Chang Kham 2025 Thai sheng

 

this 5th infusion shows color variation in the leaf best

I'm reviewing a sheng version from Thailand from Chang Kham tea (or Changkham; it can be either one).  As I understand it it's more or less a spin-off or secondary brand started by a family member from Sen Xing Fa, a popular Bangkok Chinatown tea shop, started as a physical shop in Chiang Mai.  They also source and sell tea under their own brand.

He sent a few teas for review, Mr. Tian did, that family member.  We aren't in close contact, but I post a lot about reviewing different Thai teas in different places.

Their store in Chiang Mai is located here, and this is the related Facebook page.  There is a limited detail product description in that page, for this tea, or a similar one from another year, but I'll reference it in the Conclusions section instead of here, since there isn't an aspects description to compare against.

This photo is from a tasting at Sen Xing Fa, posted about here, where they were great hosts for a number of tea enthusiasts visiting, sharing a lot of exceptional tea:

from maybe around a decade ago, again at Sen Xing Fa

I was in Sen Xing Fa a couple of weeks ago, to buy some Thai oolong

This post reviews tea I bought in Sen Xing Fa in 2018, not that it's all that relevant to this.  That was an unusual Zhong Cha looking version, what was a lot better than it first seemed, aging well into really nice depth.

At the end of this I'll place this tea experience in relation to trying some other Thai sheng this year, some of which was kind of ordinary, and some really exceptional.

Review:

First infusion:  I gave this a bit too long, in part to get it started, and because I looked at something else online, brewing it for around half a minute.  Proportion is lower than normal, so that I can get through a relatively full cycle without doing a dozen rounds.  Lower than normal for me is anything below 8 grams for 100 ml gaiwan; this might be about 6.

Flavor is great.  Honey sweetness stands out, and plenty of floral range.  Bitterness is pronounced, but then this is brewed a little strong.  I'll try a faster infusion next time and it should fall into a relatively ideal balance.  It could be more fruit that I'm noticing than floral range; it's a little hard doing a breakdown at higher than usual infusion strength.  Honey really stands out most.

Tones are warmer than one would expect, for a one year old sheng.  It has brightness and freshness, but it's also warm.  Mineral base gives it good complexity, and the feel is nice, full, and not harsh.  Aftertaste expression is positive, especially for a first round.

Second infusion:  this is still strong more or less flash brewed, which I take as a good sign.  Good intensity is very positive, unless the rest of the range is harsh, or off.  Honey sweetness still stands out.  It's probably both floral and fruit range in this; there is a lot going on.  I always have trouble identifying the floral aspects, but they're warmer in tone than you would expect.  Fruit flavor is along the line of dried longan, which is a personal favorite among dried tropical fruits.  You can think of it as being like dried mango, if that's not familiar, but it's warmer, sweeter (in a sense), and heavier.

The way it's full in your mouth is pleasant, the feel.  The intensity and complexity combine well with distinctive feel and pleasant aftertaste.  There isn't a hint of a flaw in this; everything that's there works well.   

It's less light, bright, and sharp than the Wawee Tea version I've tried recently, that I also love.  For someone looking for warmer tones in a young sheng, that's not challenging, but still complex, spanning some fruit range instead of just light floral tones, this is perfect.  It's probably pretty good for most people, regardless of preference.  I suppose the bitterness would be more challenging for people not into sheng than I'm considering; it did take me time to adjust to that.  I don't see this as bitter, at all, but that is a main part of what is there.

Third infusion:  bitterness might be evolving a little faster than the rest; this is moving from approachable, sweet and mild sheng range on to more conventional sheng character.  For sheng drinkers that's perfect, for others maybe not so much.  One part of the mildness and fullness, almost creaminess, of the feel reminds me of oolong, but it's definitely sheng.  Intensity is greater, complex flavors are different, feel is more substantial, and bitterness stands out.  

This feel hits all across your mouth.  It's almost as if you are tasting it with your whole mouth, as if it reacts with other parts than your tongue.  The feel includes that part about causing you to salivate a little.  Aftertaste includes a good bit of mineral, not really light or warm mineral, but maybe in the middle, or maybe complex.  This tastes like a more wild or natural origin, older plant tea, to me.  Aftertaste effect could be a little stronger, but what you experience is positive.  

One might consider if flavors are less distinct because this was blended from different material sources, or for other reasons.  At a guess it's just naturally like this.

Fourth infusion:  warmer flavor range picks up, in the mineral, and in the fruit and floral range.  I think flavors are combining, that it's not just 3 or 4 main notes, but that the fruit, floral, and mineral ranges cover a combined flavor aspect scope.  One part seems to involve a warmer version of citrus, like some sort of dried peel.  Honey fades, as heavier mineral tone picks up.  It may be moving towards an incense spice sort of flavor range.  

Fifth infusion:  the camera sees darkened leaf material, mixed in with the rest, more than you notice just looking at the leaves.  A higher than average roast input for some of the material is probably lending it complexity, or maybe it's extra oxidation input, or both.  

I see that as positive, although it's not really completely conventional, for Yunnan sheng.  It doesn't mean that it won't age well, although the transition patterns may be affected some by that.  If most of the material is normally processed, not more oxidized or roasted, it should still change in the normal ways, across a typical time-frame, but any alteration for some of the material would make some difference.  Versions that are notably more oxidized don't tend to age very well at all, beyond a few years.

It's clean and complex, and intensity is good.  I'm not having luck breaking flavors down more.

Sixth infusion:  not so different; I'll leave off taking notes here.  Intensity stays positive, but some of the interesting flavor range (honey and fruit) tends to evolve away earlier on, even though the rest stays positive.  It's still pleasant to drink, just not like it was.

Conclusion:

Thinking back on it this post could seem a little less positive than it would be if I hadn't been drinking such exceptional Thai and Vietnamese sheng lately.  Without meaning to I'm comparing this to some of the best SE Asian sheng versions I've ever tried, just because it worked out that way.  I describe it as very good, but it might just sound normal.

It held its own ok, but that might not have came across in those review notes.  I suppose I liked the Wawee Tea sheng I've recently reviewed a little more, but it was a great match for my own personal preference, and a really exceptional tea version.  Others could easily like this more.

To clarify that, the Wawee Tea version included more bitterness, more intensity, and some extra vegetal range, a sort of green wood edge.  I love that, if it all balances well, along with pronounced sweetness, fruit flavor, and floral range.  It does, in that version.  This tea might be a little fruitier, initially, and probably less challenging. 

It would sound like it's less durable, because I'm describing its character as leveling off in a sixth infusion, where I've been reviewing those other Thai and Vietnamese sheng into 7 or 8 rounds, and changes were still not a sign they were fading.  One part of that related to using a lower proportion, and to brewing the first round for about twice as long as made sense, for 30 seconds instead of 15.  It would more optimum to use shorter infusions for a tea like this, and it would run its course over 8 or 9 rounds, at a normal proportion (again for me at 8 grams).  It would then brew a few more pleasant rounds, maybe totaling a dozen or more.

It's tempting to move on to speculating about a fair market value range, but that doesn't work well.  This Facebook post, which may not be an identical tea version, lists small 200 gram cakes of black tea and "raw tea" for 2000 baht each, for about $60:

I wouldn't age this tea, beyond 2 or 3 years, but it might be good after 15 or 20 more years

That would make it $107 for a 357 gram cake size, which they don't seem to sell.  That's not bad.  It's high for local in-Thailand tea pricing, and normal for Western market range.  I paid less for the Wawee Tea versions, which I do like better, but the Tea Side Western-facing Thai tea online outlet tends to sell teas for more, which may be generally equivalent.

For a tourist visiting they are absolutely not going to find local Thai sheng this good anywhere else.  But then you can't just drop in on Wawee Tea (unless you are in that village, and made arrangements ahead of time), or visit Tea Side, which is an online shop.  So if it costs 30 cents a gram instead of some lower amount that's still a great value.