Tea Mania Meishan and Lishan dark roast oolongs

Meishan left, Lishan right, in all photos

I'm reviewing two more versions of Taiwanese oolong from Tea Mania, from a set of samples provided for review (many thanks!).  As much just shared to try them, since I know that owner, but reviewing tea is what bloggers do.

These teas were exceptional.  That can mean different things; in some cases it's about a tea really matching a great version of a well-established type, or in others one can be quite novel.  These seem like one of each, with one a bit different than I've tried much of before, although the more-roasted, light style Lishan version also isn't exactly standard.  You don't see that balance of significant roast input and a lighter starting point (not very oxidized) that works this well.  But the Meishan version is really something else.  Maybe related to age?  It's from 2012, while the other is from 2019 (well settled, but the other seemed to pick up age related notes, that plum and extra depth).

I'll cite the vendor description and move on to review notes:

Meishan Dark Roast  (2019; $22.50 for 50 grams)

This Qingxin from Meishan is a well-oxidised oolong tea in the traditional style, expertly crafted by a renowned tea master in spring 2012. A true rarity among today’s Formosa oolongs, it features a distinctive dark roast that enhances its complexity. Grown at an altitude of 1100 meters in Meishan, the tea develops an abundance of deep aromatics characterized by floral and warming nuances reminiscent of Dongding tea, yet distinguished by a richer aroma and more intense flavor due to its high-altitude origin. The infusion presents a warm, robust yellow hue, free from bitterness even after prolonged steeping. Its fragrance is notably floral, with elegant notes of osmanthus and blossom honey. The lasting aftertaste invites contemplative enjoyment, revealing the tea’s intricate layers in each subsequent sip.

Thanks to its traditional oxidation and dark roasting, this Qingxin oolong uniquely preserves the cultivar’s inherent characteristics while imparting a rich, distinctive depth. The traditional craftsmanship ensures excellent storability, allowing its aroma to evolve gracefully over time, acquiring an enchanting maturity with age.

Harvest date: Spring 2012

Aroma: notes of honey, floral and toasty

Oxidation: approx. 50%

Roasting: strong

Cultivar: Qingxin

Terroir: Meishan, Chiayi, Taiwan

In writing review notes I was curious about pricing for this, since it really is so exceptional that it would be hard to identify a standard level for that.  At nearly 50 cents a gram this still seems like a steal to me.  You would typically have to use less mainstream curator sourcing to find teas like this.  Tea Mania only sells pretty good teas, so I guess those vendor types tend to not be completely distinct.

Lishan Dark Roast  (2019; $31.22 for 50 grams)

Lishan Dark Roast is a medium-oxidized, medium-strong roasted highland tea from Lishan using tea leaves of the Qingxin cultivar. Qingxin means green heart. It is the cultivar with the longest history of cultivation in Taiwan, the most popular among tea farmers and tea drinkers alike, and by far the most widely cultivated. When people talk about Oolong in Taiwan, they usually refer to it as “Qingxin-Oolong”. It is the same cultivar from which the traditional, genuine Dongding is made...

Lishan Dark Roast is a medium-oxidized, traditionally processed highland tea from Lishan. Due to the medium oxidation, the tea has a honey-like yet flowery aroma, which is complemented by the stronger body and more intensive taste experience typical of Oolong tea. The leaves are processed traditionally, resulting in red edges. 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 Dark Roast is medium-strong roasted, which adds layers of flavor including warm, nutty notes, hints of caramel, and roasted barley. But, the character of highland teas is still 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 2019

Aroma: floral, with notes of honey, nuts and caramel

Oxidation: approx. 40%

Roasting: medium-strong

Cultivar: Qingxin

Terroir: Lishan, Nantou, Taiwan

This is priced a little higher than the other.  Preference is what determines how much someone connects with each tea, and I've always loved a bit more oxidation balance in well-roasted oolongs.  But that other version is really something; all those layers of richer, deeper flavors, maybe related to it aging for an extra 7 years.  

This second tea is well balanced, and quality is evident, so it's also good.  And around 60 cents a gram is probably pretty standard for way better than average quality, distinctive Lishan oolong.  Maybe even still a good value, but that first version is really unique.

Review:

Meishan #1:  this brews a lot darker than the other; that's interesting.  I may or may not be able to guess why.  This is going to be too light to get much of a sense of.  I let it go a lot longer than the 15 second or so typical infusion time, maybe double that, but it wasn't enough to open the rolled form.  The first impression is good; this tastes like dark caramel, with a good bit of complex range beyond that.  Maybe plum?  As a 2012 tea, 13 years old, that aged effect could be present.  A little spice range shows up beyond that.

Lishan:  even light this is really creamy and pleasant.  Feel is creamy, and taste is sweet, and not unlike cream.  It might include a much lighter caramel note.  These are going to be pretty good.  If the other version, the first one, is as good as it initially seems it would be hard to set a fair market price for it.  Aged oolong is expensive, and it's most often what seemed to be left behind somewhere, forgotten about, but this initially seems to be something else, a truly exceptional version.

Meishan #2:  it's very unique; good luck having a vaguely comparable experience to this tea through any other version.  I'm not saying that it's that much better than a lot of other range, but this just doesn't come up, per what I've experienced.  Or maybe it often does, and I've been focusing on sheng pu'er for so long that I've missed a lot of range that's out there.

A set of complementary flavors balance against each other; there is no one or two dominant aspects.  One part is plum, but it's integrated with the rest.  Another is dark caramel, and that stands out more than most of the rest.  Beyond that a warm, sweet, earthy range tastes a bit like a light roasted coffee to me.  Or spice, or maybe it's that both are present.  A heavy, mineral intensive flavor could resemble aged leather.  In the wrong context that wouldn't be as pleasant, but in this it balances well with the rest.

Feel is really rich too.  It's clean in effect, with a good sweetness level.  Aftertaste experience adds complexity.  It's like a checklist of what can go well in tea.  There's even a cognac like aromatic layer that seems to only show up in really high quality tea versions, within a certain range of types, not so uncommon in exceptional Wuyi Yancha versions.  I suppose if someone was looking for flaws a touch of sourness might be interpreted as such.  But to me it integrates well with the spice layer, as a flavor that makes sense along with that, and it's likely to drop out quickly.

Lishan:  of course this comes across as simpler, but it holds its own reasonable well for also being a solid tea, and for expressing different character.  The roast level works well for this, perhaps a bit lighter than for the other, or maybe it's that aging effect warms the tone of the other.  This is a 2019 version so it has had time to settle.  Floral range stands out more, and creaminess.  The creamy flavor, and to some extent feel, are more balanced by other range, with the rest stronger.  Feel has good fullness and richness.  

I suppose to some extent it suffers in comparison with the other, because that other complexity is really something, so many layers standing out at the same time, along with novel and exceptional flavor range.  This is more what you would expect from a well-balanced, good quality, high roast level Taiwanese oolong.  Floral range isn't as bright and light as in light versions, but it's not completely unlike that.  Mineral depth is there; that's a typical positive balancing aspect.

Meishan #3:  I'm brewing these between 15 and 20 seconds.  They would work well brewed faster or slower; the character would just balance differently.  Intensity is fine for using 10 second timing instead, and nothing negative would probably stand out brewed for half a minute.  I just don't prefer them either of those ways.

Creaminess seems to pick up; interesting.  Dark caramel had probably shifted to a medium caramel last round, and this is lighter, more like butterscotch.  There is an awful lot going on beyond that, but it seems to integrate to a complex background range at this stage.  You get a sense of depth.  If it had included sourness last round, which would've been a judgment call, you can't detect that now.  

Lishan:  this evolves to come across as more complex, and warmer in tone.  It's interesting how they're transitioning in two completely different ways.  In a limited sense it's more like the other, but they're still kind of different.  It still resembles the typical floral range of Taiwanese oolong more, but the warm tones are something else.  Producers can set a roast level wherever they like, but this probably needed those extra years to settle to be this exceptional.  Roasting it this much might seem like a gamble, and my guess is that it's paying off more now than it would have within the first year or two.

Peter, the Tea Mania owner, has mentioned that it's hard to try oolong versions and get a clear sense of what is going to be exceptional years later.  They settle in ways that are hard to predict.  All of this is what I don't experience enough of to get a sense of it, since I drank a lot more oolongs of different types prior to switching mostly to sheng, maybe 6 or 8 years ago.  Even then I drank more Wuyi Yancha.  Even if I had been drinking more Taiwanese oolongs regularly my tea budget wouldn't have supported trying many teas of this quality level.  In the same way the highest end range of sheng pu'er has only been available through trying samples, I guess, and mostly some that are sent for review.

direct sunlight threw off coloration; the two were more balanced in color this round

Meishan #4:  not so different than last round.  It's creamy and warm, with good depth, a nice mineral base, caramel range (or butterscotch; it's a judgment call), and probably some spice beyond that.  People could interpret it differently.  It could taste like cacao to some, or warm floral range instead.  When flavors are this complex what you get is kind of an interpretation.  Seeing one part as a warm wood tone might make sense, or leather, which seemed to match better in an early round, or maybe even cinnamon.  To me it's closer to cinnamon than those others.  It's really clean for including some of that earthier range.

Lishan:  also not transitioning as much as before, settling into a nice character.  It's nice experiencing that typical floral and mineral base range in a completely different form like this.  I was worried that these might be a little like Tie Guan Yin versions that are really light, that are re-roasted to restore deadened flavor effect.  Of course they're better tea than that, made more intentionally, but the higher roast and lower oxidation level inputs taken together can be a little off-putting.  This isn't like that.  I suppose if someone hated the high roast effect (probably medium-high; high roast implies a tea is all but charred, and this isn't), combined with brighter oolong floral range, then maybe it isn't so good, but I think most tea drinkers could relate positively to this.  

The other tea is something else again though.  It's not just a better version of a style that I've tried before, it's something relatively new to me.  I've tried some aged oolongs, maybe a half dozen versions (in rolled style, this Taiwanese range; twisted style range is something else), but nothing that balances in this sort of way.  That reminds me; I bought a decent amount of a 1992 version that I liked, that I haven't retried in a number of years; eventually I should check in on that.

I'll leave off here, since the story seems to be mostly told.  It's a busy errand day, since I leave to go back to Honolulu in less than a week, and I'm still working through cats being sick.  I might go visit them at the vet today, where they stay, even though I was there yesterday, since it will be a busy week, and I may not see much of them. 

I visited the cats that day, and once more a day or two later, and they're back to normal, quite lively.