I'm reviewing two very interesting and pleasant Taiwanese rolled oolongs, from Tea Mania, a vendor based in Switzerland. Peter, the owner, passed on these samples in a visit awhile back (many thanks). There's a lot to say about them so I'll cite the product listings for more background and get on with the review notes section.
I might first add that I was really more into rolled oolong scope very early in tea exploration; it's essentially where I started, checking out Thai versions that were around (in Bangkok). Variety and quality scale is pretty broad, and it's my opinion that the best versions come from Taiwan. I tried a pretty good more oxidized and roasted Tie Guan Yin, from Anxi, China, not too long ago, but these are something else. Thailand can make ok versions, and Vietnamese range can be better than Thailand's, really extending to the top of the Taiwanese quality range in the rarest cases, but it could be hard to find those best of the best versions from there.
Bi Yu (15 CHF or $17.63, seemingly for 50 grams)
Bi Yu is a rare Taiwanese cultivar that descends from the well-known Qing Xin and Jin Xuan cultivars. The aroma profile of Bi Yu lies between the two parents, Qing Xing and Jin Xuan. A decisive difference is the pronounced fruitiness which is underlined by floral notes.
Due to the traditional processing, it can be stored without any loss of aroma. With increasing age, the aroma changes and develops its very own charm.
Harvest date: spring 2021
Aroma: fruity, with light, floral notes on the finish
Oxidation: approx. 40%
Roasting: middle
Terroir: Mingjian, Nantou, Taiwan
Lishan Gaoshan Wulong (30 CHF or $35.25 for 50 grams)
Lishan Gaoshan Wulong is a slightly oxidized, bouquet style highland tea from Lishan. Due to the slight oxidation the tea has a very floral and refreshing character, which reminds of the floral in the green tea, but due to the processing as wulong tea it has a much stronger body and is a much more intensive taste experience. With the slightly oxidized wulong, the leaves are not shaken as much, but are handled much more gently. This means that there are no red leaf edges, which makes the tea taste much more floral and refreshing. The infusion in the cup is also much brighter. The reverberation in the mouth is still clearly perceptible even over a longer period of time and it is a pleasure to trace the character of the tea in meditative silence and to fathom its complex character more and more.
Lishan Gaoshan Wulong is not roasted and only slightly but nevertheless well oxidized. Thus the character of highland teas is clearly visible. Due to the traditional processing it can be stored without any problems and without losing its aroma. With increasing age, the aroma changes and develops its very own charm.
Harvest time: spring 2020
Aroma: floral, with notes of osmanthus and honey
Oxidation: approx. 20%
Roasting: non
Terroir: Lishan, Nantou, Taiwan
Note that these are from different years, 2021 for the Bi Yu, and 2020 for the Lishan, and oxidation level is higher for the Bi Yu, with only that version roasted. I don't speculate about those inputs in these review notes (I checked the descriptions and added them later in editing), focusing on the experienced aspects instead. Even that tends to run long.
I've researched and written quite a bit about Taiwanese cultivars in this blog, just nothing for the last half a dozen years. I'll also skip going into any of that, but anyone interested could search it up here. One reference I cite in those posts covers what the older plant types and newer hybrid cultivars are. Jin Xuan is an example of the newer range (#12 in that series), as Bi Yu must be. Qing Xin is really a range of more original plant types, not just all one thing genetically, according to this research study reference.
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this post covers more about this, with the table from this reference |
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Bi Yu left, in all photos |
Review:
Bi Yu: it's quite good; I expected that. There is an intensity of floral range and mineral base that's distinctive across most Taiwanese rolled oolongs, and this expresses that. Floral range is intense and complex. A mineral base is harder to notice but that is what helps ground the rest, making it come across as a very complex experience.
Intensity is good, on the high side. I brewed this for longer than a typical infusion to get it started from still completely dry and compacted, for 30 seconds or just over, and it's not on the light side at all. The effect is just as it should be.
Related to regional character, tied to the origin, or the cultivar type, I won't be able to comment on what is or isn't most type-typical; I just don't drink that much Taiwanese oolongs. I've had good versions before, but it will still even be hard to place these within the scope of the highest quality range. It's quite good; that's all I can tell. I may not be able to get much further than describing this as expressing complex floral range; it's not one of my things to list out 3 or 4 flowers this resembles.
Lishan: interesting! I had expected this to be pretty similar to the other version, but it's not. It's creamier, and it includes a nutty sort of flavor aspect. Plenty of sweetness and floral range too, but it's quite different. A touch of vegetal range enters in along with the floral tone, and the rest, but it's limited, and hard to place. That might either develop or else drop out, and then I'd have either some or no chance of describing it further. Mineral is a little different in this too. It's so heavy that it leans a little towards salt or metal, in a good sense. Maybe that vegetal range links with a savory edge too, and I'm just not connecting the parts appropriately.
In re-trying the first version after tasting this the aftertaste in the Bi Yu version extends longer. It's really pretty close to what I expected this tea to be like. Am I thinking of conventional Alishan character instead? I'm not at all clear on tea production areas in Taiwan, and tea plant types also factor in.
Bi Yu #2: I brewed these for about 15 seconds, probably long enough to draw out plenty of intensity. I didn't have the best guess for proportion in these, having been mostly off rolled oolongs for awhile, trying only a few over the last year, but I guessed it would be a good bit, a gaiwan full, so on towards the 10 grams I might often brew at one time. It's too much for many people's preference, but kind of familiar range to me. It will limit getting far through a full infusion cycle of two versions.
Creaminess picks up. Intensity would also, if it hadn't been so intense in the first round, but I think the added complexity makes it come across as stronger. Feel is nice and rich, aftertaste range is extended and pleasant. The main story is intense floral taste. It's almost like that new car smell, but in a good sense, a little towards plastic of an unusual kind. But it's heavy floral range instead, a theme that's quite familiar to anyone who has explored much above average quality Taiwanese oolongs.
Is this an example of one of the most pleasant styles, and highest quality levels? Maybe, at least towards that. I've heard someone criticize Taiwanese oolongs for being too intense before, claiming that they're accomplishing that through heavy fertilizer use. I'm skeptical that's true, but it's at least possible. Then that leads me back to considering food issues; would we be shocked to learn that a producer is using fertilizer to grow our tomatoes or spinach? It would be surprising if they didn't. I love the idea of wild-grown, natural conditions produced tea as much as the next person, but I'm not hung up on it.
[later editing note]: the product listing description places flavor range as mostly fruit, supported by floral scope, which isn't what I've interpreted it as here. When the two themes mix in a tea it can be hard to sort out which provides more input, and what you expect can factor into judgment. If I had read that description prior to tasting I'd have been discussing fruit tones, but without that it seemed essentially entirely floral to me. The character would have changed a little over 3 1/2 years; it's hard to factor that in.
Lishan: nuttiness is pronounced again. There would be different ways to interpret that; others may not see this as tasting like nuts, and it's not exactly like nuts, just in that general range (cashews, I guess, or maybe macadamia nuts instead, or in the middle). There is floral range as well.
I'm not noticing even a hint of vegetal range, maybe related to brewing it so much lighter, but the mineral layer is still a bit savory. It comes across as less full and rich in relation to the first tea really dialing up that range, but that's partly related to a comparison effect, not a gap in aspects. I could imagine someone like either one of these more than the other, but to me the first is nicer, related to getting back to experiencing that really dialed up floral range experience again. Pleasant mineral base, rich feel, and long aftertaste support that.
Bi Yu #3: it would work to brew these lightly, using half the proportion that I am, and still moderate infusion times, and intensity would still be fine. Nah; I'm dialing it up. At least I am only brewing these for 15 seconds or so, but at this proportion that brews a strong infusion. I think some of that relates to acclimating to young sheng intensity, which is hard to moderate, no matter how you brew it, so brewing oolongs or other teas lightly just seems thin to me.
Richness really stands out this round, and the floral tone picks up a bit of warmth, taking on a perfume-like character. Or that also reminds me of cognac or brandy, one part of that range of experience, which I've not been through in decades, since I barely drink any alcohol, a few beers a year.
Floral tone is heavier. Someone more capable of describing two dozen distinct floral tone inputs would be offering a different list of them this round. More like lavender? Intensity has been great through all these rounds, and that's the same, it's amazing.
Lishan: those earlier aspects settle and integrate in an interesting way. It won't really work to describe how, exactly what I mean by that. The nutty range is less distinct as that kind of form, and a base of what seems like less clearly defined vegetal range picks up, like a green wood tone. Floral range is still pronounced. It all integrates as one pleasant and unified experience more than it must sound. Decent sweetness and bright intensity makes it work, along with a significant mineral base. Again it seems less rich in feel with less aftertaste expression, but that's mostly in comparison with the other version.
It's interesting that the wet leaf appearance is so much greener for this version than the other, and darker. Based on reviewing the listings (later) it's from the oxidation level being higher for the Bi Yu version, but that Lishan version seems extra green somehow, so deep and dark.
Bi Yu #4: the progressive warming transition continues; this may be drifting just a little towards a spice tone range. It's not there yet; maybe next round that kind of shift will be more pronounced. Again the heavier floral range is nice.
Lishan: maybe just a touch "greener," or it could be that I'm looking for that, after the observation about the color. I think it's actually there too. It makes this come across as really rich in flavor in an unusual sense, not really similar to green tea character, but I suppose it wouldn't just be a stretch if someone wanted to draw some limited comparison. The grassiness and astringency edge isn't there, but then green teas do vary quite a bit. Maybe more like a more savory version of one, that lacks an astringency edge.
That green part reminds me of a fresh forest scent, as much as green wood, which is how I've described it earlier. It's like that heavy vegetal scent after a spring rain. I suppose drawing a parallel with moss might actually make sense; it's clear enough how the different themes I'm mentioning connect. Moss does represent the greenest and dampest fresh floral tone range, integrated with heavy mineral range.
Going back and re-trying the other version after this one the warming tones in the Bi Yu might be shifting a little towards a green wood tone, more of an actual version of that, not something comparable but different.
Bi Yu #5: I think drinking this on the hot side emphasizes a connection to spice tone, and then in a few minutes once it cools that green wood link will stand out as much. That's a subject I don't ever do much with, variations in drinking tea at different temperatures.
Often I'll use two cups for making tea Gongfu style with breakfast, pouring it from one to the other one time per round, to absorb more of the heat. I'm using a larger set of cups to prepare these, so they're drinkable right away related to temperature, but not so cool.
Lishan: more of the same, really. It's interesting how those heavy flavors combine, not so clearly linked to nuts range now (macadamia mostly, I guess), but combining a few dominant layers. It's pleasant for how well it all integrates and works together. And it helps that there are no aspects that seem like flaws, which it's easy to not explicitly notice.
The other version is just a touch sweeter, richer in feel, and includes more aftertaste experience, but that's not really a flaw, just more positive supporting range associated with the first tea. I suppose that someone could interpret those as "quality markers," and see it as indicated as higher in quality, but it's hard for me to conclusively conclude that. They're just different in style.
Later rounds: these kept going and going, of course. In later rounds the Bi Yu faded to become thinner in profile, with more emphasis on the heavy mineral layer. The Lishan stayed quite positive, lightening up across aspect scope except for sweetness, bright floral range, and rich feel (so forest scent / vegetal range and the mineral layer dropped out, put the other way). It was interesting for a tea to fade in the end while retaining the most positive aspect range; usually they'll pick up a woodiness, or settle on more mineral range.
Conclusions:
It's interesting not noticing fruit from the Bi Yu vendor description, it just seeming floral. And interesting that the version really held its own with the Lishan up until later rounds, after which the Lishan continued on as more positive. How to place that?
One might conclude that the Lishan is a higher quality level tea, or instead that the effects of higher oxidation level and roast input lent themselves to being more positive in earlier rounds, and then to the Bi Yu version fading quicker. Maybe it's both.
For sheng pu'er, or even for other tea types, it's easier for me to place how the different types of aspects get sorted out according to somewhat conventional preferences, from discussion of teas online, or related to vendor input. Are the heavy green forest scent / moss aspect or macadamia nut richness in the Lishan version highly desirable characteristics, or is that negative, or neutral? I suppose preference should really dictate that, since specific flavors don't typically serve as "quality markers." Something like richness of feel or extended aftertaste are more often regarded as universally positive.
It would be nice if I'd kept up more contact with rolled oolong scope, and I could do better with placing these on a general quality scale, or commenting further on value. At a guess they're quite good, matching up well with teas sold as of exceptional quality, and 30-some and 60-some cents a gram are very fair price ranges, for what they are. For as pleasant as this Bi Yu version is that's probably a good value, as good rolled oolong goes, but then in a different sense that could easily also be true of the other Lishan version.
Origin area is one main input to demand level, across many tea types, and you end up paying more for what other people tend to seek out and value. Then styles and quality level can be more variable across less demanded range, so you have to be careful about what you explore, or some experiences won't match preferences and expectations.
Looking at their Taiwanese oolong page they carry a lot of versions. It would be tough to pick and choose among them on a tightly limited budget. Some might seem better than others, varying with preference, but at least of what I've tried of Tea Mania versions they've all been pretty solid, with no "misses." That would happen, if a vendor is sharing their favorite versions as samples, but I was in the habit of buying tea from them every year awhile back, before I moved on to focusing on Thai and Vietnamese teas more recently, and all that I tried was quite nice.
You do experience more misses when exploring off-main-production-area teas, and styles vary more, so you pay a price for buying teas at lower rates. To me that variation is nice too though, experiencing what you don't expect.
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