Thai wild origin material Dian Hong style black tea

Not long ago I reviewed a tea that I identified as my favorite sheng version, a pu'er in all but name, since it was from Thailand.  The producer was Aphiwat, someone I've mentioned before.  This time I'm reviewing a Dian Hong style black tea that I also bought.  It's good; I've tried it a few times before this review.

Of course Dian Hong literally means Yunnan black tea, so I mean that it's in a common style related to that type.  The plants are surely quite similar, Assamica trees, and the growing area isn't that far from China, just not that close either, not right across a border.  Dian Hong is actually a broad range, but the most typical version range is exactly like these, with the flavor aspects I'm describing here, or a related set, similar in appearance to this tea.

This is Aphiwat's FB profile link,  and this is his producer vendor page there.  He's not really set up for website based sales, or direct overseas sales, but it's also not a secret what the source is.

Review:

First infusion:  a bit light; I decided to use that approach of brewing the first round light.  It doesn't matter; the fuller flavor and feel will emerge next round either way.  

You can already tell this is great.  Fruit tones emerge, and some cacao, with underlying mineral and some roasted yam.  One part of the fruit is light and citrusy, with a more main part like dried dark cherry.  Sweetness is good, taste is clean, there are no flaws, and feel is already picking up limited fullness.  There is no astringency edge, in the sense that harsher black teas include one.  It's not tart; I dislike that flavor range, and it's nicer for me when it's not there.  It's great.

Second round:  warmer tones pick up; this is plenty strong.  If anything a little over optimum, but that's fine, trying it brewed in different ways.  Feel stands out a lot, extending from richness to very mild dryness, to about as rich and still light as orthodox Assam tends to ever be.  It even resembles malt as much as it's ever going to, made this way.  Fruit still stands out, the same set, dried dark cherry, and a hint of citrus.  Roasted yam, cacao, and mineral depth are still the rest.

Feel is a big part of the story, and sweetness, along with intensity, and balance.  It gets awkward explaining those, without repeating ideas that might not add up to much.  This is a very close match for Dian Hong style; it's just what this tea is.  It's no surprise; it's made from old Assamica plants in the north of Thailand, that match Yunnan versions about as well as any from elsewhere.  And then it's also different; the flavor character would never exactly match, even though it's so close you couldn't say it's not from Yunnan, as you can more easily pick up from sheng versions.

It's just good.  All of those aspects are positive, and they all balance and integrate well.  I could drink this for a month straight, and I barely even drink black tea now.  In a sense it's a simpler, more basic, less refined tea than good oolongs, but it fulfills a different character role.  I'd rather drink this twice a week for a year than almost any oolong version of any kind.  It's a perfect breakfast tea, and it's also good enough to drink alone, to spend a half an hour just appreciating it.

Third infusion:  even brewed quite fast this draws out good intensity.  Lighter flavor tones stand out more brewed faster; the citrus edge in the fruit emerges more, and warmer mineral eases up.  Rich feel doesn't change much, but the light dry edge is gone.  I think cacao stands out slightly more brewed light, but that could be a judgement call.  

I bought a good bit of this tea but I'm thinking of buying more.  I rarely own more than a kilogram of any tea; I don't "tong up" buying pu'er, and have only bought an entire kg of black tea once, a kg and a half, as it turned out.  That was black tea from Viet Sun, that I bought a year ago, a batch that I might only own 100 grams of now.  I gave it away frequently as gifts, to monks, as a thanks to people for helping us, and so on.  It had a tart edge; it didn't match my preference nearly as well, based on just that one secondary flavor input.  So it goes with preference; someone else could appreciate the tartness the most.

I'll brew one more round and drop the note taking.  This doesn't transition as much as some tea types, even though it might include an interesting extra flavor in the next few rounds.

Fourth infusion:  warmth extends just slightly.  Dried cherry might be shifting towards dried tamarind, or it has already changed.  Mineral seems to stand out a little more.  For someone who has never experienced anything like that, mineral really standing out in black tea, oolong, or sheng pu'er, that might not be familiar or meaningful at all.  For people deep into tea exploration they might either seek out and value that input or else see others as more important.  Either way it adds depth and balance to the experience.  It helps a lot having nice sweetness offset it, as is present in this.  It also matches well with the cacao, dried fruit, and roasted yam.

All in all a really nice, basic tea.  It would only seem basic to people who already love Dian Hong style teas, and for them, for someone with my preferences, it's just great.  It wasn't that long ago that you could find pretty good Chinese versions of this that didn't cost much, but I suppose as with most other tea range prices have jumped quite a bit, and more expensive curator sources have replaced market-type options selling good versions.  

Maybe Yunnan Sourcing's versions are this good (for Chinese teas), some of them, or it's possible this is better than the average there.  Tea Side sells Thai Dian Hong style tea directly, but that is likely to cost more than YS Chinese versions.  There's no reason why Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnamese related range couldn't also be good, made in a similar style, from similar material, so there would be plenty of range to look into, but you need to try lots of versions to run across one this good.

2008 Shuangzheng Liu Bao and 1980s Fu brick

 

ITeaworld sent another sampler, along with a Christmas themed set of Dan Cong, that I've already reviewed two of.  There are two more entire sets to get to; for whatever reason they released four different sample sets at about the same time.  The other two are Longjing and mixed Chinese green teas.  I guess that I've reached favored reviewer status?  Or shill; however one spins that.

Those earlier Dan Cong really were exceptional; I'll get back to that.  These are aged teas, identified as a New Year's themed set.  These two in particular are hei cha, which seemed like a good place to start, with other aged oolong, black, white, and even green teas included.  Aged green tea is an interesting subject; a bit unconventional.  I tend to work from least interesting and novel to most in sets like these, and I'd expect the sheng and shou pu'er to also be a bit ordinary, then the rest to be quite novel.  We'll see.  Maybe I should mix it up and try what seems most interesting next, instead of delaying that.

I'll include minimal product details and thoughts prior to posting this review, but as usual taste the teas and write these notes without reading essentially anything but the type description.  

The Liu Bao looks a bit open and twisted, as much like a rustic version of a rock oolong (Wuyi Yancha).  The Fu brick tea is quite broken, almost ground up looking.  I'm not sure what that's about, but there is some speculation about that form in the review notes.  For a tea version with considerable astringency the way that will affect compounds that are extracted would be really problematic, but in the case of aged Fu brick it might just be less than optimum.  

iTeaworld 2025 New Year Tea Gift Set (Year of the Snake Edition)   ($75.90 for 100 grams in total)

The Collection of 10 Aged Teas: Includes 20-Year-Old Ripe Pu-erh, 40-Year-Old Hei Zhuan (Black Brick Tea), 30-Year-Old Oolong, and more

1995 Shui Xian Oolong Tea

1998 Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea

1995 Aged Phoenix Dan Cong

2003 Sheng Pu-erh Tea

2003 Shou Pu-erh Tea

2008 Double-Steamed Liu Bao Tea

2014 Shou Mei White Tea

2014 Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong Black Tea

1998 Jasmine Green Tea

1980s Fu Brick Tea

Related to value 76 cents a gram for aged tea seems pretty reasonable.  The tea would have to be of decent quality to justify that, but if it's even average--for the type range--that's still fair.  Half of these are from the 80s or 90s; that's quite aged.  

One thing people who have tried a good bit of aged tea are familiar with is that most versions aren't optimum; less than ideal storage conditions can degrade tea quite a bit over 2 1/2 decades or more.  Then what is the best case related to aspects would be hard to judge, without the level of experience that few ever get around to acquiring.  I've tried a good bit of aged tea but you need to sample a half dozen versions of any one kind to get a feel for the range, and avoid atypical results repeating by chance.  I've tried relatively few 25+ year old teas, maybe ten in total, but it's easy to lose track.  I can offer an informed opinion of these but not necessarily an expert opinion.

Review:

2008 Liu Bao:  that's not bad.  Liu Bao often includes a characteristic mineral depth, and mix of complex flavors, and this has it.  I've seen that phrases as a standard list, including pine, something medicinal, surely some mineral note, and so on.  I asked the Google AI bot about that but it didn't find that list, instead saying that Liu Bao might taste medicinal, like ginseng, jujube (Chinese date), pine, betel nut, honey, and so on.  Close enough.

There is a pine-like flavor inclusion, plenty of mineral, and what one might interpret as spice range, like ginseng.  It tastes "old" too.  There's a smell that very old furniture picks up that this includes, which is probably a mix of woody tones, aromatic character from finishes and preservative oils, and then also a mustiness.  Maybe some sweetness in this does resemble Chinese date; it's a little early to call.  It's pleasant.

1980s Fu brick:  this round extracted a lot more from this tea; I didn't adjust timing to account for one being relatively whole leaf and the other ground.  I infused both for awhile, on towards 30 seconds, trying to get it started, maybe even moving past early rough edges in one go.  This has a bit of mustiness, which may burn off next round.  I'm not going to do the rest justice as a flavor list, or rather any flavor list doesn't seem like it would do it justice.  Not because it's so exceptional, exotic, or complex, although some of that applies; it's just novel.

Beyond mustiness some dried fruit seems to stand out, and mineral, and aromatic wood or spice tones, like incense.  Feel is unusual; it includes dryness, depth / range, and some fullness.  Aftertaste is also unique, with that musty range carrying over, along with fruit, spice, and mineral tones.

It's a little early to place these in relation to my own preference, more a natural part of a conclusion phase, but I think that will help explain what I mean by these aspect lists.  I've never really loved Liu Bao character, but this is a pretty good example of one, so it works well enough, but not extending into a personal favorite experience sort of range.  This Fu brick is a bit odd, interesting, complex, and novel, but the mustiness throws it off, and the rest is about as interesting as it is pleasant.  It gains a lot of points for being novel, but it's not necessarily a great experience in relation to a close match to what I tend to like most.  

I'll try to be clearer.  I've tried at least a couple of old hei cha bricks presented as something random, probably old but not clearly one standard thing, like this one, and the experience seems to go like this.  Overall balance can be ok, and flavors and other aspects can be novel, but it doesn't come together as most desirable tea type experiences often do.  

Hei cha in general can be a little like that; there is something approachable and appealing to a lot of the range, but somehow the balance of expressed aspects often seems pleasant and interesting but not refined, complex, and well-balanced.  Feel is often an unusual kind of fullness, where other tea types might seem rich, or structured, in conventional ways--per the type--that is quite appealing, along with flavors.  Aged sheng tends to be more complex and balanced, but then some of that is just plain bad too.  Let's keep going.

Liu Bao #2:  this is pretty good.  This is what I'd expect of an aged Liu Bao experience, complex, hitting these flavor notes, with limited astringency, but decent feel structure.  It's hard for me to judge this in relation to pleasantness, or even quality, related to the flavor set.  I've tried a couple dozen Liu Bao versions, I'd expect, and have drank through some volume of the type, hundreds of grams worth, but all that is limited exposure in relation to personal favorite categories, sheng pu'er, different oolongs, black teas, to some extent even white and green teas.

The intensity is ok, and feel is fine.  Flavors hit that complex set one would expect.  To me Liu Bao often tastes a bit like how a cement block smells, which I would naturally associate with mineral range, but at the same time you don't notice mineral as standing out from other components, in relation to other range.  It's on the same level as other flavor range, just not dominant.

I might mention that Liu Bao comes in raw and ripe (pre-fermented) forms, mirroring sheng and shou pu'er.  Maybe the difference isn't as pronounced as with shou, related to that flavor set being so distinctive.  In theory--per some limited common understanding--30 year old sheng and shou pu'er should be similar, but in practice they seem quite distinct, to me.  But then pre-fermented Liu Bao just seems less harsh to me, and at 17 years aging it's not as natural for me to be able to spot a clear difference.  That may just relate to having tried a lot more shou pu'er.  Or maybe relatively new "raw" Liu Bao is fermented a little in processing, just not nearly as much.  But then I'm no expert on Liu Bao, and I definitely don't seek it out.

Fu brick:  mustiness did ease up, as one would expect.  This is better, but some of the flavor aspect balance issues still remain.  It's pleasant, but that's an odd set of flavors and feel to experience.  It's not completely different than the Liu Bao, but then not much maps over entirely directly either.  The warm sweetness is hard to describe; that might include spice tones, and a touch of honey, or a bit of dried fruit.  To me it's also like very well-aged wood, just not heavy, not like damp forest floor, or earthy like shou pu'er.  It includes a flavor like cedar, which seems to stand out from the rest, as a dominant tone.  Feel is still a little dry, or it includes dryness; putting it either way works.

On the one hand this is pleasant and complex, and reasonably balanced.  On the other it tastes a little like the smell in a high school wood shop, a mix of brighter and fresher wood fragrances, with one part remnants of sawdust and woods that have been around for decades.  I like that kind of scent in old work-space buildings, but it's an odd association to stand out this much in tea.

Liu Bao #3:  the prior flavor set is evolving.  For someone new to this tea, or just seeing it as a more engaging experience, they might make notes on which note is stronger in each round, the minor shifts.  But the prior set still works as a description; the balance just changes.  It's pleasant.

Fu brick:  the same is true for this version.  I suppose a sappy sort of input is shifting, in a way that's positive, related to both flavor and feel.  It gains a different kind of intensity, where before there might have been a slight thinness across part of the feel range, and to a lesser extent also the flavor range.  Feel becomes more viscous, richer.  

It's not so unusual for some interesting and more pleasant aspects to stand out in later rounds in older teas, or for what is extracted in the first few infusions to be less pleasant, parts that drop out, mustiness, dryness, or slightly off flavors.  It would be a shame to not brew these Gongfu style, to see how they vary across infusions.  At the same time I'm not on the page of writing pages long reviews now, covering even a half dozen rounds, so I was considering throwing in the towel.  I'll write about one more.

Liu Bao #4:  this is much darker than the other tea now, the brewed liquid, the opposite of early rounds.  I'd expect that the other rinsed out relatively quickly, for being so ground up.  I don't drink much tea of any kind presented like that, beyond maybe having a tea bag at work.  We work from home most of the time so I dropped the habit of bringing decent tea in there.

Again this is pretty good.  Again the same flavor list is presented, just in a slightly different form (pine, ginseng, dried fruit, some other medicinal tone, and mineral structure).  If I loved Liu Bao this would be more of an exceptional experience.  It's just ok, for me.  If someone liked Liu Bao experience in the past but found the typical harsh edge a bit off-putting, the astringency and strong mineral tone, then this might seem wonderful, since it has mellowed a lot over the aging.  Or if it's pre-fermented then that's not true, since it would've started out kind of mellow, but whatever funkiness was related to fermentation input has faded away over time, if there had been some.

Fu brick:  this isn't dying, and transitions are continuing to be positive, so it's good.  It's hard to put my finger on what seems like a limitation in this.  Flavor complexity, feel, the way it balances?  Feel structure does seem to cover a relatively limited range.  

This may well be one of those pressed hard as stone giant tablets of tea, which would explain why it's ground up, and also why the character is fine, but seems to cover limited range.  Tea can only age to be as good as the initial quality and character allows.  Those can be made of decent material, but if it's hard pressed ground tea it's highly unlikely that it was ever exceptional.

Conclusions:

On the next round the Liu Bao was still intense enough, and still transitioning, maybe adding more of what gets described as betel nut flavor, but I'm not so familiar with that.  The Fu brick was essentially done; it brewed out fast related to being ground material.

Related to the Fu brick tea, some people might be disappointed that there isn't more going on, a different kind of complexity, and more depth.  Others might see this experience as very novel and pleasant.  To me it's interesting, and positive, not bad in any way, just a little limited.  It only expresses so much.

I suppose that extends to both as final conclusions.  For the Liu Bao it is nice experiencing a good version, one with enough age and transformation input, as this represents, but this also highlights why I've always favored other kinds of teas more.  Aged sheng pu'er can be a lot more exceptional, there's just a lot of filtering requirement for finding better versions, and expense that goes along with that.  

I'll be trying some aged teas two friends passed on; it will be easier to place those in relation to these, and vice-versa.  I've not mentioned flaws much in these; I'd expect that along with novel and pleasant additions to these basic characters that some additional flaws will enter in.  Some rough edges can wear off over decades related to aged tea character, but negative storage input can come up too.  

These were fine; they didn't go dead or pick up any strange flavor notes, and flavor ranges were pleasant.  The Fu brick might have faded in intensity and complexity a little, but I'd expect that really related to original material character more.

ITea World orchid and magnolia fragrance Dan Cong

 

ITea World sent a few sampler sets to try; I'll be awhile working through them.  They include a Christmas and New Year's themed set, which a Dan Cong set is a part of.  I guess that matches the holidays.  And a Longjing set (less seasonal, but nice), and an aged tea set, based on a mix of pu'er and hei cha types.

To back up a little ITea World is a Chinese tea vendor re-branding initiative, shifting focus from an earlier product theme to selling basics, including sample sets, which have diversified to cover a good bit of range now.  I've reviewed a lot of them, and they've initiated promotion through giving out sample sets to lots of people, including many who aren't tea bloggers or the like.  

This all seems fine to me.  It got to be a bit much on Reddit, especially r/tea, because giving sample sets to a dozen or more Redditors--who are into tea--resulted in a posting blitz there.  But the rest works; most of the samples have ranged from basic to slightly better than average in quality and distinctiveness.  Match to represented types has been pretty good.  I suppose a wild origin set was a little less consistent than some of the rest, but that's how wild origin material and versions tend to go; there isn't a narrow, well-defined character range.  Probably earlier, very low cost samples were more basic, limited in quality, but to some extent sets identified as more unique have been better.

Dan Cong is a challenging range, related to sourcing good versions.  A lot of Dan Cong out there is known for including a distinctive form of astringency, which to me relates to low quality.  Better versions aren't so harsh.  Maybe that relates to lower elevation, mono-culture farmed, fertilizer boosted production, and less than optimum processing.  Or who knows; it requires a lot of hearsay input for cause and effect sequences mapping onto final aspects to seem reliable.  I won't be getting into any of that here.

I'll have to lean into judging general quality level and also specifying match to preference, since I can't really remember distinct floral tones.  That would require quite a bit of scent training, or at least a different kind of memory than I possess.  There have been plenty of orchids growing at our house, and lotus flowers, and lots of flowering vines, but I still don't remember those scents well.  I've tried a good bit of Mi Lan Xiang (honey orchid) and Ya Shi (duck shit) Dan Cong versions, but probably won't keep comparing these back to those types much.  That's honey orchid anyway, not the same as the one I'm trying, just plain orchid.  

Onto review then, but I'll add a product listing and limited information after taking the notes.

I just noticed that they ran a sale offering 25 to 30% off ending yesterday, as of time of editing.  Not so helpful mentioning that now.  Chinese New Year is this month though; how could they not have a sale related to that?

That Dan Cong set contains 100 grams of tea, 20 samples of 5 grams each, listing for $110.  $1 a gram is a standard pricing for high quality level tea, but I personally avoid that spending rate.  With that holiday sale it would've been less, maybe around $70.  The relative value depends on the quality level of these teas.  They would have to be pretty far up the scale to justify even that discounted rate, and since I'm writing this after making review notes I can jump ahead to a conclusion about that:  they are pretty exceptional.  

I really didn't expect that; based only on the two versions I've tried these are slightly better than just about anything I've tried from ITea World.  Their teas have been consistently within average quality range, or a bit above that, but not like these.  Of course you really can't judge a whole set from two randomly chosen versions.

It's odd that set doesn't include Ya Shi, duck shit, isn't it?  That type gets a lot of hype in Western tea circles, and good examples of it are nice.  I asked someone in ITea World about that (indirectly), and they covered that in this Reddit post:

The "Top Ten Aromas" of Phoenix Dan Cong was established back in 1996 by professors and researchers from South China Agricultural University. At that time, Ya Shi Xiang wasn’t as popular. So, naturally, it didn’t make the cut.

2. The Evolution of Ya Shi Xiang

Before it gained fame, Ya Shi Xiang was originally known as Da Wu Ye (大乌叶/“Big Dark Leaf”) because of its large, dark leaves. 

That answers another related question, which fragrance name Ya Shi relates to.  I've tried Da Wu Ye, and never made that connection.  These fragrance or aroma names imply that every version tastes relatively identical, which isn't exactly how it works out.  They would be similar, and overlap in flavor, but wouldn't all be one thing.  Even with completely identical plant genetics--which also isn't how that works out, except for with controlled cultivars--microclimate, soil input, and processing differences change outcome, and flavor aspects.

Related to brewing approach to me it would be a real shame to prepare these using Western style brewing, the 3 to 4 grams to a cup of water approach, brewing for 3 to 5 minutes.  A lot of oolong range--and sheng pu'er--gives much better results using Gongfu brewing.

They include extra tea bags with a lot of their sample sets, including these, but I definitely wouldn't use them with this loose tea.  Of course others could see it all differently.

Review:

Magnolia:  that's quite pleasant.  Dan Cong tends to be made in two different styles, or I suppose really as a continuum between those, but it works to describe it as two consistent ranges.  One is lighter in oxidation and roast input, a "greener" version, which this is, and the other is more oxidized and roasted.  I take the second to be more traditional, but who knows.  

Freshness and brightness comes across well, and also depth, complexity, and refinement.  Quality level seems pretty good.  There is some astringency, but this is far from expressing that harsher edge.  Good Dan Cong, and some other oolongs, tend to express a nice liqueur-like character, with the floral range expressed in a way that is reminiscent of perfume or liqueur, and this is like that.  That depth and intensity carries across well as aftertaste, even though this is just getting started.  It's a good start.  

I suppose the deeper, richer, heavier floral tone may be like magnolia, but I really wouldn't know.  It leans a little towards lavender scent and character effect, one of the few flower types I've encountered so many times that it's familiar.

Orchid:  that floral range is really pleasant.  The other was also nice, but this hits hard.  I suppose it does remind me of orchid range, to the extent I could place that.  Of course there are many versions of orchids, and some don't express that much scent.  It's not so far off lotus scent, another familiar flower type.  

The other was rich and full in character, but this is richer, deeper, and warmer.  It's closer to that more oxidized and roasted style, even though it's really more in the middle.  The balance is great, for getting good results from the tea's potential.  

These are a little better than I would've expected.  Pretty good Dan Cong is out there, not impossible to find, but rougher edged, more limited versions are a lot more common.  It's my guess that I've tried a lot of the better range in the lighter style, from trying a lot of Wuyi Origin's range in the past.  Cindy, one of my favorite tea producer and contacts, and a family member of the owners, married another tea producer from Chaozhou, where Dan Cong originates from, so they really do produce both tea ranges, of course along with many other family members.  It would seem hasty to say that this is as good as their teas, or not as good, but these are really pretty good.

Related to a match to my own preference, even though it's early to call, the warmer tones and very distinctive orchid flavors make the second work better, for me.

Magnolia #2:  I'm trying them brewed fast, and light.  Intensity should still be fine, but they'll give up a bit of feel.  This approach is used to offset what is often described as characteristic astringency, but again I've not noticed that being problematic in higher quality versions.

Flavor intensity is still fine, and it's easier to identify flavor brewed lighter (not that it helps; this is some variation of floral range, probably tasting like magnolia).  Some creaminess still comes across, even though the other version had a thicker, richer feel, matching warmer flavor tones, and greater depth.  One bright, almost citrusy aspect range in the flavors is quite pleasant.  It's still floral tone, not actual citrus taste, but it's light and bright in a similar way.  It does lean towards fruit though.

Orchid:  that's really intense, for being brewed so fast, under 10 seconds.  The increased lightness in the other version didn't carry across; this is rich, deep, and complex.  Between both of these this is most intense floral range flavor experience I've been through in quite awhile.  I guess that's a good thing; it is quite pleasant.

This doesn't seem like a traditional match to a Christmas theme, to me, in the sense of it being a conventional pairing, but it does work well as a parallel experience range.  Maybe especially this second version, for including so much warmth and depth.  

Let's get one possible connection out of the way:  could these be flavored teas?  I really doubt it.  It is possible, since there could be much better extracted flavor products out there than I've encountered, but these don't relate to that general range of effect, as I see it.  I've described a part of the first as matching a solvent flavor experience, but I've only encountered this type of form of that in the best oolong versions, also in Wuyi Yancha range.  These are definitely strong and floral in character; unusually so.  But I expect that's just an anomaly from finding much better than average versions.

If these have been scented they would've had to do so using a traditional form of contact with flowers, layering the two together, then separating the leaves back out.  That is more possible.  Again I doubt that happened, but if so these represent achieving very unusually positive results.  The feel of the tea is also too positive; it perfectly matches how a good quality Dan Cong should feel.  I don't think there is any way to adjust that; the material potential and processing had to be good to begin with.

Magnolia #3:  this is good.  It's the comparison with the other version that's making it seem more limited.  Bright, sweet, complex floral tones are quite pleasant.  Feel is nice, and astringency form and level balance well.  Aftertaste experience is pleasant, adding complexity (or the effect of it).  But the other version dials all that up just a little, in a form that I like better, with flavor range I also prefer.  It makes this seem a bit thin, in comparison, even though that's really a style outcome, not exactly a quality limitation.

It probably helps to explain that in terms of flavor description.  This includes a touch of what I tend to interpret as green wood.  To me that's a natural continuation of that bright, light flavor character, the light floral tone leaning towards bright citrus.  But to some extent it's not entirely positive.  I can't directly compare it to green tea range, really, but it works to say that it's remotely similar in some ways.

Orchid:  deeper, warmer, richer, and quite different in floral flavor range; the same description I've already been repeating.  There really is no vegetal flavor similar to green wood in this, but it might work to interpret one part as similar to aromatic wood, similar to incense spice range, sandalwood or the like.  To me the green wood in the other flavor isn't entirely negative, but it could be interpreted that way by some, while this warm spice tone is a positive input.  

Fourth infusion:  these are transitioning some, but the minor shifts don't replace the original character.  It could make for a more interesting review, for some, to hear about very subtle, minor shifts in flavor aspects, but for as many others it would probably seem redundant.  These are surely less than halfway through their infusion cycle, so changes would be more extreme within another four rounds, but I'll still leave off taking notes here.  The main story has been told, and I need to do some housework prior to going out on a play outing with my kids.

If anything the overall effect of the orchid version has dialed up depth and intensity; that's quite pleasant and promising.  Again it's unusual how good this is.  Both, to some extent, but I really like the style and character of the orchid version more.  

Back to the real versus artificial flavor issue, which I've already set aside, conventionally flavored teas tend to wash out the added flavor fairly quickly, over the first few rounds.  That's probably less the case with naturally infused versions, those layered along with flowers, multiple times, in a different kind of fragrance transfer process.  But if anything these are still improving, instead of fading, as they should be at this stage.  I didn't keep track of minor shifts in flavors later on but they did brew more than four more very positive rounds, and didn't fade in an unpleasant way throughout that cycle.

Conclusions:

So are these as good as Wuyi Origin's versions, those made by my friend Cindy?  If they're not they are at least pretty close to that range.  Wuyi Origin's teas wouldn't all represent the same quality level, or a narrow style range, even though they're generally made lighter, at lower oxidation and roast level, which typically shows off tea character well, and suits some material types.  

Quality level for these samples is high enough that it's on to minor distinctions making a difference, like feel and aftertaste factoring in, and subtle emergent range like refinement.  Them representing different styles and types of Dan Cong is also a positive factor; that's not so easy to turn up, at a really high quality level.

There probably is room for improvement in quality; that's almost always the way it works out.  But it wouldn't be an easy difference to appreciate, for most.  These lack flaws, and are made in pleasant styles (so far; again I've only tried two of ten versions).  They're refined, complex, and distinctive, with good intensity and balance.  It's probably that feel could be a little richer, and aftertaste experience could extend a little.  

I've mentioned those aspects as relative positives in the notes, so it's not as if that's a gap, I'm just guessing that the very highest end of the range may be different in that way, that there could still be room for limited improvement.  Another related guess is that you could buy lower quality versions from supposed curator vendors at twice this pricing rate.  These were pretty good.  For someone exploring Dan Cong this is a good place to start, and especially at a discounted pricing level value is quite fair.

An example might help place that.  A local Bangkok Chinatown shop, my favorite one, Jip Eu, sells a very rare type of Dan Cong product:  medium quality, low priced, good value versions.  They're not this good, giving up unique flavor range, positive feel, and refinement, but they're the outlier example of 100 grams of quite pleasant tea selling for $20-some, which you just don't find in Dan Cong.  That wouldn't come up at a US based Chinatown; one input is that I live in Bangkok (most of the time), where just about everything costs less, especially local products, or some imports from China.  

You typically couldn't even find the same thing for $50 in US shops, for twice as much, because it's such a rare find in general.  The type just isn't there.  It's either $1 a gram, or more, for the higher end range, through curator vendors, or whatever Yunnan Sourcing happens to carry for less.  That could be fine, but I bet most of that is closer to that Chinatown version than these samples.