tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101085985164789.post225002273905020741..comments2024-03-28T07:54:44.807-07:00Comments on Tea in the ancient world: Xin Ren Dan Cong from Cindy Chen compared to Wu Mei Indonesian oolongJohn Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00485492978163517529noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101085985164789.post-42909780202242052016-06-15T12:31:16.782-07:002016-06-15T12:31:16.782-07:00You do have to pay for good examples of teas peopl...You do have to pay for good examples of teas people know can have almond flavor, because that's a very agreeable and popular flavor in tea. Sweet and mild nutmeat flavor in puerh is very addictive. There's nut flavor in Jingmai area and further north that is more aggressively savory. I've had a xinren dancong before, and it was only mildly of that sort of almond flavor, being mostly fairly floral. It's really puerhs that have almond flavor. For instance, *aged* LBZ tends to have insanely delicious sweet nutmeat notes ranging from almond to black walnuts.<br /><br />Chinese flavor notes are very tricky...<br /><br />Orchid flavor. This can refer to the aroma of certain orchids, but very few puerhs are actually like that. Jingmai and some other Lancang teas are generally the closest to orchid, which is a dry and cloth-like floral, like how lavender is more austere than roses. Many other Lancangs and Wuliang mountain teas are said to be orchid, but it's just a sort of high pitched vegetal/spicy note. People also refer to high quality Menghai teas as having orchid notes, but that makes as much sense as the Wuliang teas do. Menghai florals are very "foresty"...<br /><br />However, orchid flavor also tends to refer to the aroma and taste of antique furniture, or grandma's old things. When people refer to an aged 7532 as having orchid flavor, they mean that, and not like how a good Jingmai is.<br /><br />Camphor tends to mean three things, tho' Chinese do separate green and brown camphor. In general, think flavors that give depth. The first meaning is the sort of camphor that's of old basement, warehousing, pleasant deep funk. This is the most common sort of claim and the most worthy of dismissal, as you can find that anywhere. The second meaning is basically the actual taste and feeling of camphor in the tea, and especially in the aftertaste. In high quality menghai tea, you get a aromatic floral aftertaste in the mouth that many refer to as camphor. The last meaning is basically the camphor that comes of age. This one is pretty hard to describe. I think of it as candied or glossy wood, and this is something you find *easily* in puerhs over thirty years old that has been well stored. Especially on the drier end.<br /><br />Lotus tends to refer to the floral note that accompanies very creamy tasting shu like GNWL. Basically, if you carefully taste the cream in these teas, you'll find a floral finish to it, and that's the floral note that marketers emphasize.<br /><br />there are a variety of shu classic flavors, like jujube and ginseng, that I'm not quite sure of. <br /><br />In dancong...<br /><br />Honey dancong are basically a very deep honey with strong litchee notes...<br /><br />Ginger flower is basically a complementary floral and sandalwood character...Basically the sandalwood aspect is what's valued here. <br /><br />Most of the other standard aroma aren't *that* distinct from one another, though more special teas get special names.<br /><br /><br /><br />shah8https://www.blogger.com/profile/04537529816304128000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101085985164789.post-1596384028826979182016-06-14T02:41:08.973-07:002016-06-14T02:41:08.973-07:00so the idea is that "almond taste / scent&quo...so the idea is that "almond taste / scent" in the name (the literal translation) refers to a predominant taste that isn't identical to almond? of course no tea is going to taste exactly like roasted nuts, so any description would always be a bit qualified, but if I'm understanding you right it's not supposed to be all that close. even then, this is about one single flavor aspect that is characteristic, and there would be others, right? I think it would be helpful to try a few other examples, maybe even one that somehow serves as an exemplar, as much as that happens within variance within a type, and consistency itself also seems to vary by tea types. John Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00485492978163517529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101085985164789.post-26205558873776711062016-06-13T23:06:30.900-07:002016-06-13T23:06:30.900-07:00almond flavor isn't really almond-like. It...almond flavor isn't really almond-like. It's basically a kind of near-vanilla taste, the sort of baked sweet dessert that'd have almond and vanilla flavoring, or perhaps almond milk. It's not a particularly a nutty flavor.shah8https://www.blogger.com/profile/04537529816304128000noreply@blogger.com