerns (moving back and forth between Bangkok and Honolulu, and I've developed a running shoe habit), so all this is fairly abstract discussion related to my own experience. I haven't bought much tea this year, and whenever I do value--low cost--will be a main factor.
I think this version is quite pleasant, and it's what it should be related to the product description and price range. Value seems fine. People can get an impression that Dan Cong is a difficult tea to brew, or that versions tend to include a high degree of characteristic astringency (a bit like flower stem), but really that mostly relates to the quality level just below this range, as I see it. Lower elevation produced, overharvested and stressed plants, probably stretched for production volume using a lot of chemical inputs, produce a different type of experiential outcome. I'm not trying to guarantee or support that this is necessarily high mountain, old plant, organically grown tea; hopefully it is, as described (not the organic part; I don't think they said that). It's good, and those inputs and outcomes are said to bunch together. Of course good is all relative.
Conclusions:
I've concluded so much in the rest there isn't much to add. Both teas were good for what they were presented to be. Both held up for another very pleasant half dozen infusions, or maybe more, I didn't keep a count. Both are open to broad critique related to aspect by aspect comparison to versions presented and sold as the next quality level up, but the Dan Cong is at a nice equilibrium point for being very pleasant, complex, and refined and still at a moderate price, for that tea type.
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