ITea World Dan Cong and Tie Guan Yin oolongs

 

Greetings!  It's been awhile.  My kids spent winter school break here in Bangkok, visiting back from Honolulu, so I took a couple of weeks off this blog, and most of the internet in general.  I should probably never return to the same level of use, but this isn't about the digital detox theme.

I had tried tea versions from ITea World before, samples sent from a new mainstream Chinese vendor for review, in 2023.  They were pretty good; kind of medium quality level, but for being moderate cost versions the value and experience in relation to expectations was fine.  They asked if I wanted to try more, better versions of oolongs this time, and it's always interesting revisiting such themes.  I drink a lot more sheng pu'er than anything else now, but it's interesting checking in with types I've focused more on in the past.

In this review I tried to sort out just how good the versions are.  Better than the last ones, unless I've got that all wrong, this time more upper medium quality, or at the lower end of the highest quality range.  It probably gets tiresome hearing that spelled out in detail, but it does also pass on my take on what differentiates really good tea versions from medium or slightly above average versions, so covering finer points at length serves two different purposes.  

I don't lean into the theme of "quality markers" too much here, something I've not ran across used in exactly the same way I've developed it, but surely a theme that's not unheard of.  Some specific aspects identify what is most desirable in some tea versions; that's it.  For this it's enough to specify what stands out as most positive and what represents limitations in these versions.

They're not listed on the website, except in the sampler version they sent me.  The versions are from different harvests than the earlier oolongs offerings, or else they seem the same, of the same types.  I've not discussed how these are better with the vendor, in any detail.

The set sells for $40 for a 100 gram set of samples, all 5 grams each (so there must be 20--yep, I just counted them), so only that price point will serve as a cost baseline.  40 cents a gram for pretty good oolong is not so bad, as a starting point.  For baseline reference I can buy really good versions of it in the Bangkok Chinatown for $30 for 100 grams, but you would almost have to live in China to have access to the same or better degree of options as there, to be able to buy good versions at low cost.  Cost of teas tend to vary some by type, with some higher in demand, and the Dan Cong in this set may be the kind of version that sells for a good bit more than Tie Guan Yin or Shui Xian (for example).  

What about comparison with online sales options though?  That gets complicated, because online vendors set price points in a broad range of ways, which vary by the value they buy tea at, and their markup, all adjusted quite a bit for their costs, the volume they sell, and what works out well for profit for them.  There is no standard range of norms, really; it varies.  In this I talk as if there is, estimating what comparable quality versions to these would tend to sell for online.  That can be hard to estimate based on product descriptions, because essentially every vendor exaggerates quality levels, describing their own teas in glowing, positive terms, as they kind of should, since a sales function just doesn't couple well with excessive humility about experienced aspects and quality level.

Let's push that consideration a little further, then cite their description, then get on with review notes.  This is a medium quality (or at least medium range price) Mi Lan Xiang Dan Cong from Yunnan Sourcing, not the obvious place to buy teas from provinces outside of Yunnan, but a standard option, selling for $17.50 per 30 grams (so $58 per 100 grams), with their highest quality / cost offering selling for a lot more, more than double that:

This is a lovely middle mountain (中山) elevation Mi Lan Xiang (蜜兰香) from Da An village, grown at an altitude of roughly 900 meters from decades old tea bushes growing wild.

Strong and thick tea, golden yellow tea soup, powerful honey and orchid aroma.  Perfect balance of sweet, bitter and umami with a long lasting mouth-feeling.  Cha Qi is powerful and clean.

This is a high quality Mi Lang Xiang that will surely please even the most discerning Dan Cong connoisseurs!

It sounds good.  One point here in citing that is that tea descriptions should focus on the positive, and another is to spell out a type-typical range:  including floral range, good balance, good mouthfeel, and intensity.  Bitterness and umami not so much; I'm not sure what that's all about.  Sheng is bitter, and umami is found in Japanese green teas, or maybe Mao Feng Chinese green tea, but typically not Dan Cong.  Maybe this Yunnan Sourcing version is better than the one I've already wrote notes for, or maybe it's not as good; you can't tell from a description.

This version from Wuyi Origin, a very, very well regarded direct sales producer site, lists for $60 per 100 grams; it's almost certainly significantly better.  But it's not really fair, comparing tea from a mainstream resale outlet--what both ITea World and Yunnan Sourcing are--with the relative best quality and value source for this oolong in China that I'm aware of.  

This kind of oolong sampler is for a different kind of customer, someone wanting to explore better oolongs than you typically ever find in broad-type online outlets or any local tea shops.  From there people might eventually go on to seek out what pushes on towards being as good as any versions typically get.  The Wuyi Origin cost isn't that much higher but moving on to spend $200 on a tea order isn't for everyone; I personally try to avoid that.  300 grams of the tea I mentioned gets you pretty close, and if "free" shipping isn't built into their pricing you're there.

Let's check that ITea World listing:

Again that's listed for $40 ($39.99) for 100 grams of those samples, packaged in 5 gram samples.  That site shows free shipping kicking in at $39.98, so in theory you could just buy this set.  That would be amazing self-discipline, ordering $40 of tea from a China-based vendor, but you could.

It does say a little more about specific local harvest area, growing elevation, and oxidation level on that page, but it seems as well to get on with describing the teas.  Elevation does matter, and plant age (supposedly over 100 years old for the Dan Cong), but it's as well to go by final outcome, the experienced aspects, and you need to try the tea to determine that.  Or hear from someone you trust on that, I guess, but then even given that kind of input verbal descriptions only go so far.

Review:

Dan Cong:  it's good.  As so often tends to happen this first round is a little light, and therefore harder to really judge, but this is quite nice.  The oxidation input and roast balance is very medium, just as it should be to get to a very positive outcome for this type, complementing the floral range very well.  I'll fill in the standard list of aspects and finer quality level assessment the next time, but this is probably as far up the quality scale as it should be for what I'm expecting of it, fairly far along.  Style is zeroed in, especially roast level, I think; not pretty good but right there.  

This probably is Mi Lan Xiang again, and again it's odd that the package doesn't say that, as with the first version that I reviewed.  I'll cite a website listing after making review notes, and that may fill in this detail (it seems to not; a little odd, really even something that could be taken as a red flag, but again experienced aspects and quality are what matter most, as I see it).  I'm brewing 5 grams, the package amount, which really should be relatively ideal, but I tend to use about 8 grams normally, so I'll have to make an adjustment.

Tie Guan Yin:  the same; this will be easier to evaluate next round, once it has opened up and is more intense.  I think this is better than their last version too, in the range better versions fall into.  Not for traditional style more oxidized and roasted tea versions; this is still the bright green kind.  Markers for quality level include very sweet floral input, ranging into an odd taste sensation form, which I'll describe further next round, almost oddly strong, with a somewhat thick, full feel seeming to emerge.  

I really won't be able to make out the feel brewed lightly and not really opened up but the flavor is fine.  It might include a very light off trace, drifting every so slightly into new car smell range, but that may just be an early round anomaly that drops out right away.

Dan Cong, #2:  brewed much stronger, really a bit excessive, for trying to err on the side of definitely getting this strong enough.  

Feel structure really ramped up as a result, and heavier, earthier flavors.  That's actually better for evaluating feel, but flavor experience isn't optimum like that.  It doesn't include a common harsh astringency edge some Dan Cong does, or many do.  People can make the mistake of thinking that's actually type-typical, when it's my impression that it's really not, that it's common but not a marker of correct style and aspect range.  

People also tend to get astringency and bitterness mixed up, which I find odd.  It doesn't take that much exposure to tea aspects to see them as completely different things, which just happen to sometimes occur together, or maybe they come up together often.  Bitterness is a flavor aspect; that's what aspirin tastes like.  Astringency relates to feel; it's the roughness of texture that occurs in a range of tea types, especially in very chopped or ground up black tea.  Black teas are essentially never bitter (although there would always be exceptions), so if you think your tea-bag tea is bitter you might want to give this some thought.  Taste an aspirin, which is bitter (and also causes an astringency sensation; that's confusing), and see if the flavor part is common to what it experienced in chopped material black tea.  Here I'm claiming that the feel is comparable but not the taste.

At a guess lower elevation, younger plants grown using a lot of fertilizer tends to be very intense, including that strong feel edge (astringency), and older plant, higher grown, less chemical-stressed plants include fantastic flavor and feel character but they're not as intense, at least not in the same ways.  Floral flavor and sweetness can be very pronounced, but a harsh feel edge often isn't (the astringency).  If both flavor and feel are intense in a Dan Cong version it works better to use really short infusion times and hot water to optimize the experience, more so than cutting the brewing temperature, which works, but in a different way.  Don't take my word for that, try it and see what you think.

This would be easier to place if I'd been drinking more Dan Cong over the last few years.  I think it's pretty good, in a well above average quality range, but finer differences mark the highest levels from there.  Different vendors sell what are described as the best of the best range, hyping tea plant age claims, using elaborate descriptions of refined, diverse, and unique feel and flavor experience, but it can be hard to separate hype from likely accurate description.  Only with tasting does one arrive at any subjective impression of that, but online discussion inputs about this or that vendor selling the most optimum versions contradict each other.  As I suppose they should; different versions would vary quite a bit, maybe even as sold by the same vendor, and preferences would vary.

To distill this to a flavor list a perfume-like floral sweetness dominates the experience, along with warm tones surely drawn out through extra oxidation and roast input.  The two ranges really balance.  Warm mineral tone ramps up right at the end of the experience, leading into a sweet aftertaste experience including all of that range.

Even though it's all very positive, about as pleasant, refined, intense, complex, and balanced as it probably would be, for higher volume, diverse type outlet sales, it's my impression that dialing up all of those just a touch is still possible.  Feel thickness is more moderate; there is room for more change in that, and aftertaste intensity is also positive but not at the high end of that range of potential.  It all seems like splitting hairs, but that's how evaluating quality for above average quality versions go.  

At a rough guess this should retail for 50 to 60 cents a gram but not more (or it could sell for less; it's hard to pin down what the best value, quite good quality range versions out there are like).  The 70 or 80 cent per gram range is something else, or $1 or over.  Or maybe that's being a little harsh; this is quite good, and Dan Cong seems to reach $1 per gram quickly enough for a generally good quality range, and this is that.  It certainly doesn't taste like a medium quality tin-packaged version, although the best of those, the atypical examples, fall fairly close, or could be this good.  We'll see how their pricing places it [that never did become clear, because all together sell for 40 cents per gram].

Tie Guan Yin:  I have mixed feelings about this quality assessment too.  If I was evaluating this as either inexpensive, medium range, or higher quality Tie Guan Yin it would easily surpass that first level, and fall either in the higher end of the second or lower end of the third.  Sweetness is good, floral range is pleasant, and dominant, and it contains a catchy towards-plastic aspect that I'm interpreting as generally positive, even though per that description it wouldn't sound it, and someone might really hate that, or else could like it.  Then feel is a bit thin, aftertaste is limited, and intensity and the balance / complexity part isn't bad but not in the highest range.  

Evaluating this against all TGY it's quite good; trying to match it with the highest quality end of the range gives the opposite results, and gaps stand out.  As long as pricing is favorable per quality, the value is good, if the idea is to try above average quality TGY this easily provides that experience.  If the intention is for this to compete with the best of the best it doesn't seem to hold up.  

Then one would wonder about pricing, and I'm not really even sure where the high level range for pretty good TGY stands.  For lots of in-demand and more rare tea types, for any Dan Cong version beyond Mi Lan Xiang, the most common one, the best versions are at or above $1 per gram, fairly universally.  That may not hold as true for Tie Guan Yin, although given how demand patterns work out in China, that the best teas are sought out and competed for, maybe it still works, even though TGY is really the main universal oolong type out there, or one of them, sold as a most-common tea type.  Shui Xian fills that role in Fujian / Wuyi Yancha versions, and TGY from Anxi is even more ubiquitous.

I'll try brewing these for more like 20 seconds, to try them lighter.

Dan Cong #3:  forget about that project of placing this in relation to the highest possible quality levels; related to purely subjective experience value this is solid tea, that works well for me.  The way the warmth and deeper tones integrate and balance with the sweet floral range is great.  Sure it's possible to consider if there shouldn't be a bit more thickness of feel (or quite a bit more), or if complexity and intensity couldn't be dialed up just a little, but this still totally works.  Feel is a bit velvety, just not thick.  

Flavors are complex and balanced, just perhaps leaving limited range for improvement.  But it's quite good.  If this sells for under $1 per gram I think it's probably a good value for that, whether or not you could explore and eventually find a slightly better version at the same cost; for quite near, at, or over $1 per gram and they're probably pushing it a bit.

Tie Guan Yin:  this is nice too.  Mind you I'm working around Tie Guan Yin not really being a personal favorite range, so I'm not going to refer back to that subjective preference assessment, beyond quality.  It's good though, and pleasant.  I don't think it matches the Dan Cong version for how good, even though comparing different types brings up problems in equivalence.  For this style of oolong, lighter rolled versions, thickness of feel is all the more critical, and this seems just a trace thinner than the other, not better in relation to just that aspect.  Sweetness is good, and floral range is fine, but that one slightly off taste aspect trace, which I find to be both catchy and also slightly negative, even though that's odd, a plastic sort of taste, also throws off highest level quality assessment.  

Again if the point is for it to be quite good it's there, well above average, but within the top third of the quality range potential it's near that bottom of the top.  If this is 40 to 50 cents a gram, selling as a next level breakfast tea, that's fair, again even if somewhere else on the internet better tea sells for less.  For anywhere near $1 a gram, or even 60 to 80 cents, it's just too much for what this is.  

For me personally I'd not drink much really light style rolled oolong at all, but I should clarify that I was really on that page very early in my tea exploration, and I would have loved this back then.  Preferences naturally evolve over time, and this is better as a place to start, or explore in early rounds.  

I don't think this holds its own with the higher quality level range from Taiwan, but then a lot of oolong versions from there marketed as such would be generally equivalent, but not better; almost anything selling through high volume mainstream outlets probably would be.  Specialty vendors known for selling only the best range of Taiwanese oolongs would only sell better quality versions than this, but the cost for those would tend to be double or triple what you would buy pretty good Anxi Tie Guan Yin for.

Dan Cong #4:  floral range might develop a bit, picking up more intensity.  That's a good sign; this might continue to evolve positively.  I'm not going to write more notes though; I don't have time to spare for that.  If I remember to I'll add a comment from memory later on how that worked out.

Tie Guan Yin:  this is good, it's just not great.  It's very pleasant, and all the aspects are generally where they should be, just not at the optimum level for many.   Sweetness, freshness, floral range, mineral range adding depth, aftertaste follow-through are all positive, although aftertaste intensity is limited.  Feel gives up a good bit.  For people not experienced in evaluating higher quality versions that wouldn't stand out at all, since you tend to explore and appreciate flavor first.  This is pleasant, likeable.  It will be interesting seeing the cost and the website description, matching both versions up against those.

Later rounds:  these held up fine for a couple of more infusions but then died a bit quickly, which I guess also related to using a lower proportion than I usually do, and longer infusion times.

Conclusions:

These are better than I remember the 2023 ITea World versions being.  Again they're good value, good quality in relation to the selling price, maybe best described as the highest level of upper medium quality range versus the low end of the highest quality scope.  As I'd mentioned for people newer to tea experience what I'm experiencing as significant gaps may not be all that noticeable at all; early on people typically haven't learned to evaluate or value thickness of feel and aftertaste experience.  Related to only flavor they're much better, than when you include review of those aspect expectations.

I liked the Dan Cong a lot more.  I like Dan Cong more than Tie Guan Yin in general, but them getting the oxidation level and roast dialed in made a big difference, and I've not mentioned aspects that stand out as flaws because there weren't any, beyond what could've been more pronounced, feel, complexity, and such.  Flavor range was pretty good for that.  

I am pretty sure it's Mi Lan Xiang, the most common Dan Cong type, for what that's worth.  There is room for improvement in the flavor complexity, intensity, balance, and refinement but all that is fairly positive.  I say that, but if you try this version side by side with a much higher quality version the difference would seem striking.  If you aren't experienced at evaluating teas if you tried both 3 or 4 weeks apart it might be much harder to notice it; it's funny how that works.  It could've been a couple years since I've tried any Dan Cong; after awhile the whole range just becomes familiar, with enough exposure, drinking dozens of versions over many years.

The Tie Guan Yin is pretty decent Tie Guan Yin; I suppose that's good enough.  If you would taste it side by side along with anything from a specialty grocery store this version would seem fantastic in comparison.  Then trying it along with standard $1-$1.50 per gram Taiwanese rolled oolong it would seem to fall way short; it's funny how that works out.

I can respect what ITea World is doing with these teas, making above average versions available at fair pricing.  This is perfect for someone new to exploring oolongs.  Even if someone had been dabbling in trying them for awhile, but wasn't clear on their baseline quality expectations, these could be pleasant and helpful.  Even if the best of all the other versions someone had already tried had been slightly better it would still help place that range.  For people way past both exploration levels maybe trying these wouldn't make any sense, although I guess they could still work as a gift, for someone just getting started.

It's a little bizarre related to my own personal use but these come with a set of tea bag sleeves you can put them in; you can convert this loose tea to bag versions, just using what they've provided.  For a loose tea enthusiast you'd end up considering how else you might use those, since it wouldn't make sense to put this oolong in them to brew it (any other devices you already have around would work better).  

Some people keep sheng pu'er cake dust and small bits aside in a separate jar and brew only that from time to time; those bags might be perfect for that, to take a blend of extra scraps of cakes to the office to drink there.  Or it all works even better together as a gift, in case someone absolutely couldn't figure out how to brew loose tea.  For a non-tea drinker that's less unlikely and absurd; there is a learning curve to go through, and having some related gear definitely helps.  If you took only this sample set to a hotel you'd be set for having some decent tea every day for three weeks; not bad.  Drinking tea only from tea bags for three weeks would seem so strange to any tea enthusiast; the point is that it would work.

reunited with the cats (2 of 3 of them)

lots of errands, play outings, and pausing to enjoy the little things

they got some things for Christmas, just not much

family dinner at a hot pot and sushi buffet place

ITeaWorld Mi Lan Xiang Dan Cong and Tie Guan Yin

 

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:

Tie Guan Yin:  a little light; not fully opened yet.  People often use a quick rinse step to get rolled oolongs to open to avoid this, a first round that's hard to get much out of.  I brewed these for about 15 seconds, which is probably going to be relatively optimum for getting the Dan Cong started, but it would be as well to hold off on a detailed description for this until next round.  It's pretty good though; the range is about right for a good quality version. 

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.

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.  

Lao Cong Mi Lan Xiang (Dan Cong) compared to a 1988 version

Tea Mania Dan Cong, Lao Cong left, 1988 version right

Editing note:  I had missed the correct Tea Mania listing for one of these; I'll change this around, to include reference to both what I thought it was and what it is.

I'm reviewing a couple of interesting looking Dan Cong; different, since I've been off that page for awhile.  They are samples provided for review from Tea Mania; many thanks for that.

I originally only saw this version of Mi Lan Xiang, thinking it was the first younger version, but it's not:

Xue Mi Lan Xiang

...This tea is grown by the family Cha Xiang Si Hai from Fenghuang and thanks to a centuries-old knowledge processed to a superior oolong. The whole family is involved in the harvest and also in the entire tea production. The tea is still traditionally processed like in times of Lu Yu: The leaves are withered and dried in bamboo trays and then roasted over charcoal fire.

Through the high oxidation and the strong roasting is this Dan Cong good storable and particularly interesting for connoisseurs who like to mature vintage teas.

Harvest: Winter 2013
Taste: Honey-sweety with a hint of Orchid.
Oxidation: appx. 30%
Origin: Fenghuang, Chaozhou, China.


I had concluded "If that is what this is that pricing looks too low ($15 per 50 grams); this is a way above average quality version, even as good versions go, based on already reviewing it."  It was really something else, this:


...Tea made of leaves from old tea bushes have a very complex and intense aroma with mineralic notes. The tea is still traditionally processed like in times of Lu Yu: The leaves are withered and dried in bamboo trays and then roasted over charcoal fire.

Through the high oxidation and the strong roasting is this Lao Cong Dan Cong suitable for long storage and particularly interesting for connoisseurs who like to mature vintage teas.

Harvest: Spring 2016 
Taste: Honey-sweet with a hint of orchids.
Oxidation: appx. 55%
Origin: Family operated farm in Tian Lao Po in Wudong, Fenghuang, Chaozhou, China.


It lists for about $50 for 50 grams; unfortunately that is a more standard price for much better Dan Cong.  If it's any consolation it drinks much better than $1/gram standard gushu sheng, although aging potential complicates things; taking that into account who knows. 

The slightly higher level of oxidation (listed at appx. 55% instead of 30) matches this review description, but I didn't frame interpretation in relation to that in comments about aspects.  When I mention that often Dan Cong versions have a touch more astringency, and come across as more intense across the higher notes, that relates to this cause.  Aging also softens a tea, and gives it more complexity and depth but rounds off higher notes slightly, even over the course of "only" 4 years (this was a 2016 version).


There is no current listing for the 1988 version, but I did look up a price using the Internet Archive Wayback machine; it had sold for $35 per 50 grams as of January 2019.  There's no easy way to put any standard retail value on tea that rare but that sounds more than fair.  It's a little rough edged related to aging effect but that's not an experience that everyone is ever going to go through to place.

Review

Lao Cong left (in all photos); I forgot to take this photo before drinking that one

Lao Cong Mi Lan Xiang [a 2016 version, it finally turned out]:  I let this brew a little long, not focused in right away (maybe 20 seconds or just over versus half that being more typical).  It's fine anyway, the astringency just stands out a little more than it would have brewed faster.  There's a general early-round trade-off to be had in brewing tea types in general, since the first round will often be quite light, and stretching that by extending time (as I've just did, just not completely intentionally), won't give the same results as accepting a first light round and brewing a better one the second time.  Onto how it is in more detail.

Floral and fruit tones stand out; this is as it should be.  Sometimes Mi Lan Xiang versions will be relatively straight ripe peach, and sometimes more floral (as the name suggests, honey orchid), and this is floral, clean with good intensity.  I'll fill in more next round, which I'll brew fast.


1988 version:  it's interesting tasting age on a Dan Cong.  This is musty, but I get the sense that will clear up over the next round, and won't be around as much in the third.  It's not exactly right saying it's a clean version of musty but that's sort of what I mean.  It's odd how this is that slate / blackboard mineral aged aspect that stands out a lot in Liu Bao, which I wouldn't interpret as only from aging input in those, instead as part of that tea character.  Maybe I was always wrong about that?

I won't be able to tell much more about this beyond that given how much that is standing out.  It's interesting how going a bit long on infusion time may have made perfect sense.

Second infusion

the aged version is much, much darker

Lao Cong:  this is brewed quite fast; our cat opened the kitchen door, and it's not supposed to be in there, so I rushed process to shoo it.  She and the neighbor cat went in there to look around not long ago; she's not clear on the guest cat house policy.

It's good.  Floral tone is still most pronounced, a warm, rich, deep flavor range.  It trails into heavy mineral that could be interpreted as a start on roasted almonds.  Or maybe it's my associations that are mixing, but either way the complexity extends towards roasted almond flavor.  That does span a rich, heavy nutty flavor range and a deeper mineral tone, not completely unrelated to the slate / blackboard range in the other version, but completely different in effect.

There's a perfume-like character to this that comes out in better tea versions across a broad range.  It ties to the floral tone, in a sense, but it's really as much an aromatic range that matches up with an effect from some liqueurs, like cognac, just much more subtle.  Fruit tone probably picks up a little this round too; it's really complex, across flavor range and other.  Astringency is almost non-existent brewed at this infusion strength.

Dan Cong works well brewed lighter in general, it seems to me, because flavor and feel intensity don't give up much brewed very fast but the astringency component of feel largely drops out.  How much there is of that to start with varies with tea quality, and per some mixed hearsay perhaps with elevation range of plant growth, and due to other complex factors.  However that goes this works; there isn't much astringency edge, as can occur in medium quality versions.


1988 version:  this does seem to be right in the middle of that mustiness dropping out, just not there yet.  It has shifted in effect a lot, now spanning half the experience range versus taking it over.  This is definitely old tea; that part isn't wrong.  It probably won't "go clear" even next round, given how even the balance is between a mustiness that has now transitioned to something else.  Instead of chalkboard / basement flavor range now it's closer to very old barn smell, dry wood that's been around forever.  That's not completely unpleasant, I just don't think it represents what this tea really has to offer for experience yet.

I suppose this is a good place to add that I've not tried that much aged oolong.  I compared two quite old rolled versions in one post (21 and 30 years old at that point), and reviewed a relatively old Oriental Beauty  ("only" 11 years old) not that long ago, so exceptions come up, but not that many.  People tend to extrapolate from what they've tried regardless of sample size, but when you are around a half dozen for count that doesn't work very well.  If you can somehow know that a single version is completely type-typical and of good quality a single experience can go a long way, but it also doesn't really work to take someone else's word on that background applying.

To reduce my own prior experience to a short version rolled oolongs tend to just get plummy (tasting like plum), losing brighter intensity and picking up depth, and depending on storage conditions out around the 20 year mark they might be quite musty, I guess possibly even completely ruined.  Even if the first 3 or 4 infusions is too musty to pick up much beyond that it is possible that other flavor range could hang in there, and it might work to brew past that.  That post comparing two older rolled oolong versions works as a good related account of how that might go; one of those was probably a little rougher than this one.

Third infusion

Lao Cong:  richness picked up a good bit in this, and it already had a thick feel and lots of complexity going on before.  This is a really good quality example of this tea.  It's not impossible to find versions with a lot of great flavor, and flavor complexity, and even positive feel aspects beyond that, but not typically on this level.  The balance is exceptional, the way the aspects I've listed out over the last two rounds work together.  It's a little heavier on underlying mineral than some are, and the rich flavor leaning towards roasted almond (tied to that) isn't completely typical, but it works really well, all signs of this tea being better than most versions by a good bit.

Of course personal preference doesn't drop out, with some objective quality level assessment entirely superseding that; if someone liked a more conventional Mi Lan Xiang better they wouldn't be wrong.  They're often brighter in character, often fruity in peach range versus floral.  Sweetness can be slightly stronger, and it's typical for a characteristic astringency to stand out a little more.  This covers a lot of much deeper range, in terms of flavor, and the feel is richer and thicker.  Aftertaste is significant, that sweetness and mineral range trails over, but it stands out more for the feel than for that.


1988:  it's working better; old furniture flavor has replaced the old barn wood effect.  Aged oolongs can often taste more like this, even for versions that are only a few years old.  Hints of what lies beyond now show up more, a deeper fruit richness, centered on heavy dried fruit range.  Next round the shift might continue enough to pick up more about that part.  I'm stopping short of saying this tea has been too negatively impacted by aging effect but without other positive experience coming after this, in the following rounds, concluding that would work.

Fourth infusion

the pictures get redundant right about here

I went a bit over 10 seconds, versus just under, to see how these work out brewed slightly stronger.  At a really high proportion (or what would be more normal for how I brew a lot of teas, up around 8 or 9 grams per a 90-100 ml gaiwan versus 5 instead, as I'm preparing these) the only infusion time to use would be really fast, at or under 5 seconds.  Dropping the proportion just a little gives you some leeway.  That and it's all I had for a sample size.

I don't weigh teas, to be clear; maybe I'm off on proportions in general, or on what these samples weighed.  It's probably strange that I'm an engineer and much prefer loose process, but then for people clear on the difference between engineering and research science maybe that's exactly what they would expect.  Engineers often tend to get things to work and then shift back to replicating that, even though in theory that's not how things should go.


Lao Cong:  the perfume-like character is much stronger brewed slightly stronger.  This is still mainly in that sweet, rich, floral range.  I've not said much for "what flower;" for as rich as this is it leans a little towards lavender.  It's also still in a typical orchid range, and I can't break that down to different orchid versions.  The sweet range within the floral tone isn't so different than plumeria (that one flower associated with Hawaii, at least in my mind, but all over the place in Bangkok too).  It's just that the rest is richer, even still within the floral range.  It's hard to be clear on what I mean by warm mineral underlying that, and how I see the flavor richness as hinting towards a roasted almond, in relation to how those aspects balance, the relative input of all of it.  So it goes with describing flavors.


1988:  this tea is the best it has been every round; that continues.  The aged furniture effect finally is giving way to a perfume-like aspect, not completely different than in the other tea version, just a bit different in form, and how it works out in relation to the rest.  This still tastes like aged furniture, but picking up a floral oriented perfume / liqueur like additional range balances that, with both fairly even in proportion in this round.

To be clear when I say "aged furniture" I intend that as describing the effect from smelling very old hardwoods, along with aromatic oils typically used to preserve those, with both shifted in aspect range due to long aging.  I tend to go into storage rooms in local Bangkok Buddhist temples that house old religious artifacts and varying furniture; like that smells.  Some people's homes here tend to look like museums, rooms with wood paneled walls, filled with tropical wood furniture, old photos, and artifacts of all kinds, and those can acquire a similar smell.

I do like the tea at this stage.  It's a novel experience; it's almost more about that experience of novelty than a match to conventional likes in aspects.  It works across both but novelty stands out more.

Fifth infusion

It won't do the 1988 version justice but I'll probably let note-taking go after this round.  It just gets to be a bit much, spending two full hours writing a tea review, with the other messing around that comes up.  A second full page of text also seems like overkill, and it doesn't work well to just write about the changes, although that is possible.


Lao Cong:  perfume-like rich floral character keeps increasing.  Or maybe this pegged on maximum related to that and it just takes me by surprise every round.  It's more straight floral now, in proportion, with the underlying mineral and other rich flavor range giving way just a little, with intensity of that floral range seeming to pick up as a result.  This version of this type is so good that it's uncharacteristic, even though I interpret this as a likely perfectly type-typical example of a higher quality version.  Is that clear?  I mean that it's not like a normal Mi Lan Xiang, but instead of this not being how they're supposed to be it may well be the case that this is, and a standard example isn't.

Never mind if that intention isn't clear; the whole point is a bit philosophical.  I expected this tea to be good, because Peter's teas often are, but not like this, redefining potential range a little.  I wonder what he says about it, but then this post will have included that in the first section, if conventional form holds [editing note:  I'll get back to that in conclusions].


1988:  again the best it's been.  I often say that aged oolongs tend to lose flavor intensity across some range, get "plummy" (at least rolled versions, not so much for twisted styles), and pick up depth, but it's hard to describe what that depth relates to in this.  It has it.

I can't say that mustiness has completely cleared but in the conventional sense that category would apply it has, completely.  There's a base slate-mineral layer, and a faint aged wood layer, and more prominent aged furniture scope, and beyond that light but notable floral tone, in perfume-like range, between liqueur and the solvents used to carry perfume scents.  That's a lot going on, with some "deeper layers" grounding all the rest.  Oddly it doesn't come across as complex or intense in flavor at all; it lands on a simple, clean character, which completely contradicts what is implied in that complex description.


So there you have it.  I'm bored with this review process, at least related to taking notes, but I'll drink another 4 or 5 rounds of these.

Two rounds later, now extending infusion times to a bit over 15 seconds to compensate, results are what you would expect.  The Lao Cong version is thinning but still really good.  The other won't "clean up" or change in profile beyond this, but it's pleasant, interesting, layered, and complex as it stands now.  I probably wouldn't want to pay a market value to have this kind of experience but it's really novel [it's out of stock, off the market, but pricing level hadn't been as high as I expected].

Conclusions

All the old conclusions no longer apply related to the Lao Cong version, since I was trying to make sense of why it's that good.  Now the review description matches the listing, related to quality level, what one would expect out of a version a few years old (4, this spring), and the pleasant rich feel, complex flavors, and pronounced underlying mineral.

Some people say that once you try much better tea versions then it's hard to go back to more standard teas.  I don't share that experience; I can drink much better teas once in awhile, recognize and appreciate what they are, and then go right back to drinking more conventional range versions, or lots of interesting teas that still aren't at that level.  I stop short of still enjoying Lipton tea bag tea or CTC Assam but not that much short of that, and if push comes to shove it's novel to drink those with milk and sugar once in a long while.

I drank Lipton in April 2019, doing a caffeine detox on a trip; this was a maintenance dose

The 1988 version was good, in the sense of it being really interesting trying aged teas.  It took four rounds for the storage effect to clear up, so it didn't retain as much of it's potential as it could have, but the rest was certainly novel and complex.

2006 Li Ming "Zao Chun Yin Hao" and Xiaguan "Ba Jiao He Qi Zi"

Really interesting looking teas this time, samples provided by John of King Tea Mall, in a set of three oriented towards exploring storage conditions (so one still to go).  Interpreting that input together along with origin and other type differences could be a challenge. 

Rather than saying much about these I'll include some relatively long product descriptions (from John) that focus quite a bit on the storage background.  Tasting completely identical teas would make it possible to isolate that factor, or even teas that are very similar, but I'll just do what I can with that part, since these aren't supposed to be that.


2006 Li Ming "Zao Chun Yin Hao" (Earl Spring Silver Hairs) 200g Raw / Sheng Pu'er 

Guangzhou natural storage.  This tea hasn't been stored in a professional warehouse where the humidity and temperature were well controlled but affected by natural weather conditions.  In Guangzhou, on average the humidity is around 77% and temperature is around 20-28 C.  Under these conditions the tea ages fast but is affected by seasonal weather.  During natural storage the ea conditions are near a medium level.


2006 Xiaguan "Ba Jiao He Qi Zi Bing" 357 g sheng pu'er

Guangzhou wet storage.  On this individual tea conditions are near traditional Hong Kong storage.  It is welcomed by certain old tea lovers who appreciate this aged and some earthy like taste.  More mellowness and much less irritation than young puer raw tea.  But to younger and new generations, this tea is not appreciated.  During wet storage, this tea condition is near medium level but a little better.


I've tried teas stored under different conditions, so that input isn't completely unfamiliar.  An interesting tasting of teas from one village area in Yiwu two years ago brought up some of those variations, and experiences since have built on that exposure.  "Separated at birth" cases would make it all a lot clearer, comparison of only factor, but to some extent this should work. 

Some readers might really want to question further what traditional Hong Kong storage is, pinning down control aspects and range stats, and isolate if the uniformity of that as a set of conditions holds, or if that linkage to conditions in this case is accurate.  I'll just move on here instead.

Review

Li Ming left; Xiaguan brews darker

2006 Li Ming "Zao Chun Yin Hao:"  I am picking up a lot of fermentation related transition in this tea; it's pretty far along.  This level, based on 13 years, seemingly isn't completely transitioned, it will keep aging, but it's getting into the fully aged range.  Aging related flavor like slate and dry basement smell come across, but I expect some of that will change a good bit over the first two rounds, and it's not negative in this.  It's not musty.  Earthy flavor range stands out in the rest, forest floor, dark wood, leaning a little towards aromatic spice (frankincense and myrrh, not that I can separate those).  Interpreting that as cigar tobacco instead would seem natural, even with a faint trace of dried mushroom.

It'll be interesting to see what the character is really like after another infusion.  It's hard to be clear on how all that tastes relatively clean, given the flavor description I just passed on, but it does.  Mustiness often pairs with aged range, in varying forms and levels, and there isn't much of that in this, even though the flavors have shifted to a warm, earthy place.


 2006 Xiaguan "Ba Jiao He Qi Zi Bing:"  this seems like the next level of increased fermentation and wetter storage effect, a continuation in the same direction.  A good bit of beet or potato skin flavor comes across, geosmin, in the range of that mineral smell in potting soil.  It's complex:  there's an interesting sweetness that goes along with that, and it's not really musty either, although closer to what people might interpret as that.

Again I expect this to be a good bit different on the second of two more fast infusions.  Intensity in these is pretty notable, even based on using a moderate infusion strength (towards 10 seconds, not exactly short); it will work to use fast steeps.

It's interesting the way that geosmin hits your palate pretty hard initially in the flavor experience and then sweeter, other complex flavor lingers on as an aftertaste.  It still relates to how raw potato skin tastes but there's more to it, and again it's not really musty.  Some of this range does relate to a damp basement effect but the mustier part of that doesn't come across.  So dry basement, I guess.

The contrast in these teas is interesting, not just the storage effect, of course, but also in the way it all comes together.  The first seems a lot lighter and milder, surely partly related to both starting point and conditions inputs.  It would be easy to miss that intensity or misinterpret the differences in character beyond transition degree and type, if tasting these over a couple weeks apart, to remember them as more similar than they actually are, since there is some character overlap.

Second infusion:

Color difference really stands out again, even though both were only brewed for around 5 seconds.  It would be possible to rush that, to drop it to closer to 3, but it takes time to add and remove the water.


Li Ming "Zao Chun Yin Hao:"  to me the overall effect of this is quite pleasant, the way it balances.  It might have one more infusion to get into the main range it will transition across but it's nice like this.  It's interesting how it's really intense, but also subtle in a different sense, earthy but also clean and on the sweet and mild side.

The same general character and flavor list really applies:  very moderate earthiness at the level of geosmin, closer to old tree bark than potato skin, beet, or dirt, other flavor range towards cigar tobacco, extending into aromatic spice range.  It's not so far off dried fruit, but not a typical, familiar, light form of that, not like dried mango or apple, more towards Chinese date (jujube).  I suppose it works to think of that as near Middle Eastern date but shifted towards a medicinal range just a little, or towards the smell of ginseng root.


Xiaguan "Ba Jiao He Qi Zi:"  that geosmin packs a punch; not everyone would love this.  Oddly it's not nearly as musty as one would expect, with that being as dominant a flavor aspect as it is.  It's hard to describe how it's really also clean in an unusual sense, how it really could be quite musty in a way that would match that range, but it's not.  A touch of dried wild mushroom does join the more primary flavors, and in different types and levels I really don't care for that in aged sheng versions, but it works as minor input in this.

Beyond that there is lots of other range, it's just also warm, rich, and deep (just clean).  There's an aged furniture quality to it, the way that old versions of dark wood combined with very old aromatic oils used to preserve such things comes across.  Another part is a little medicinal in a way that's hard to describe.  It seems a little sweeter than the other tea, and definitely more intense.  It doesn't really work to try this tea and then switch to the other, because it seems muted.  Tasting it the other way, with the other first, both seem intense and complex, just with this version more so.

Third infusion:

Li Ming:  this is nice, even cleaner.  It definitely wouldn't come across as a subtle version but it is dialed down related to the other.  A specific warm mineral aspect is increasing, or maybe a complex set of related or seemingly associated flavors is picking up.  It includes the mineral one can smell from a natural well, a mix of whatever had been in the rocks below extracted and concentrated at the surface at an outflow.  Cigar tobacco is still present but aged tree bark is picking up more intensity, covering more of a proportion.

It goes without saying but there is absolutely no working back to what these might have been like very early on in their production and aging; they're quite age-transitioned now.  I do wonder about that.  Given how intense both are they may not have been sweet, mellow, and positive to drink, perhaps on the bitter and challenging side instead.  I'll get to doing more with that mapping later, after another decade of trying lots of teas.


Xiaguan:  essentially not different than last round, although the proportion is shifting just a little.  It might work for that geosmin to fade a little, and that might be losing a little ground in this.  It's interesting how that hits you first in the tasting, then the other complexity washes across you, and the aftertaste is something else again, so that the flavors and experience comes in three distinct waves.  The second part, what you taste before swallowing it, includes geosmin but plenty of other complexity.  After you swallow mineral stands out, lots of it, including a good bit of sweetness.

Flavor range is so intense that it's easy to lose focus on feel.  It's soft but has some fullness to it, just in a different sense than the younger teas I've been drinking.  Aftertaste is even more notable and interesting, especially in the way a subset of this Xiaguan version remains, but parts you taste with it in your mouth drop out.  For as intense as it is it's almost better that the aftertaste is slightly less strong in flavor than the actual tea.

Both of these are quite different than the other three China Tea / Zhong Cha, or supposed China Tea versions I've been drinking, two from 2006, and an 8891 version from Yunnan Sourcing from 2007 (quite likely the only "real" version).  They include a lot more aged earthiness, and intensity.  There's no comparison at all to be made with the range of Kunming stored teas I was on for awhile, a round of lots of different sheng versions from different source areas, producers, and of different ages from Chawang Shop.  Even the two older Xiaguan versions from there weren't even close to the same thing, but then those were years younger, from 2010 and 2011.

Fourth infusion:

To keep this from getting too repetitive (maybe already too late now) I'll limit comments to main transitions, and not run through lists and proportions of flavors and other aspect range.

Li Ming:  the balance works well, that aged character scope, warm earthy range, cleanness, sweetness, moderate but considerable intensity.  Of those Chawang Shop versions I bought a Yiwu brick that had great feel and depth, just lacking a typical flavor intensity to balance those.  That was a 2008 version, reviewed here.  In the end it was a very positive tea, but distinctive for missing that range.  This includes that richness of feel, depth, and clean effect, but adds flavor intensity and complexity back in.  A touch more sweetness would change things for this, and improve the balance, but even for that it's fine.

It doesn't really have rough edges to wear back off but I'd expect the flavor intensity to taper a little and it to gain smoothness and depth over longer storage time, to keep improving.  The other version has so much flavor intensity to spare that in another decade it will still be intense, but this may be within a near enough optimum range over the next half dozen years.  The transition and trade off is in a good place now.  I'm only guessing, of course; I've tried few enough sheng versions between 15 and 25 years old.


Xiaguan:  continually swapping out geosmin for the rest is improving this tea, round by round.  It might just keep getting better, even more positive after a dozen infusions.  It has a lot of depth and intensity.  Listing out a half dozen flavors that it seems to resemble doesn't really do that experience justice.  Pronounced sweetness makes it all work well.  Part of that, and a related flavor, resembles well-roasted sweet potato.  Some Dian Hong, Yunnan black teas, also express that aspect, but it's in a different form, and more than that situated within a completely different context of other aspects.  No black tea covers this potato skin and other mineral range, or has anywhere near this much going on, but the relatively extreme earthiness is a trade-off, not completely positive.

A trace more mustiness would completely ruin the overall effect, but even that touch of dried mushroom faded and dropped out earlier on.

Fifth infusion:

Li Ming:  wood tone is picking up, a complex range of it that includes well-cured hardwood and also tree bark.  Parts of all the rest I've kept describing join that, so it's relatively complex.  I doubt this is transition a that marks the end point, that it will keep changing over further infusions.


Xiaguan:  it is interesting how this tea is better every round.  That geosmin is only part of a complex range of flavors now, not dominant at all.  The other tea has complexity and depth but not on the scale of this one (but then again it also doesn't taste like dirt).  This doesn't resemble brandy in flavor but there is a way that kind of flavor experience goes, an intensity and range to it, that this reminds me of.  It's the opposite of subtle, but it's not as if heavy earthy range is out of balance.  There are layers to this, all presenting as one continuous range:  that geosmin, a warm mineral at the bottom, towards dried fruit (jujube), a medicinal edge, aged furniture as more a context, etc.

I keep coming back to considering John's input, the idea that "to young and new generations this [aged effect] tea is not appreciated."  It's not a natural starting point for preference in this form, that's for sure, and not everyone would pick up a liking for this later on, or retain it as their preferences kept changing if they did.

I've had less exposure than many to a range of Xiaguan products, but some are really easy to appreciate, simpler, towards less challenging flavors.  At the same time this is just earthy, clean, complex, and intense at this point in transitioning; it's not as challenging as the stronger geosmin aspect might've made it in earlier rounds.  Brewing it wrong would make it undrinkable; there's that.  As far as standard preference transitions go probably starting on mild, sweet, and complex shu would make more sense, moving onto teas like this after experiencing some other range, and surely a lot of people would never get far into preferring this range.

Sixth infusion:

I'll probably let the notes go after this round and pass on final thoughts including more on later transitions.  It's all way too much to read.

Li Ming:  intensity is dropping off a bit; it works well like this but extending timing would renew that, if it was of interest.  I like it slightly lighter.  It's funny how it's more subtle in one sense but still really complex in another, related to covering a lot of range.


Xiaguan:  this version is just hitting it's stride.  Geosmin is relatively limited now, compared to earlier levels.  The mineral and earthiness reminds me of the smell of an old horse's saddle.  I mean that in the positive way possible, although I'd imagine few would get the reference as it's intended.  There's an earthy, deep, sweet, complex smell to those that other forms of leather just doesn't have.  It includes the smell of the barn, of age, dried hay, the sweet and complex scent of other feeds.  Who knows, maybe that of the horse too, a little.  To me it's very nice, that aspect set.

Conclusions:

I tried these for more rounds but the teas were fading later on, without much for novel or interesting transitions coming up.  When extending brewing time to retain intensity both picked up even more of an earthy range again, just slightly different in form than in the earlier cycle.  For both it sort of reminded me of the high-roast effect of Wuyi Yancha oolongs, that touch of char.  It wasn't identical to that, but not so far off it either.

Placing how much I like these is difficult.  It seems to work well to reduce the main theme, reviewing storage input, to a few central themes, and consider that along with those:

-to what extent could I seem to isolate storage conditions input and fermentation level as a distinct cause for experienced aspects?

-was one such input preferable over the other (to the extent it worked to isolate it), per my preference?

-how would this compare to other aging transition effects I'm familiar with, related to other examples?


It's only a guess for me to specify answers to the first question, since the individual starting points and the difference between them wasn't familiar.  It's a bit vague to answer "to some extent," but that's about it.  The unique flavor I've encountered in trying wetter Malaysian stored sheng in the past did sort of link to the extreme fermentation transition in the Xiaguan version, it just went further than I've experienced, way into geosmin range and the rest.  It was interesting noting related but quite different aspect range in the other tea, just missing that one particular flavor element, at least at a comparable level.

The second question, about preference, seems to tie to both starting points (suitability for aging, and initial aspect range and quality) versus just the storage and fermentation factor.  It would work much better tied to trying very similar teas with that input as a difference.  As far as only considering end effect I could appreciate both teas but the fermentation transition effects were a bit strong in the Xiaguan version.  It was interesting trying that as a relatively fully aged version, seeing what worked and what didn't come across as well in that character.  I've been trying a lot of teas that are around this age but not fully age-transitioned, which leads more into answers tied to third question, about mapping to other experiences.

I just retried the 2007 CNNP version today, to compare it.  The Yunnan Sourcing description adds some thoughts on storage and fermentation transition input:


...Most importantly this tea is incredibly good tasting and has a very unique flavor profile. It's been stored in Guangdong since 2007 in a dry-wet storage condition (wet stored but on the dry side of the wet storage spectrum). The raw material is from Nan Jian area of Yunnan which is technically part of Dali prefecture... 

...The tea brews up an orange-red tea soup with a pungent aroma of flowers, mushrooms and earth. The taste is clean with no musty wet storage notes, but does have some some earthy notes. There is a kind of pronounced spice and cloves taste and aroma with a strong viscous sweetness throughout...


That one sentence on what it actually is I left in as a reminder that it's just as much (or more) a factor than how the tea has changed, which really goes without saying.  I wasn't trying to pin down tasting-notes aspects in that re-trying it, more to review general character and level of fermentation transition.  It seems like a much younger tea than the other two did, seemingly stored in much dryer conditions.  The leaves haven't darkened to the same level either, but you don't need to see that to notice the obvious difference.  It's clean, and it is pleasant, as described here, but a completely different thing, at least related to fermentation effect, and perhaps not at all similar in starting point character too.

high level of compression may have slowed the CNNP cake aging

It was closer to the Li Ming, in terms of apparent fermentation input.  The difference comes across in reconsidering the wet leaf and brewed tea appearance, in those two versions and in that 2007 CNNP version following:

brewed tea color is completely different as well

Price really doesn't work as a direct input related to tea quality, because vendors adjust pricing as they see fit.  Demand shifts a lot related to individual producers, production areas, and other inputs that might relate to image or awareness much more than quality level or positive character.  All the same it's worth considering:  this King Tea Mall version lists for $30 for a 200 gram cake and the Yunnan Sourcing 2007 CNNP for $67 for a 500 gram cake.  Oddly that's nearly identical; it works out to 15 cents a gram for the Li Ming version and 13.4 for the CNNP.  I don't think that really tells us anything, it's just interesting to also consider.

I should mention that based on trying that CNNP, and two other cakes like it, buying this version for $55 (per standard size 357 gram cake amount, when really it's a 200 gram cake instead) seems more than fair, a good value for the tea.  I spent $60 each on the other two I bought locally, which seemed in the right range, maybe not best-value related to all possible online sources.  This Li Ming version is at least as positive as those, maybe just a little better.  None seemed like the kinds of tea that really should be selling for much more, for much higher value and quality versions that somehow were a "steal," but they seem like decent aged teas for the modest selling price.

It's my impression that more dry-stored teas tend to cost less, that the demand is low enough for those that you would get a price break on just that factor alone.  I'm not sure how storage perceived as wetter than optimum would factor in; a consumer would need more specific input about the tea version to make any call related to that, since just judging broad storage-area region wouldn't work.  It's odd that all of these (the two reviewed, and that CNNP version) were stored in Guangdong, with these two stored under different conditions in Guangzhou, its capital.

I liked the teas, and even more so the experience shedding light on that one input.  It didn't necessarily end with tidy conclusions but it was really informative and interesting.