A tea friend, Jan, started his own vending business some years ago, based in the Netherlands, and he just sent some samples for me to try. It's mostly pu'er, it seems; perfect for what I like.
As usual I've written notes without looking at details, and since these names don't ring a bell I only knew that it was sheng pu'er. They're pretty good, so it's interesting going back to see what they actually are:
Beng Long 蚌龙 2022 (21.80 Euro for 100 grams; $24.20 USD)
Beng Long is a village in Menghai, Xishuangbanna. This tea is made from 50 - 70 year old trees, that grow on an elevation of 1800m in a good natural environment. The tea has been stored as Mao Cha for a year in Jinghong before being pressed into small 100g cakes.
We tried this tea multiple times as Mao Cha (unpressed Puerh) and felt it being great as a tea for traveling or a daily drinker.
Taste: Probably one of our more upfront bitter teas giving a good energy.
Trees: 50 - 70 year old tress growing in a natural environment
Origin: Beng Long (village), Menghai, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China
I tried both together; in a sense that's to compare versions directly, but also just to write half as many reviews and still cover the same amount of teas. Getting around to doing the notes and editing once on a weekend is enough.
The price difference is interesting; this costs three times as much, and references the all too familiar gushu theme.
Review:
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Beng Long on the left, in all photos |
Beng Long #1: that's quite intense; I didn't see that coming. I let these brew a little longer than I typically do, even for a first round, maybe 20 seconds, and this got started really fast. The proportion is quite high for these too. The sample looks to be right at 10 grams, which is a lot. But then I didn't want to brew 6 or 7, a more optimum tasting amount, and have 3 or 4 left over. Maybe I should have? Or brewed 5 and 5? That would make sense.
I've been brewing versions that are hard to separate as much as this looser form, or samples pressed as coins; I guess that's why this outcome seemed unexpected, even though if you brew a maxed out proportion for 20 seconds that's what happens.
Bitterness stands out, and sweetness, but there is interesting range beyond that. It expresses unusual vegetal character, and beyond that quite a bit of complexity. It's probably as well to wait a round to do a list though, to let it get going, and to describe it brewed lighter.
Wa Long: this is interesting for brewing so dark. Two years isn't long enough for that kind of transition, even for teas stored here, in the hottest and wettest place imaginable. Leaf appearance looks mixed in color; maybe parts are oxidized, or some parts a little over-roasted (from pan-frying), or both. It could be a novel experience, seeing how all that unpacks. Warmth is interesting in this. Of course there's substantial bitterness up front too, that stands out more, but this includes a lot of complexity, and depth. Again I'll do a fast second round and describe both then.
Beng Long #2: much better balance. Bitterness is really something in this; it's one of those teas in the higher end of the range for that. I'm relatively open to those but it can be a challenge, especially for a combined tasting. As is common bright and even somewhat complex floral range adjoins that, and decent sweetness.
It sounds like I'm describing a broad regional standard character, doesn't it? Was that Lincang? My mind is not retaining information like it had 20 years ago. The funny part about that is when something sticks it really does, and when it doesn't it's as if there's a system glitch about never holding onto that information range. If someone's name isn't sticking hearing it a few dozen times won't help.
Not much of a list. Bitterness, sweetness, and floral range stand out, and the vegetal note is pretty standard, like flower stem, or tasting a tree bud. It's good, for that kind of style.
Wa Long: this is tracking in an unusual direction instead. It includes a lot of that same range too, it overlaps, the bitterness, sweetness, and floral range, but the warm tones are not just different, they're a bit unique. This reminds me of loving Vietnamese sheng that's atypical (not that this is; some flavor range is unique, and for those I'm talking about something else, a more unusual character). For those Vietnamese teas some others who tried them didn't like them, seeing them as yeasty, too oxidized, not properly balanced by bitterness and astringency, and just odd. This is basically in a typical range, with one part novel, some of the flavor.
It's not breaking down to a description well, at this point. It's a little towards a warm wood range, or even spice, but it's not distinct yet. It may cross over through some dried fruit range as it transitions, or go much heavier into spice. We'll see, and I'll write more of a list as it goes.
These are pretty intense teas; I suspect the feel will go along with the flavor intensity, and I won't get far through rounds before needing a break. I'm feeling pretty sluggish from effects from a run yesterday evening, and I have a busy day planned, so that could work out, having a lunch in the middle, and absolutely getting dosed.
Beng Long #3: overall balance falls together nicely. For someone on that page, for loving high bitterness, highly floral range this would be perfect. I might like it more in two more years, once all that settles a bit. That bright, fresh, intense flavor isn't going anywhere; I wouldn't worry about it dropping out, as can be a real concern with more approachable, sweeter, lighter teas, which often include less bitterness and orient a bit more towards fruit tones.
It would interesting trying this alongside a Da Xue Shan version I had not long ago, this one, from 2023 (that is Lincang, the broader area). It was one year younger, and might've been that much more intense and bitter, a little more challenging. They're kind of similar, and it would be interesting to see just how similar.
I should've brewed this in two parts, as two 5 gram sessions; these are way too intense maxed out for proportion like this. It's not like I couldn't possibly foresee that either. I rely on intuition to tell me how to prepare teas, and which to try, and I don't know that it gets things wrong sometimes, but I'm not always clear on where it's coming from. Maybe I felt an inclination to really get dosed? I did get a sluggish start to the day, and have things to do.
Wa Long: a touch of dryness to the feel structure is entering in. The warm tones are still hard to separate apart (beyond floral range; a main component). One part is like aromatic wood, like cedar. Then it seems to connect with warmer mineral range. There may well be spice range beyond that, which is hard to really separate out, since those flavors mix as a set.
I just re-tried a tea (sheng) that tasted a lot like a warmer version of wood, straight wood, and I really don't care for that, and it's not what I mean related to this. It's mostly bitter, then also floral, with decent sweetness for balance, and then these other flavors are supporting that range. The main flavor range is fairly conventional.
Beng Long #4: warmth picks up, and complexity, and it had plenty going on before. It's odd how this takes a short step towards the other in terms of character. Bitterness is still the main part of the experience, but it's more balanced now, already. For brewing half as much of this, dropping proportion, it would be easier to dial that intensity level to where you like it. Just using fast infusions is working though.
General pleasantness isn't coming across clearly in these descriptions. Feel is pretty substantial, rich and not too rough or dry, and aftertaste experience adds complexity. Nothing else is off about it. That vegetal range does include a little plant stem / green wood tone, but it's secondary, after the bitterness, sweetness, and floral range, so it integrates well.
Wa Long: that one warm flavor range continues to evolve, as it seemed that it would. It still does taste a bit like aromatic wood, like cedar, with some spice undertone, but a bit more fruit joins it, something like dried citrus peel, or not completely unrelated dried tamarind.
What about camphor; that flavor keeps coming up in vendor descriptions, when I don't really see it? Sure, maybe. There's an edgy and warm medicinal tone to this too, and I think plenty of people would interpret that as camphor. I tend not to, trying to break it down further to parts that are causing that effect, but it's a little like that.
It's interesting how the bitterness, warm wood or spice tone, floral range, and some fruit mix in effect. It's so complex, but it integrates. It's not really "catchy," not the kind of set of flavors or complex experience that everyone would love, but I think a lot of more experienced pu'er drinkers would completely get it.
I'll drink a bit of water to get this hui gan effect to clear, then one more round, and get back to these after doing other things. They'll both brew many more rounds, and keep shifting some, but I think the first 5 rounds will tell a lot of the story. That reminds me of another favorite blogger who always writes out dozen round reviews, always highlighting transitions, mentioning a new flavor aspect for each round, making it sound like he is drinking 3 or 4 different teas, when it's just one. You can kind of see what you look for in experiencing or reviewing teas; if the focus is on flavor transition then some of it is there to be noticed.
Beng Long #5: that vegetal range bumped a little this round, for some reason. It's along the line of kale, although green wood also works as an interpretation. Again heavy bitterness, sweetness, and floral range dominate even more, and that other aspect stands out a lot for being novel. Sheng can taste like green wood but the other range seems more common.
Wa Long: it's interesting how that novel flavor set, which I've said enough about, seems to integrate more and simplify. It's not as if it's losing complexity (not much, at least), but seems to come across as all one thing more. For being in this novel range I'd really expect some part of that to be more negative, for an off aspect to be included that makes the rest more challenging. I guess like green wood; that works as an example, even though to me it's not so negative in the other version.
This comes across as fairly balanced and refined, where with just a touch of odd flavor or mustiness it wouldn't, at all. Even a thin spot could throw off that balance, for example if sweetness level didn't support the rest, as it does.
These don't necessarily match what I love most in sheng experience, to be clear. I'm a fan of quite drinkable versions, including some fruit, and a bit less bitterness, even when that comes at a cost, for example when a version gives up some intensity, or overall balance. They're good though.
Of course I drank lots more infusions later, I just didn't get back to taking notes. They may have transitioned a little more, but in general didn't seem so different than where they left off.
Conclusions:
I didn't comment on these in relation to the product descriptions or prices, since I hadn't read that before writing those notes. It's interesting that one costs three times the price of the other. The Wa Long does seem better, in a few senses, in a more interesting and pleasant flavor range, with nothing about it seeming negative, or like a flaw. The Beng Long seemed nice to me too; some people might be put off by a touch of green wood in the flavor range, but to me that was fine, since it integrated fairly well with sweetness and pronounced floral range.
It's tempting to try to summarize a quality level assessment, and then move on to judging value. Does the tea version that I liked a little more justify costing three times as much? Local area demand factors in, not just character. People love the gushu theme, and value it. Then it's tempting to critique that entire context.
What are they seeing, and valuing? I've been reviewing other teas that are presented as gushu sheng versions, and others said to have won awards in competitions. It's not just about teas having good flavor range, complexity, intensity, and balance, with bitterness level and sweetness matching in a positive way, or versions lacking flaws. An emphasis on depth comes up. This is hard to even describe; it relates in part to a mineral layer supporting the rest.
It's a type of intensity, but not forward flavor intensity. I don't see it as all that positive, in terms of adding that much to the experience. Some people claim that it relates to very positive aging potential, but I'm not so sure about that either. I've tried plenty of tea said to be gushu that just went dead, while much more challenging and inexpensive versions were still becoming more approachable.
To me claims of quality level for oolong, green, and black teas are easier to unpack. Flavor range is emphasized, and in the highest quality levels the aspects I see as "quality markers" make sense. They're not always so desirable that they make a lot of practical difference between 40 cent a gram tea and 80 cent versions, but at least you can notice them, and they seem positive. Really if a sheng version has positive and novel flavor range, with good intensity and complexity, good balance, a lack of flaws, and decent refinement it's enough. All that is a lot to ask from versions that aren't blended--using multiple material inputs--to cover all that range effectively, and mixing different location materials instead trades out some flavor distinctiveness.
In conclusion, these teas are good. I wouldn't buy 70 cents a gram sheng, but I get it why people can easily have a looser tea budget than I do, and can value unique experiences. I'd buy decent Yiwu before this Wa Long version, which can be moderate in cost, if it's not "gushu." It would be more standard in flavor profile, and overall character, so more ordinary, but I like that pleasant, approachable range. I don't even buy much Yiwu, to be clear; it's more a comparison reference.
I can relate to that other relatively bitter sheng style, it's just also not a favorite range. I was happy that a local tea friend gave me a whole cake of a version that's like that (200 grams; it's a bit though), so I can drink it when I feel like it. If Jan meant that once in awhile it's really pleasant drinking something like that grandpa style, mixing up what you experience, in calling it a "daily drinker," then I completely agree. Or sometimes you just feel like dialing up the bitterness and intensity. Usually not so much that I want to drink a partly aged Xiaguan or Dayi Jia Ji tuo version, but once in awhile I'll even go that far.
I don't see that tea as being below average in quality level; to me it seems like a good value at that price, even though that does put it in the $80 or so standard size cake range, the low end of where a lot of better in-house vendor produced versions now land.
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