I've reviewed a similar version of this tea sent as a sample by Steve, the Viet Sun owner (here). I didn't re-read that before writing about this; any description tends to make you focus on finding specific flavor aspects or other character attributes. This time I've ordered a cake of it, and some black tea that sounded nice.
I'll keep this relatively short and simple, getting back to cite his online description during editing later. To be clear on context I tried this tea earlier in the week, without making notes, so I have a pretty good idea what I'll think of it, and it travelled to here about a week ago, so it may not be completely settled from the trip yet. It should mostly pick up a bit more intensity and complexity, if it changes at all.
That Viet Sun site listing description:
A very special tea from Sơn La province in northwest Vietnam.
This is a tea from one of the best ancient tree gardens deep in the forest in Bắc Yên district of Sơn La province. This tea was produced in a H'Mông village not far from the border of Yên Bái province.
Aggressive but with a gentleness, this tea brews up a thick floral sweet liquor. The moderate+ astringency and bitterness pairs really well with the heavy sweetness and kiss of smoke from the wok. A nice minerality also adds an interesting aspect to this tea.
You can expect this tea to go many rounds. Great tea for a bigger session with friends.
Rich, lasting Huigan with a strong focused qi.
370 gram cakes ($0.21/ gram)
Ok! It doesn't go out on a limb much with flavor aspect description, but I respect that. Interpretations vary so much that it's as well to set it aside, if it's possible to still give a feel for what the tea is like, and I get that from this. It's how I expected and hoped it would be.
I re-read that older blog post review notes and it talked a lot about a smoke input; that's not part of this tea. Since the first few rounds focus on that fading it barely gets around to a detailed flavor list, which tends to also be limited when trying multiple teas, as I was in that case, comparing it to two others from Thailand, one from Aphiwat and one from that Moychay forest initiative.
I thought it might soften and be better after a couple more years; this version might be more approachable. Or it's just as likely that my interpretation is varying but the tea character really isn't; it's easy to lose some focus when trying multiple teas, especially when you are focused more on smoke flavor than the rest.
Review:
first infusion: brewed too light to describe well, but the character still comes across nicely. It's sweet and fresh, aromatic and complex. It seems a bit fruity to me. Brewed this light an effect like melon comes across, which is quite pleasant, even though I don't like most kinds of melons. Probably that flavor interpretation and effect will shift again at a more normal intensity though.
second infusion: it's still sweet and a bit fruity, even more intense. There is a lot going on though, with that being contradicted by how the effect is still simple and direct. I think flavor complexity relates to a number of layers, but as of yet bitterness and feel structure are still on the limited side.
A good bit of the flavor range is just floral; it might be natural to interpret the fruitiness as just a part of that. There's a bit of more vegetal edge, just nothing like that one Thai sheng I keep going on about, which has a very intense input along a similar line, like green wood or plant stem. It's moderate in this. Part of the sweetness ties to a warm character element, like brown sugar; that's more of what I mean by it seeming complex. Mineral is pronounced, and it seems to spread across warmer and lighter tones, as a flinty and light mineral, and also a deeper, heavier mountain spring sort of flavor. The overall effect is that it's simple, light, and fresh, with medium intensity, even though what goes into that is complex.
third infusion: I'm trying a slightly heavier infusion to see what that changes, from light, to medium, now to heavy. I think the tea opened up at the same time, so what I'm describing as changes isn't mostly related to intensity difference, but that is a factor. The fruit picks up a pronounced citrus dimension, between lemon and lime. Feel thickens a lot, and aftertaste bumps considerably; both of those could connect to infusion strength. Bitterness increases too, but it's still in what I see as a moderate range. Or maybe a bit low; it seems likely that a touch of extra oxidation in processing may have offset the normal bitterness and added sweetness. The varying color of the leaves points towards that too, just not as a consistent input.
As far as how much I like this, the match to personal preference part, this is exactly how I hoped that this would be. I really like it. It's less challenging than the last two Thai sheng I've tried too, so maybe more people would share that preference in this case.
fourth infusion: I'm trying to imagine how else someone would interpret this; what could it be related to other spice, fruit, or other foods range? If you think of lemongrass that kind of works. That does actually taste a bit like a citrus component along with vegetal range, as the name states. Maybe this does include some grass taste, but to me it's not grassy in the sense green teas very often are; it tastes more like fresh cut hay.
Smelling the empty cup gives a cool effect, a strong warm honey tone.
fifth infusion: warm mineral shifts, and flavors come across slightly heavier; minor shifts in infusion strength change how the tea comes across quite a bit. It's odd how fruity this comes across without that being distinct. There's a touch of citrus that's somewhat clear and that's about it. Given that it would be natural to interpret it as floral range instead, since it's hard to place.
I wonder about feel effect but I went into this feeling pretty groggy. It's a Thai holiday and I took a nap later in the morning, not ideal for focusing on anything, and I feel much more energetic and brighter. Sitting outside on a sunny and breezy early afternoon is good for that too. I never really get the "cha qi" theme anyway; it could all be exactly as some people describe or just mostly imagination, or a mix.
sixth infusion: warm honey sweetness really picks up; interesting that would happen at this stage. It seems to tie together with a catchy rich and syrupy feel, even though there's no reason why those should be connected at either the cause or effect level, that I'm aware of. The citrus / lemongrass part complements that range well.
seventh infusion: Lemon is even stronger; it's cool how it keeps evolving. I'm brewing these rounds relatively quickly but intensity is still good. Character is really approachable, full in feel, with some bitterness, and great freshness, but not challenging at all. Feel structure is smooth and rich, not edgy.
This may have a couple minor character shifts to go but that's plenty for notes; something else comes up. The tea is nice.
Later editing notes: it was quite pleasant through another half a dozen rounds, and wasn't finished then, still positive, so I might have brewed about 15. Heavier mineral flavors dominated in very late rounds, which is normal enough, but some of that lighter citrus sweetness hung in there, balancing it, not as positively as before but it was still nice.
Related to the description of hui gan effect aftertaste (bitterness translating over to sweetness later, per one common interpretation), which was not really mentioned in this review, it wasn't especially pronounced but it did support an effect of overall complexity.
I'm less sure this will improve over 2 or 3 years than I was in reviewing that earlier version; it's pretty good now. I think it swap out freshness and pick up some depth for 2 or 3 years, and still be really nice, but I don't get the impression that it will improve beyond that. But what do I know.
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