I'm reviewing a Thai wild origin material black tea version sent by Aphiwat Kokhue along with Thai sheng that I ordered not long ago. I reviewed that sheng here, with a second try of a related maocha version here, compared to another Thai and Vietnamese version, and with a Facebook business page for them here, for Gaw Khee Cha. Other background relates to Aphiwat being from the Aker indigenous group; I'll share a few pictures placing that part at the end.
This is going to be good. I've tried other tea from them a couple of years ago, and there was never any version that wasn't significantly above average in terms of being pleasant, well-made, and high in quality level. Style can vary a bit, but positive results have not, at least so far. It will be interesting placing these in relation to trying two Vietnamese black tea versions recently; I'll mention in the notes if anything stands out, parallels or contrasts, or a general quality comparison. The posts will seem to go up in reverse order since I submitted that to TChing for use, but that review will still also appear here. On with it then.
Review:
First infusion: I gave this a long enough soak that I won't be saying that I'll be able to tell what it's like more next round, over 10 seconds, and it's probably a bit strong for infusing that long. Different black teas infuse at different rates, and it's hard to tell from looking at dry leaf how that's going to go. I would assume that it relates to how rolled / kneaded the leaf was, and oxidation level, but what would I know.
It is interesting! In the other Vietnamese black tea review mentioned I kept going on about a savory note in one, which tasted like sun-dried tomato, and this includes such a thing. I'm not sure if this will evolve to a sour fruit range with lots of mineral base, as that did, or if it will transition to something else. This includes fruit too, a little towards black cherry, but the moderate sourness / tartness stops it from coming across as that. That effect would probably be different brewed slightly lighter, and teas often shift in character over the first few rounds, so it's early to guess what it will be like. Intensity is good, and balancing sweetness level, and warm mineral tones. This is clean in effect, without notable flaws, unless one sees that one flavor aspect as a poor match for preference. To me it's good, and I expect it will keep improving.
Second infusion: better balanced, for being brewed quite fast, but probably erring on the too-fast side, a few seconds of infusion time. I wanted to really place what that higher infusion strength input was contributing, and brewing a round a bit light will help with that. It goes without saying in these reviews that brewing is Gongfu style and proportion is maxed out; it's just how I almost always prepare teas.
This hits on so many levels that there isn't one aspect that stands out as primary. Sweetness is there, but a fruit range that doesn't seem tied to sweetness stands out, maybe closest to a tart version of cherry right now. Warm mineral depth isn't just a base, it's on an even level with the rest for intensity. Complexity and flavor intensity is so developed that I think warm floral range and some limited degree of spice is present beyond those main ranges. It's so intense in flavor that it carries across in aftertaste experience.
Third infusion: probably improving, but not so different than before. There's an interesting feel I've not described yet, a fullness and dryness. It reminds me a little of how really good Assam can come across, a hint of the feel that ties to cheaper, lower quality, maltier and rougher versions. Now that I think of it this should be described as malty too. Not malty in the sense of Ovaltine or malted milk balls, but malty in the sense that Assam is, a drier version of that. This is closer to a really good version of orthodox Assam than to Dian Hong; strange. I wonder if this material wasn't grown at lower elevation, and hot climate input didn't contribute to that. Probably not, since this is from the Chiang Rai area, and it's typically a bit higher up, and cooler; it's probably just a coincidence that it worked out like that for style.
So far I've said that this is a bit malty, and slightly sour, like sour cherry, with plenty of warm mineral base, and other range more like other floral input. All that works, but there is more to it than that. The way those warm tones work together this almost tastes a bit like a lightly roasted coffee. It's still in a good quality tea range, of course, but there's an intensity and depth across a warm toned range that matches that general theme, more than it tastes exactly like coffee. It's a bit unique in that sense; I don't remember the same general effect coming up. Sweetness level balances that well enough but with just a bit lighter tone, more sweetness, and a touch more warm fruit range this would be amazing, instead of just really novel and pleasant. I guess someone could add sugar to it, and accomplish half of that transition, I'm just not in the habit of doing that to tea this good. I just ate longan and banana for breakfast, before this tasting, it could also be that the really sweet breakfast shifted my palate in terms of expectations and judgment.
Fourth infusion: this keeps getting better; that's an interesting effect. I would say that it picks up depth and balance but it seems pretty deep and reasonably well balanced across the whole cycle. It's that the proportion of aspects I've already described keeps shifting, with those integrating better now than in the earlier rounds. Feel seems richer as opposed to a touch dry now too, with aftertaste more pleasant for being based on that feel and a more balanced flavor set.
Other than being a lot better tea than one would typically eat breakfast with this would be perfect for that role, complementing rich and sweet foods, or I suppose it could even work with more savory range, as Thais tend to eat for breakfast. It still does include a sun-dried tomato savory aspect range, it's just diminished and a secondary tone that balances the rest now, where it really stood out instead in the first two rounds. I had thought fruit might evolve in some other way, but this is still tasting like a tart cherry, with warm floral tone developing as secondary range more.
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the pictures get redundant but it was beautiful in appearance |
Fifth infusion: not evolving or changing much, but not fading in the slightest either. This might have 5 more positive and intense rounds to go, and a late stage transition could be even more positive than it has been so far, which is already quite pleasant. The warm tone shifts a little towards cocoa, and tartness eases up, so to a limited extent it is still improving, just less quickly than before. Maybe I will give this one more slightly longer infusion and see how that goes, probably around 15 seconds.
Sixth infusion: it seems like even minor shifts in infusion strength affect how that warm tone and feel come across, in relation to lighter tones, fruit, and floral range showing through. It seems drier and heavier in tone brewed even that little bit stronger. Aftertaste picks up too, and the intensity of the experience. There's not enough range that one would tend to see as negative for this being stronger to seem like a problem, so it's down to optimizing effects and balance, not avoiding any.
Conclusions:
A unique and very good black tea. It was interesting that the style leaned a little towards really good orthodox Assam, a version that included a good bit of fruit, instead of really good Dian Hong. That probably related as much to a relatively random plant type input as anything else. It was also interesting that the tea kept seeming better and better, that it evolved so much in character over so many rounds, and all the changes were from it seeming like a good tea to an exceptional one. It wasn't done where these notes left off either; it made another half dozen very pleasant infusions, just as good as the fifth and sixth.
In the other post I had mentioned about Vietnamese teas (Viet Sun black tea versions) I talked about how novel plant type input probably caused one to be really distinctive, maybe in a way one could interpret as matching some aspects of good Taiwanese black tea. Minor variations in processing steps and that plant material input difference, along with terroir / growing conditions input, all can lead to these types of wild origin input versions being quite unique. Or at least I think that's what this is; I've only discussed the teas in general a little with Aphiwat, not a confirmation of this version's background.
I also mentioned that I would share some photos he shared of Aker indigenous people wearing traditional clothing, as follows. There are more photos of the tea itself, and pictures of people and his family, in this post from three years ago. It was interesting re-reading a naming convention issue related to his tribe name, which at first I thought was Akha, but that turned out to be wrong, per his description:
We are not Archer Arkhar. The real name is Aownye Gaokhue, or Aownyer Kokhue. But other people call us Archer Arkha.
So apparently they end up designated as a sub-group of a main indigenous group, the Akha, but they see that as misidentification, since they're not related to that other group. And then he later clarified that using Aker as a short version of designation is probably most accurate, or at least it's acceptable.
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