A tea vendor friend recently visited Bangkok, Peter from Tea Mania, and he dropped off some samples to try (many thanks). These are the first I've tried, Baozhong oolong, a light oolong style from Taiwan.
I've had great experiences with their teas in the past. This was a main source I ordered teas from just a few years ago, but I've drifted on to trying and buying more local Thai and Vietnamese teas since. Their earlier sheng pu'er versions were really nice; it will be particularly interesting trying some of those. This oolong range I've tried some of but not that much in relation to other tea types; it should also be interesting. In the past versions have been fresh, light, flavorful, and pleasant, novel in flavor aspect sets.
Ordinarily I'd cite the product listings to add more background but the site isn't pulling up just now, at least not to click through to the right page. More information should be here, at some point. There is another Baozhong sample with these that I didn't try yet; maybe I'll add a section about all three then, and talk through some background a little.
It's interesting that one is 2021 and another 2022, and I didn't really go too far into what that limited aging input would've changed, not that I know. It's often a habit to make things up and guess, but I didn't, beyond adding a couple of sentences at the very end.
I didn't comment on this nerd theme either; am I really a nerd? I'm an engineer, and I take exploration of some subjects a bit far, and my personality is defined in some atypical ways, but I don't see much to gain from taking on a related label. I suppose it would fit if I were into that.
Review:
Lishan #1: fresh, sweet, and bright. I'll need to be careful to give these longer steeps to compensate for using less, maybe 5 or 6 grams in these samples, but brewing a tea light the first round works for me. This really is in between more conventional oolong and light and smooth green tea character, kind of as expected. But it doesn't have the aggressive tone a lot of very light Tie Guan Yin can have, in the best cases straight floral, and then when not as positive maybe including sweet corn, or even new car smell. This is floral, mostly, but there is a vegetal component to it, closer to sugar snap peas. It's nice.
Pinglin: this character overlaps a little but it's heavier, and different. Floral tones are much deeper and heavier. There's an aspect beyond the floral range that's hard to place as of yet, not unrelated to vegetal range, but not exactly that either. It's aromatic and warm spice, I think, like incense spice, sandalwood or the like (I couldn't identify different incense spices, to be clear; my exposure has been very limited over the past 25 years).
Lishan #2: being a bit stronger helps, although warming in tones is kind of neutral; the lightness and brightness of the first round was also pleasant. Feel picks up. Floral range fills in more depth, there is more of a broader set of floral tones, including some that are warmer. The tea is still quite light, in comparison to other versions' range; I mean in comparison with the first round. It's not exactly complex but there is enough going on to appreciate it.
That one floral range that I associate with high mountain Taiwanese oolongs is present, a light floral scent. In rolled oolongs that can be really intense, so that you might want to brew a tea lightly to offset it being a bit much, unless you really appreciate the rich feel and aftertaste parts more, then you'd just go for it. Again this is pleasant.
Pinglin: there's really something to the depth, complexity, and intensity of this. Compared to the sheng versions I usually drink it's on the light side, in terms of feel and flavor impact, but there is a lot going on, more than in the other tea, I think. Richer and warmer range makes it come across as more intense, although I suppose maybe it's just an illusion that it's more complex, tied to how I interpret a warmer and deeper flavor set. Probably it's both though.
That one aspect I tried to describe might not be a spice input, as much as just an unusually strong and rich floral aspect, that stands out against a field of others. It's like lavender, close enough that it works to call it that. There is also a broad range of other lighter floral tones, and warm depth, some sort of base that's harder to separate out as specific flavors. Often that would be underlying mineral range, but it's not so clear in this.
It may really be a hint of a few things, underlying mineral, warmth tied to spice, and even some sort of vegetal note, which I'm not really pinning down. Then for being so complex it's interesting how that one particular floral note is stronger than the rest, the lavender. Not so much that it dominates the experience; in fact the opposite. It's just stronger, so it sets up an unusual harmony, not really even a "foreground" effect, but just something standing out a little.
Lishan #3: this transitioned some; somehow a fruit tone seems to be evolving. Whenever that kind of thing happens it makes you wonder to what extent it had already been there, and you'd just missed it. It tastes a good bit like yellow watermelon. I suppose that it could taste exactly the same and it's just an association or new interpretation that I'm adding. It seems a little more complex as a result.
Pinglin: this may have just flattened out just a little, the opposite. It seems possible that warm tone range is picking up slightly, while floral range fades, but it's a subtle shift. Mineral seems more pronounced too, giving it just a little extra depth. It comes across as a heavier range and stronger tea than the other. Someone really into that one light floral note that's pronounced in Taiwanese oolongs might like the first better, pushing it harder than I have been to get intensity up. I would imagine plenty of sheng drinkers could relate to the second better, for coming across as slightly more complex and intense, with the warmer tone range just depending on individual preference.
This seems like a good place to give these a longer soak and then leave off the notes, since I'd expect them to fade as much as to keep evolving from here. I've been giving the half a minute infusion times, which is a lot longer than I use for a packed-out gaiwan proportion. I'll only infuse them for a minute, nothing too crazy.
Lishan #4: this really shines at this stage. Intensity isn't so pronounced; soaking that for two minutes might have been even better. It's fine for an experience though, strong enough. There aren't really new descriptions to add. Light and sweet floral tones are giving way to more depth of other range, with mineral picking up, and non-distinct vegetal range playing more of a role. I could see this as including fruit but it's not as natural an interpretation this round. Maybe that light vegetal input is close to fennel.
Pinglin: fading, in a sense, but this still has plenty to offer. It's possible that a 3 or 4 minute soak for both could be the best yet, although I would imaging trade-offs would enter in, and aspects that pick up wouldn't all be as positive as the first rounds' range.
It's interesting how these are light in effect but also have a depth and odd kind of intensity to them; it's an interesting contradiction. They're what I expected from minimal exposure to related types range in the past, among the least of any main tea types that I've tried. Baozhong would be "main" in a limited sense; listing out the main half dozen types of oolong to me it may not make that list (Wuyi Yancha, Dan Cong, Tie Guan Yin, high mountain rolled Taiwanese versions, Oriental Beauty, then I'd go with "red oolong" as more standard, oxidized versions up near the black tea boundary). That's even without dividing up types; more oxidized and roasted Tie Guan Yin is completely different than very light versions.
Lishan #5: more vegetal range does pick up, brewing this for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes instead. It's still pleasant, just not improved.
Pinglin: that one floral note comes back stronger brewed longer; that is nice. Vegetal range, mineral, and whatever else doesn't pick up much. I suppose it regains more intensity and fullness, and that's it, nothing stands out as negative, or even pronounced.
It's odd that I've not mentioned oxidation level. It seemed as well to just focus on the tea experiences, since going on with guesses about causes wouldn't add much. Sure, this may be oxidized a little more. And it's from 2021 instead of 2022, but I'd expect that transition didn't include that much shift to warmer and deeper tones, although it should've been some. I'd guess that it started out different, and then both might've changed in different ways over 2 to 3 years as well.
Probably one more long round will close out most of the positive range these have to offer, although who knows, maybe they'd keep going, or an extra cold brew from them could be good. I'll leave off the notes here either way.
No extra conclusions this time; those descriptions seemed clear enough.
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