I'm reviewing the next two types of oolongs that were part of a set sent by ITea World for review. This follows an earlier review of Dan Cong and Tie Guan Yin versions, here. I had liked that Dan Cong more, but both seemed pleasant, and a reasonable value as moderate cost, above average quality, high volume tea outlet versions.
The same holds true for these, again with one outshining the other, per my personal preference. The teas come as part of a sample set, here; they don't seem to be sold separately. 100 grams of four types of oolong are sold as 5 ounce separate samples, for 1475 baht, about $45. That would be a good price if quality was exceptional, and not all that great a value if it was lower-medium level, and to me it seems fair for what the teas are, pretty good but not necessarily great. They do seem a bit better than the versions they sent for review a year or so before.
To me the Dan Cong and Da Hong Pao really outshined the other two versions, but personal preference factors into such a judgement, even though I see it as also based on a fairly objective assessment of quality level and trueness to a standard type. This post spells all that out in great detail, related to these two teas.
In that earlier post I reviewed how some alternative sources work out, and I'll sample one from the top of a Google search list here to do the same, to clarify the one type, and support what I'm claiming about a market value:
Palais Des Thes Zhang Ping Shui Xian Grand Cru (selling for $48 per 100 grams)
This Zhang Ping Shui Xian Grand Cru, which translates to “water fairy from Zhang Ping”, is harvested in the namesake village in Fujian province, China. The tradition of oolong compression continues here: growers carefully compress oolong made from the Shui Xian cultivar into small cubes.
A superb oolong with delicate white flower, yellow fruit and vanilla notes which develop against a subtly powdered texture.
In order to bring out all the aromatic complexity of this tea, we recommend multiple infusions using the traditional Chinese Gong Fu Cha method.
Maybe that's roughly equivalent in quality level and style, or maybe it's better, or possibly even lower in quality level; there's no way to know without trying it. That Google search turned up countless other examples, some costing significantly less, and again only trying them would indicate style, aspect range, and quality.
Review:
Da Hong Pao: this is nice. It's so heavy on cinnamon flavor that it seems more type-typical for Rou Gui than Da Hong Pao, but it probably includes more Rou Gui than Shui Xian, and probably little or none of Qi Dan or Bei Dou, the more original DHP cultivars. Da Hong Pao means two different things: a derivative version of one of the original plant versions (7 originally, was it?), or else a style, most typically a blend of other plant types made to taste a certain way, typically with an upper-medium roast input level. This could be the second thing. Or it's conceivable that it could just be Rou Gui, but I doubt that.
This producer outlet listing of blended Da Hong Pao clarifies what I mean, about DHP also referring to a blend.
It's good, the main thing. And the style is fine for the DHP range; it's appropriate. It includes a good bit of inky mineral depth that works as a quality level marker across a lot of Wuyi Yancha range (just not always present; the styles of those vary, and plant types). Sweetness is good, as is flavor range and overall balance. Aftertaste is pronounced, already, including mostly that heavy cinnamon note.
Other flavor range matches ordinary DHP scope. Warm mineral and cinnamon stand out the most, and the warm tones of a roast input (probably coupled with significant oxidation, not the low level version). The rest is what people tend to describe in lots of different ways, as a familiar range, but one that doesn't map over to food and other flavor experience all that well. It tastes like leather, or aromatic dark woods, towards incense spice, and so on. It's not dis-similar to some dried fruit, like tamarind, but that's not it. Probably an obscure spice reference is better than that whole list of guesses.
Zhangping Shui Xian: this isn't really opened up yet; it will probably take two long infusions just to get it going. I'll pass on an early impression anyway. It's too light to come across as positively as it will when brewed stronger. Often a bright freshness is a main part of this style of oolong, if the couple of examples I've tried are an indication, and this doesn't include all that much of that just yet. The flavor that is present isn't too far off good Tie Guan Yin range.
If floral tones pick up, and sweetness, and a fresh edge, this will be right where it should be. If not it will be a decent but somewhat muted version of this style. I'll take it apart to give it a chance to express itself better.
DHP #2: mineral tones really pick up, from pronounced to quite strong. That's positive, as I see it, a normal form of this type. Roast input is moderate enough that that's lending to this effect quite a bit but it doesn't taste charred, in a good balance. For people loving a lighter style of these range of teas that's not ideal, but DHP typically is like this, so those people should be drinking something else, a single cultivar type identified as made in that style. Oddly when a version is sold as Qi Dan or Bei Dou it wouldn't usually be made in exactly this style; DHP really does refer to a processing form, even when the most original plant types are made into something that could fairly be called that, or really represent the original range even more than this evolved modern form does.
Aftertaste is good in this, and feel thickness is upper medium, so in a pretty good balance. The mineral really stays with you. It really tastes like ink smells, as it should. That effect leans a little towards a liqueur or perfume like character.
This is what you hope random gambling-oriented purchases of DHP in Chinatown shops would be like, and it almost never is. I like lower quality DHP too though; to me some styles carry over and work better as lower quality versions, even giving up a positive attribute here or there. Lower medium quality Tie Guan Yin can be drinkable but not as pleasant. Moderate quality Dian Hong can be great. I suppose that's all more about my subjective preference than anything that is grounded beyond my experience.
Zhangping Shui Xian: it has good depth, and is pleasant in character. The main limitation seems to come from my own expectations, of this including bright floral range and freshness. It's not like that, at least not in a pronounced form. The main flavor is quite similar to Tie Guan Yin range, but a warmer and more vegetal variation of that. I suppose that's like Taiwanese oolong, just without the one pronounced unusual note those tend to include, a strong floral tone. I could imagine people loving this style, but I don't. It needs a bit more sweetness and floral range to tie the rest together.
It says on the packaging this is from an old plant source, and in some cases forward or higher end intensity can be diminished in older plants, swapped out for a greater depth. That doesn't hold as true for Dan Cong; the range of sweet and aromatic tones in those tends to have a strong forward, higher end, more fragrant component, even in styles and versions where depth is more pronounced. I'm not familiar enough with this style range to place it as just a normal variation or else atypical instead.
Other quality markers, beyond sweetness and flavor intensity, aren't as positive as they could be. Thickness of feel is very limited, as is aftertaste. It just doesn't seem exceptional. It's good though, it's ok, but not as pleasant or seemingly a match in quality level to the DHP version. That also isn't really in the "best of the best" range, but it's very positive, and works well, even venturing into complex and refined character, so close enough.
DHP #3: more of the same; as described before. I'd be surprised if this isn't half Rou Gui. If so that's fine; they seem to have blended inputs that balance each other well, which is a good example of that second definition of Da Hong Pao. A touch more woodiness enters in this round; this may be as positive as it will be, and could transition to be less exceptional over 2 or 3 more rounds. We'll see.
Zhangping Shui Xian: also more of the same. A bit of additional warm spice may be picking up; it's better than in the first two rounds. There is a fullness and depth to this, across flavor and to a lesser extent also feel range, with a touch more aftertaste expression picking up. For people who love the greenest / lightest styles of Wuyi Yancha this may work well enough. I can appreciate that style range, depending on what aspects are there, and I like this, but to me it's not really exceptional.
Beyond lacking intensity, and some flavor aspect range that could be present, it includes no flaws. It's hard to explain how that defines it, or where to place it in relation to what's not there. This could easily taste woody, or include a trace of sourness, and so on, and it doesn't. I might have not mentioned much for flavor yet, beyond that it's vaguely vegetal, in a neutral sense. It's probably floral too, in a relatively neutral sense, as something like chrysanthemum is. That's why it comes across as including depth and some complexity, even though flavor intensity is limited.
I'll give these one more 30 second or so infusion and then leave off taking notes. That won't cover how they transition through the last half of the infusion range, but I can mention something about that later in a conclusion section, after drinking more later.
I'm brewing 5 grams each of these, the sample versions, which is more like conventional Gongfu approach than I usually use. I tend to max out proportion, brewing 7 or 8 grams in a 100 ml gaiwan, requiring using 10 to 15 second infusion times across the first half of the cycle, and resulting in brewing over a dozen rounds. Either way works.
DHP 4: this might be fading a little; that can happen, for using a lower proportion, and extending brewing times. It's far from done but this won't make it past a dozen infusions, or maybe even 10. I bet you could keep stretching this though, brewing it for 45 seconds to a minute lots of times, then even longer. Cinnamon is fading as woody tones pick up; it's on the downhill side of positive character too.
I was drinking both on the strong side, really pushing them both to drink this strong related to the other being subtle in character. You could use shorter times and light infusion strength and this DHP would've been fine, or maybe better, per someone else's taste preference.
Zhangping Shui Xian: it's fine, not different than last round.
I might mention that as a sheng pu'er drinker I'm acclimated to a really high intensity level in tea character. For someone dialed into a lighter range this would probably come across better. The intensity of the DHP brewed a bit strong worked for me, but this stays a bit subtle, picking up depth but not overall intensity. Sweetness and bright floral tone missing seemed a limitation, although I suppose that it's possible that this is one conventional style version of this tea type.
Conclusions:
Those did start fading after that, so durability wasn't exceptional for either, but again I was pushing the teas related to using a low proportion (for me) and brewing them a bit strong.
So how good were they? To me it's important to specify that within a range. Were they presented as exceptional quality, boutique producer teas, or as better than average standard outlet versions? Were they supposed to compete with the better curator vendor offerings, or instead high volume online outlets, or Chinatown shops? In the middle, I think. I'll add pricing and some background during the final editing but from the last review these are sold as medium priced teas, implying a medium level of quality.
In relation to that they're good. I liked the Da Hong Pao version more, and it seemed like a better quality tea to me, but both were nice enough. Both fell within a general range for type, although perhaps the Shui Xian could've been a little different, brighter in tone, with more floral range, and sweeter. As I've mentioned this could've been within a standard range though; it's not a type or style I'm all that familiar with, having only tried a couple of related versions before.
In the last combined review from this set I liked the Dan Cong version more than the Tie Guan Yin, and to some extent that could've related to my preference for type matching that pattern. That could've happened again. I'm interpreting my impression as an objective assessment of style (match to standard type) and quality instead, but the themes and impression range can mix, to some extent.
It can be hard to be more specific; just how good were these, on a scale of 1 to 10, in relation to what is selling in mainstream outlets of other types at different pricing, etc. I think the Da Hong Pao would be as good as what higher volume outlets (or smaller vendors too) sell for 40 cents per gram or so, if their value was good. Market-style online outlets might carry more versions that aren't quite that good, with this equating to their higher end range.
It's harder to say for the Shui Xian; the style is less common and less familiar. Pricing might run slightly higher due to novelty. I don't think this is an uncommon type or form, at this point, but it does seem like it's a type and presentation that has evolved relatively recently, at least related to Western exposure, to the extent types like Da Hong Pao and the Dan Cong and Tie Guan Yin ranges have been available. The quality and aspects weren't as appealing for this version as the other, but it is a more novel style.
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