ITea World sent a few sampler sets to try; I'll be awhile working through them. They include a Christmas and New Year's themed set, which a Dan Cong set is a part of. I guess that matches the holidays. And a Longjing set (less seasonal, but nice), and an aged tea set, based on a mix of pu'er and hei cha types.
To back up a little ITea World is a Chinese tea vendor re-branding initiative, shifting focus from an earlier product theme to selling basics, including sample sets, which have diversified to cover a good bit of range now. I've reviewed a lot of them, and they've initiated promotion through giving out sample sets to lots of people, including many who aren't tea bloggers or the like.
This all seems fine to me. It got to be a bit much on Reddit, especially r/tea, because giving sample sets to a dozen or more Redditors--who are into tea--resulted in a posting blitz there. But the rest works; most of the samples have ranged from basic to slightly better than average in quality and distinctiveness. Match to represented types has been pretty good. I suppose a wild origin set was a little less consistent than some of the rest, but that's how wild origin material and versions tend to go; there isn't a narrow, well-defined character range. Probably earlier, very low cost samples were more basic, limited in quality, but to some extent sets identified as more unique have been better.
Dan Cong is a challenging range, related to sourcing good versions. A lot of Dan Cong out there is known for including a distinctive form of astringency, which to me relates to low quality. Better versions aren't so harsh. Maybe that relates to lower elevation, mono-culture farmed, fertilizer boosted production, and less than optimum processing. Or who knows; it requires a lot of hearsay input for cause and effect sequences mapping onto final aspects to seem reliable. I won't be getting into any of that here.
I'll have to lean into judging general quality level and also specifying match to preference, since I can't really remember distinct floral tones. That would require quite a bit of scent training, or at least a different kind of memory than I possess. There have been plenty of orchids growing at our house, and lotus flowers, and lots of flowering vines, but I still don't remember those scents well. I've tried a good bit of Mi Lan Xiang (honey orchid) and Ya Shi (duck shit) Dan Cong versions, but probably won't keep comparing these back to those types much. That's honey orchid anyway, not the same as the one I'm trying, just plain orchid.
Onto review then, but I'll add a product listing and limited information after taking the notes.
I just noticed that they ran a sale offering 25 to 30% off ending yesterday, as of time of editing. Not so helpful mentioning that now. Chinese New Year is this month though; how could they not have a sale related to that?
That Dan Cong set contains 100 grams of tea, 20 samples of 5 grams each, listing for $110. $1 a gram is a standard pricing for high quality level tea, but I personally avoid that spending rate. With that holiday sale it would've been less, maybe around $70. The relative value depends on the quality level of these teas. They would have to be pretty far up the scale to justify even that discounted rate, and since I'm writing this after making review notes I can jump ahead to a conclusion about that: they are pretty exceptional.
I really didn't expect that; based only on the two versions I've tried these are slightly better than just about anything I've tried from ITea World. Their teas have been consistently within average quality range, or a bit above that, but not like these. Of course you really can't judge a whole set from two randomly chosen versions.
It's odd that set doesn't include Ya Shi, duck shit, isn't it? That type gets a lot of hype in Western tea circles, and good examples of it are nice. I asked someone in ITea World about that (indirectly), and they covered that in this Reddit post:
The "Top Ten Aromas" of Phoenix Dan Cong was established back in 1996 by professors and researchers from South China Agricultural University. At that time, Ya Shi Xiang wasn’t as popular. So, naturally, it didn’t make the cut.
2. The Evolution of Ya Shi Xiang
Before it gained fame, Ya Shi Xiang was originally known as Da Wu Ye (大乌叶/“Big Dark Leaf”) because of its large, dark leaves.
That answers another related question, which fragrance name Ya Shi relates to. I've tried Da Wu Ye, and never made that connection. These fragrance or aroma names imply that every version tastes relatively identical, which isn't exactly how it works out. They would be similar, and overlap in flavor, but wouldn't all be one thing. Even with completely identical plant genetics--which also isn't how that works out, except for with controlled cultivars--microclimate, soil input, and processing differences change outcome, and flavor aspects.
Related to brewing approach to me it would be a real shame to prepare these using Western style brewing, the 3 to 4 grams to a cup of water approach, brewing for 3 to 5 minutes. A lot of oolong range--and sheng pu'er--gives much better results using Gongfu brewing.
They include extra tea bags with a lot of their sample sets, including these, but I definitely wouldn't use them with this loose tea. Of course others could see it all differently.
Review:
Magnolia: that's quite pleasant. Dan Cong tends to be made in two different styles, or I suppose really as a continuum between those, but it works to describe it as two consistent ranges. One is lighter in oxidation and roast input, a "greener" version, which this is, and the other is more oxidized and roasted. I take the second to be more traditional, but who knows.
Freshness and brightness comes across well, and also depth, complexity, and refinement. Quality level seems pretty good. There is some astringency, but this is far from expressing that harsher edge. Good Dan Cong, and some other oolongs, tend to express a nice liqueur-like character, with the floral range expressed in a way that is reminiscent of perfume or liqueur, and this is like that. That depth and intensity carries across well as aftertaste, even though this is just getting started. It's a good start.
I suppose the deeper, richer, heavier floral tone may be like magnolia, but I really wouldn't know. It leans a little towards lavender scent and character effect, one of the few flower types I've encountered so many times that it's familiar.
Orchid: that floral range is really pleasant. The other was also nice, but this hits hard. I suppose it does remind me of orchid range, to the extent I could place that. Of course there are many versions of orchids, and some don't express that much scent. It's not so far off lotus scent, another familiar flower type.
The other was rich and full in character, but this is richer, deeper, and warmer. It's closer to that more oxidized and roasted style, even though it's really more in the middle. The balance is great, for getting good results from the tea's potential.
These are a little better than I would've expected. Pretty good Dan Cong is out there, not impossible to find, but rougher edged, more limited versions are a lot more common. It's my guess that I've tried a lot of the better range in the lighter style, from trying a lot of Wuyi Origin's range in the past. Cindy, one of my favorite tea producer and contacts, and a family member of the owners, married another tea producer from Chaozhou, where Dan Cong originates from, so they really do produce both tea ranges, of course along with many other family members. It would seem hasty to say that this is as good as their teas, or not as good, but these are really pretty good.
Related to a match to my own preference, even though it's early to call, the warmer tones and very distinctive orchid flavors make the second work better, for me.
Magnolia #2: I'm trying them brewed fast, and light. Intensity should still be fine, but they'll give up a bit of feel. This approach is used to offset what is often described as characteristic astringency, but again I've not noticed that being problematic in higher quality versions.
Flavor intensity is still fine, and it's easier to identify flavor brewed lighter (not that it helps; this is some variation of floral range, probably tasting like magnolia). Some creaminess still comes across, even though the other version had a thicker, richer feel, matching warmer flavor tones, and greater depth. One bright, almost citrusy aspect range in the flavors is quite pleasant. It's still floral tone, not actual citrus taste, but it's light and bright in a similar way. It does lean towards fruit though.
Orchid: that's really intense, for being brewed so fast, under 10 seconds. The increased lightness in the other version didn't carry across; this is rich, deep, and complex. Between both of these this is most intense floral range flavor experience I've been through in quite awhile. I guess that's a good thing; it is quite pleasant.
This doesn't seem like a traditional match to a Christmas theme, to me, in the sense of it being a conventional pairing, but it does work well as a parallel experience range. Maybe especially this second version, for including so much warmth and depth.
Let's get one possible connection out of the way: could these be flavored teas? I really doubt it. It is possible, since there could be much better extracted flavor products out there than I've encountered, but these don't relate to that general range of effect, as I see it. I've described a part of the first as matching a solvent flavor experience, but I've only encountered this type of form of that in the best oolong versions, also in Wuyi Yancha range. These are definitely strong and floral in character; unusually so. But I expect that's just an anomaly from finding much better than average versions.
If these have been scented they would've had to do so using a traditional form of contact with flowers, layering the two together, then separating the leaves back out. That is more possible. Again I doubt that happened, but if so these represent achieving very unusually positive results. The feel of the tea is also too positive; it perfectly matches how a good quality Dan Cong should feel. I don't think there is any way to adjust that; the material potential and processing had to be good to begin with.
Magnolia #3: this is good. It's the comparison with the other version that's making it seem more limited. Bright, sweet, complex floral tones are quite pleasant. Feel is nice, and astringency form and level balance well. Aftertaste experience is pleasant, adding complexity (or the effect of it). But the other version dials all that up just a little, in a form that I like better, with flavor range I also prefer. It makes this seem a bit thin, in comparison, even though that's really a style outcome, not exactly a quality limitation.
It probably helps to explain that in terms of flavor description. This includes a touch of what I tend to interpret as green wood. To me that's a natural continuation of that bright, light flavor character, the light floral tone leaning towards bright citrus. But to some extent it's not entirely positive. I can't directly compare it to green tea range, really, but it works to say that it's remotely similar in some ways.
Orchid: deeper, warmer, richer, and quite different in floral flavor range; the same description I've already been repeating. There really is no vegetal flavor similar to green wood in this, but it might work to interpret one part as similar to aromatic wood, similar to incense spice range, sandalwood or the like. To me the green wood in the other flavor isn't entirely negative, but it could be interpreted that way by some, while this warm spice tone is a positive input.
Fourth infusion: these are transitioning some, but the minor shifts don't replace the original character. It could make for a more interesting review, for some, to hear about very subtle, minor shifts in flavor aspects, but for as many others it would probably seem redundant. These are surely less than halfway through their infusion cycle, so changes would be more extreme within another four rounds, but I'll still leave off taking notes here. The main story has been told, and I need to do some housework prior to going out on a play outing with my kids.
If anything the overall effect of the orchid version has dialed up depth and intensity; that's quite pleasant and promising. Again it's unusual how good this is. Both, to some extent, but I really like the style and character of the orchid version more.
Back to the real versus artificial flavor issue, which I've already set aside, conventionally flavored teas tend to wash out the added flavor fairly quickly, over the first few rounds. That's probably less the case with naturally infused versions, those layered along with flowers, multiple times, in a different kind of fragrance transfer process. But if anything these are still improving, instead of fading, as they should be at this stage. I didn't keep track of minor shifts in flavors later on but they did brew more than four more very positive rounds, and didn't fade in an unpleasant way throughout that cycle.
Conclusions:
So are these as good as Wuyi Origin's versions, those made by my friend Cindy? If they're not they are at least pretty close to that range. Wuyi Origin's teas wouldn't all represent the same quality level, or a narrow style range, even though they're generally made lighter, at lower oxidation and roast level, which typically shows off tea character well, and suits some material types.
Quality level for these samples is high enough that it's on to minor distinctions making a difference, like feel and aftertaste factoring in, and subtle emergent range like refinement. Them representing different styles and types of Dan Cong is also a positive factor; that's not so easy to turn up, at a really high quality level.
There probably is room for improvement in quality; that's almost always the way it works out. But it wouldn't be an easy difference to appreciate, for most. These lack flaws, and are made in pleasant styles (so far; again I've only tried two of ten versions). They're refined, complex, and distinctive, with good intensity and balance. It's probably that feel could be a little richer, and aftertaste experience could extend a little.
I've mentioned those aspects as relative positives in the notes, so it's not as if that's a gap, I'm just guessing that the very highest end of the range may be different in that way, that there could still be room for limited improvement. Another related guess is that you could buy lower quality versions from supposed curator vendors at twice this pricing rate. These were pretty good. For someone exploring Dan Cong this is a good place to start, and especially at a discounted pricing level value is quite fair.
An example might help place that. A local Bangkok Chinatown shop, my favorite one, Jip Eu, sells a very rare type of Dan Cong product: medium quality, low priced, good value versions. They're not this good, giving up unique flavor range, positive feel, and refinement, but they're the outlier example of 100 grams of quite pleasant tea selling for $20-some, which you just don't find in Dan Cong. That wouldn't come up at a US based Chinatown; one input is that I live in Bangkok (most of the time), where just about everything costs less, especially local products, or some imports from China.
You typically couldn't even find the same thing for $50 in US shops, for twice as much, because it's such a rare find in general. The type just isn't there. It's either $1 a gram, or more, for the higher end range, through curator vendors, or whatever Yunnan Sourcing happens to carry for less. That could be fine, but I bet most of that is closer to that Chinatown version than these samples.
No comments:
Post a Comment