101 Tea Thailand Oriental Beauty and Red Oolong

 

I'm excited about this tea review.  This producer represents the best range of main Thai oolong producers, per my past experience.  I don't mean that this will necessarily be the absolute best oolong coming out of Thailand, surpassing every small boutique producer; I'm saying that among the main producers per my experience they have been the most consistent, making the best versions that I've tried.  But I do drink a lot more sheng pu'er, for what that's worth.

I've already tried this Oriental Beauty, and it's pretty good.  Red oolong, or more oxidized oolong, is a pretty standard type that's generally usually pretty good, so both should be nice.  I bought the OB, and 101 sent the Red Oolong to try (many thanks to them for that!).

Let's check their listing information:

101 Tea Premium Oriental Beauty Oolong Tea Loose Leaf (200g) (500 baht, about $15)

Our most exceptional Oriental Beauty to date. This limited small-batch harvest from our tea plantation in Doi Mae Salong delivers a noticeably higher flavor profile than our regular release — richer, more complex, and deeply aromatic. Also known as White Tip Oolong, each leaf is hand-picked once a year during summer, when tiny leafhoppers gently bite the tea leaves, triggering a natural transformation that produces its signature sweet fruit aroma and honey-like Stunning golden-tipped leaves. brew into a vibrant red cup with a taste that lingers. Once it's gone, it's gone.

Their OB has been pretty decent in the past, but seeing this did help me decide to try this version.  Note that 200 grams for $15 is lower in cost than just about anything you would ever buy out of Taiwan, so when comparing value between Thailand and there you just don't have a comparable price range, at least in Western markets.  But I didn't buy this in a Western market; I bought it directly, online, in Thailand.  So there is no clear and final point to be made; pricing varies by origin, quality level, and by where teas are being bought and sold.

The word "oriental" has dropped out of use in "the West," now typically regarded as a negative term, but that's not really true in Thailand.  That political correctness / shifting word use theme can seem a little absurd, to me.  It doesn't only relate to race or regional designations; ordinary terms like bathroom or toilet can keep shifting, or terms that mean handicapped shift from old forms ("crippled," "retarded") to whatever they're onto now.  It is what it is.

101 Tea Premium Red Oolong Tea Loose Leaf (10g x 25 Packs, Box Set)  (450 baht for 250 grams, $13.40)

Discover the rich, distinctive character of our premium Red Oolong, specially crafted through a longer oxidation process. This exceptional tea boasts a stunning reddish hue and smooth, mellow taste enhanced by subtle hints of ripe fruit and honey, conveniently packaged into individual 10g packs, each brewing one perfect pot of tea, ideal for family gatherings, tea time enjoyment, or as a thoughtful gift.

Note that there's relatively little about what these are, for example which tea plant types were used to make them.  Thai oolong is commonly made from two cultivars, from #12 / Jin Xuan and #17 / Ruan Zhi (or Bai Lu; that's perhaps more accurate).  There would be older Qing Xin plant types around (a family or older plant types), and some Tie Guan Yin, and others, so these teas could be from different plant types.  I don't see it as necessary to say more about oxidation level, given what these are; describing flavors as they have done is a good approach.

Review

Oriental Beauty, first infusion:  many people would use a rinse step to clean the tea, sort of, and to get tightly rolled ball shape to open up.  I didn't, and usually don't.  Oriental Beauty, or Dong Fang Mei Ren, is usually prepared in a twisted leaf shape, while this is rolled instead; make of what you will.  One vendor took to calling rolled OB versions as Gui Fei, and I really don't know if that's more accurate or not.

This tea is really nice.  It's just getting started, just opening up, but a longish over 30 second infusion time is strong enough to describe.  One part is similar to cinnamon spice, and more range covers fruit, sort of citrusy, but it extends beyond that.  Or maybe it's that the citrus range is broad; it includes that nice sharp twang of orange zest, the outer peel, and also the deeper and more complex flavors in marmalade, a cooked jam version.  Marmalade is also my kitten's name; this is her:

that's Fu style hei cha instead, but I am trying this tea in the same place

Red oolong:  it's also good.  It's not expressing bright intensity as fast as the other version, so describing it more next round will probably represent it better.  There is plenty of warmth and depth, and it's smooth and round.  Fresher and brighter flavor range is limited; that's what I'm guessing will pick up.  

Later in this review I'll do more with describing "how good?," placing that better.  This seems a little bit better than a standard and basic tea version though.  Comparison with the other version could be problematic, because that really is exceptional, and that aspect range is a personal favorite, among oolong range.  There are others; there is a lot of different exceptional oolong character to appreciate.

OB #2:  the flavor set deepens.  A first early hint of vegetal range enters in, a mild green wood input.  But most of the rest is still fruit and spice.  The earlier citrus input might've shifted to dried apricot more instead.  If someone wasn't expecting cinnamon, or spice, they might have trouble picking out that part, and it could seem like some warmer depth that's hard to place.  The flavors are clean and full, beyond that hint of green wood, which will gradually increase over rounds (per earlier experience).

To describe just how good this is we need to consider other supporting aspects.  The flavor is fine.  It could be different in a few ways, or more intense or complex, but it's very favorable and pleasant.  Feel is rich and full, but it could be richer and more full.  Aftertaste expression is significant, but it could be even stronger.  

So the tea is good, across all aspect and marker range (quality indicators), and it's down to how much room for improvement there is.  Some, but that's sort of splitting hairs.  It's quite good, and none of those dimensions represent a gap or flaw.  If a Taiwanese tea curator sold a version for over $1 a gram that was identical, or this same tea, it would seem not good enough to match that type.  Most of what you would buy for two or three times as much would be no better, or maybe not this good.

Red oolong:  good, but not great.  I've tried a red oolong sample from Thailand not long ago; I forgot where I got that.  The best versions taste a lot like cacao, with dark cherry flavor input, as that one did.  Of course that can vary, and other versions can be positive in different ways.

This has decent sweetness, but it's not exceptional.  It has good depth, but flavor range isn't as positive as it could be.  Maybe it tastes a little like cacao, but it's not pronounced.  When you can't really make out what a tea tastes like well floral range often comes to mind; it could be interpreted as that.  I'll see if I can do better with a breakdown next round.

OB #3:  cinnamon stands out all the more in this.  There is a more vague fruit range beyond that, but it's not as clearly defined.  It's along the line of citrus or dried apricot still, just harder to place.  The green wood input isn't really evolving; if anything that cinnamon note is expanding instead, seeming to cover related range.  Sweetness is still very positive, and the overall effect is quite pleasant.

Often Thai Oriental Beauty will seem a bit more muted than Taiwanese versions, but this isn't like that, at all.  Intensity is positive.  And there are no negative flavor or character inputs, beyond a light trace of green wood, that's not so noticeable this round.  It's a very solid tea.

Red oolong:  warmth picks up.  It had tasted like cacao last round, mostly, but this is now covering more cacao along with mild roasted coffee instead.  It works; it might be slightly better.  There's some dried fruit range beyond that, but not enough to make it easy to pick out.  One part seems vaguely floral, along the line of rose petal.  It's good, it just doesn't hold up as well in direct comparison with the other tea.  This would be a good breakfast tea; the character would work well for having it with food.

For some teas Western brewing works better, combining 5 minutes worth of infusion output together, instead of drinking it as the individual shorter rounds.  This may be like that.  In general the higher the quality a tea version is the more Gong Fu brewing lets it shine, and for moderate or lower quality teas experiencing all of the aspects mixed can be more positive.  This isn't bad; it's just that the other form may work better.

In going back and trying the other version (OB) that sharper, green wood edge stands out all the more.  For some that could seem like a negative input, and limitation, and they might even like this red oolong more.  I'm a sheng pu'er drinker, so a touch of dryness in feel character is something I barely notice, since I'm accustomed to much stronger astringency range.  If someone prefers really soft tea forms the red oolong compares better than I'm describing.

Later thoughts:  I didn't take more notes, but over the next couple of rounds the OB version seemed to be expressing a pronounced honey flavor note, and the Red Oolong evolved to taste more like fresh bread, which seemed nice.  It might not be what everyone is looking for from the type, but it was pleasant.

Conclusions:

It was problematic comparing the two, because the Oriental Beauty version is so good, which seemed like it might come up, related to trying it earlier.  It's one of the better Thai rolled oolong versions I've tried (which of course includes plenty of subjective judgement; I mean that I liked it, in addition to it seeming to representing general good quality level).  Flavors were great, intensity and sweetness were good, and feel was positive.  

If you really wanted to find a potential flaw a hint of green wood flavor is present, or maybe even a faint touch of sourness, but it's really good tea, and positive flavors stand out a lot more.  Value is great for this tea; at this low pricing level a tea this good is a steal.  Ordinary examples of Thai oolong cost nearly this much, and they're typically not comparable.  You can buy better quality Oriental Beauty from Taiwan, if you know how to source it, but all of that would cost more than twice as much, and without careful and effective sourcing you would be more likely to find versions that aren't this good.

The Red Oolong was fine, although I've tried a slightly better version in the last month, as things worked out.  It's good for a basic tea, especially if someone likes that style (not necessarily heavy on cacao and cherry flavor, but including that, along with other warm tones).  It's smooth, drinkable, and pleasant.  It would be good as a tea to brew Western style, putting 3 or 4 grams in an infuser basket or French press, to brew two good sized, strong rounds.  It would make a great breakfast tea.  Some people would miss the edgier astringency in some mild black teas, so that part just comes down to preference.

I would drink the OB with breakfast too, but then I tend to have lots of kinds of tea that way.  It's almost a little limiting when a version seems too refined or special to drink with food, because that could throw off full appreciation of the range of aspects.  I'll sit and just drink tea for an extended time once or twice a week for reviews, focusing on the experience, and generally don't appreciate teas like that very often beyond that format.  It takes more time, focus, and effort.

Thai Wawee Assamica black tea and Moychay Fengqing Dian Hong

 

I'm reviewing another black tea from Wawee Tea, a sample sent by them with an order of sheng and black tea, and a Moychay Dian Hong for comparison.  Reviewing two teas helps place each, through comparison and contrast, and doubles the pace that I get through teas I'm reviewing.  A large set of samples provided by Moychay helps with that first role (many thanks for that, even though it was a thanks for helping them with some editing).

The Thai tea is presented as "Assam."  It's normal for local producers to call Assamica plant type based black tea Assam, whether the style is close to that origin range type or not.  I think they kind of mean "Assamica" by that, but it doesn't matter what they mean, the teas are what they are.  

There isn't any description of that from them, since there isn't a conventional sales site to refer to.  They would have outlets on the local online shopping platforms, on Shopee and Lazada, but people in other countries couldn't use those, and people in Thailand would often already know of those if they like that style of tea.  I order from them by direct staff contact, kind of the old fashioned way, when I see posts about something that look interesting.  This is a related Facebook page; that's where I'd see such things, in others forwarding those.  I could look this up on Shopee, but I'm not going to.

I did look up another citation of a different tea bag version on that Facebook page though, here.  

Wild Assam Black Tea with Osmanthus Flowers

This is Wawee Tea's unique blend, currently served in major hotels in Bangkok.

🍂The main ingredient is Wild Assam Black Tea, produced from centuries-old wild Assam tea trees on Doi Wawee.

Guaranteed by a silver medal award in a black tea competition. International Black Tea Competition 2019, China

🌼 Blended with Osmanthus (Guihua) flowers Authentic variety from Dali, China. Grown 100% chemical-free on our own farm.

🍃 Packaged in tea bags made from corn fiber, microplastic-free.

Brewing Instructions:  Steep the tea bag in hot water for no more than 2 minutes.  For 250 ml.

20 Baht per piece

20 baht is about 60 cents, so that should be about 15 cents a gram.  The tea is pretty good; that's fair.  Again that's an osthmanthus flavored version, that looks to be made from the same black tea base, but I don't know that, and I don't know that the pricing is identical (although there's a good chance that it is).

Those brewing instructions would probably work, but it would be a real shame to throw away that tea bag after it had brewed for two minutes.  It could surely make a pleasant second infusion.

Of course Moychay lists what their tea is, and it would be sold on an online platform, here:

Black Tea DIAN HONG CHA, Chinese tea from Yunnan Province (Red Tea), 70g, 7g  (70 grams costs 7.34 Euro, or $8.35).

Dian Hong, or Yunnan Red Tea, originates from Fengqing County, Yunnan Province, a region renowned for its ideal tea-growing conditions. First developed in the late 19th century, Dian Hong transitioned from green tea production to meet the rising demand for black tea. Its unique flavor and consistent quality have earned it recognition both in China and internationally, even being gifted as a national tea to foreign dignitaries.

Cultivated at altitudes of 1800–2200 meters in Dasi Township, Fengqing County, this organic tea is hand-picked during the spring harvest (March 25 to May 5) using the traditional standard of one bud with three leaves. The tea is made from the Mengku Da Ye Zhong cultivar, and its production involves withering, rolling, fermentation, and multiple drying steps, ensuring a rich, full-bodied character.

Dian Hong brews into a deep red infusion with a complex aroma featuring honey, fruit, and floral notes. The taste is smooth and rich, with a satisfying balance of sweetness and a slight hint of bitterness. Its long-lasting aftertaste is sweet and lingering, offering a comforting experience over multiple infusions.

Let's start with that pricing; it works out to 12 cents a gram (or it would be $12 for 100 grams).  That's pretty favorable, on the low side of the range for this type.  Maybe that implies that the quality level is moderate, or maybe it's just a good deal; it just depends.  Skipping ahead maybe a bit of both, related to writing this after doing the tasting part.

atypical presentation, compared to what I'm accustomed to

Review:

Thai  Wawee Assamica:  it's pretty good.  Warm tones match what one expect from black tea of this range, the earthiness, also covering range like redwood scent.  A bit of berry also stands out, something like blackberry, but one could imagine it being interpreted as dark cherry.  Feel is full and structured, maybe more structured than full, without dryness, or being too harsh, so that part works well.  

This would be amazing as an English Breakfast Tea replacement; a much better version of that general type.  Or maybe one category over, and just better than that, but comparable in some ways.  For the leaf material being as chopped as it is astringency is still mild.  I brewed it for around 20 seconds in a 100 ml gaiwan (for 4 grams), plenty to get it started, and it's not really overbrewed, although it looks it, quite dark and red.  

This doesn't need milk or sugar, prepared like this, but you can put milk and sugar in black tea that doesn't need it, if you brew it strong, and it can still be nice.  I was in a rush yesterday and did that, brewing their Wawee tea cake extra strong, and adding milk and sugar so I could essentially gulp it down, in a very fast breakfast.

Moychay Fengqing Dian Hong:  this is brewed a little too strong.  It's 7 grams in a 100 ml gaiwan, so 20 seconds was a bit much, even though it takes 5 to 10 for teas to generally just get completely soaked.  It has more feel structure than the other tea; I didn't see that coming.  Being brewed too strong changes that; we'll see next round.  I thought that the other tea being chopped would make it brew fast, so the 4 and 7 gram proportions might balance, since this is whole leaf.

This includes a few flavors, a set that hasn't fully integrated yet.  One part is tartness, not a personal favorite in black tea range, but it can come up.  Another is fruit; that I do love.  It includes some of that conventional black tea range, I guess oriented towards malt, which I probably should've used as a description for the other one.  It seems to include a hint of black pepper; that's interesting.  Then there is also some roasted yam, or something along that line.  Maybe sweet potato instead?  Or both, combining.

It sounds quite complex, and it is, but the flavors don't combine and integrate well just yet, and there's a thinness in one part of the flavor or character profile I can't pin down.  It all might just relate to it getting started, not being there yet.  In retrying the other I'm not really noticing malt, but it seems I did miss cacao.  It will be interesting to see how it develops.

Wawee Assamica #2:  these are both all but flash brewed, using a very short infusion time, but both look kind of dark red.  This extracted faster, per the color and darkness, but we'll see.

It's actually pretty light.  It's unusual drinking this style of tea light, more of a conventional black tea, but it works, beyond not matching a brewing norm.  There's plenty of flavor, but the feel seems light.  The feel that is present works, including some richness and fullness.  Flavor includes cacao and whatever berry range that is.  This is almost a Christmas blend flavor profile, without any adjustment from other flavors.  Add some orange peel rind and cacao nibs to dial up the fruit and cocoa flavor and it's there.  Of course it's already fine as it is.

It can be hard to notice what is missing.  This doesn't taste like malt, and tea of this character would usually include much rougher astringency.  It's quite good, for the style and presentation.

Moychay Dian Hong:  this is slightly stronger, in a more conventional range, but then it is brewing 7 grams instead of 4.  I didn't adjust timing, beyond pouring the second gaiwan out first, when it had been filled second.  Tartness is dropping out already, it seems.  Even though it's really subtle that limited pepper note is cool, adding a nice effect.  Roasted yam or sweet potato is a main flavor now.  It's hard to settle on it being just one of those, even though they are different.  It's not as distinct a flavor as it could be.

Related to comparison to Dian Hong I'm familiar with this is fine, but something is missing.  It doesn't include a depth of feel, and a heavy mineral base input, to the extent those often do.  Often some versions will lack flavor intensity while they express that depth, which can seem a little strange, although that can be pleasant if you are accustomed to it.  

I experience that as a gap in what I expect.  You get a good hit of up front flavor, and it trails after some as aftertaste, but the feel just isn't there, and some flavor depth is missing.  I'm not saying that the other version includes all of that, but it covers a normal range better, so to a very limited extent it is.  But it's not a tea that could pass for a good version of Dian Hong either.  I'll push both a little more going back to a 15 to 20 second infusion, and see where they stand further along the cycle.

Thai Wawee Assamica #3:  this is holding up pretty well, for tea that I freed up from a tea bag.  The character isn't different enough to go back through it again; it's just a stronger version of what I experienced the last round.  The balance works, how it all comes together.

Moychay Dian Hong:  this is the best this has been.  Feel thickens, and mineral base picks up; that's more like it.  The black pepper note is stronger.  Or is that white pepper?  It might be.  A touch of berry like range adds to the roasted yam / sweet potato, giving it more flavor complexity, which works well with the richer feel.  

This still isn't a personal favorite style of Dian Hong example, for me, but it's much closer.  A bit of cacao and a little more sweetness would really tie the rest together better.  But it integrates the best it has, and it's fine like this.  Very limited tartness isn't as problematic (I just don't like tartness), but it's more shift in the wrong direction.

To be clear Dian Hong is my favorite black tea type.  It's very familiar.  Versions from South East Asia can be just as good, and can match typical Yunnan style very well, or they can also vary, a lot.  There are outliers in Yunnan versions and styles too.  This is sort of conventional, sort of not, in two different senses.  It lacks typical depth, mineral range isn't as pronounced as it usually would be, and the tartness isn't typical at all.  But the other flavor range is right, and the lack of harsh astringency, the tea being full but not rough or dry.  They generally don't taste malty, and this doesn't.

At this stage I like the other tea a little better.  The tartness alone might swing that balance, or it all just integrates a little better.  It's not nearly as good as the black tea cake I bought from them; for someone with my preferences it would be as well to skip this tea and just buy that.  But then this is a different thing, and for a tea to go, the tea bag form it came in, it would work well, much better than anything Twinings or similar producers make.

Both teas, infusion #4:  the Wawee tea thins a little, but then it has been a challenge brewing 4 grams of broken leaf well.  It's still good.  The Dian Hong is still the best it has been, picking up a little more depth and complexity.  

It's an overall good sign that it improves across rounds; better quality tea will do that, while lower quality versions express their best range early on, and then die.  Or maybe that also relates to material type; low elevation grown plantation tea should be more intense at first, then fade, and higher elevation or more natural grown tea tends to have more durability.  Sometimes older plant material teas can lack exceptional flavor intensity but express a lot of depth.

In the round after these, #5, the Thai Wawee tea was really dropping off, and the Dian Hong wasn't, kind of as one might expect, that whole-leaf tea would brew out slower.  But again it's also a good sign for the Dian Hong quality level.

Conclusions:

Both were pretty good.  Both had their own limitations.  For comparing to standard tea-bag tea, chopped material range versions, the Wawee tea was exceptional, but it's an odd starting point competing in that range.  It was better than that; it was fine as a conventional specialty tea.  But I suppose it could have been even better as a more whole leaf version.

The Moychay version I judged more negatively for coming into the tasting with a lot of expectations about Dian Hong style and character range.  It was good, but some early lack of some range (mineral taste, feel depth), and inclusion of tartness, seemed a lot more negative for me expecting it to be a certain way, to be different.  It's not necessarily that it compared negatively to the other version, but the other Wawee tea was better in a couple of ways.  And the Moychay tea was superior in other ways; it held up better to an infusion cycle, and came to express more complexity and depth than the other, in "later" rounds (this was a pretty short infusion sampling cycle).  

If I had to pick one that I liked more it would be the Thai tea, but they were both fairly equivalent, and that was about preference for specific flavor range, not quality.  Maybe the Moychay Dian Hong was a little higher in quality level, in spite of it also being limited in some ways.

I've been trying such exceptional teas lately that any that seem good but not great might come across as more limited to me now.  These were both good.  For anyone that actually likes a touch of tartness in black teas the Dian Hong review might seem wrong; too negative.  And without specific expectations about feel and mineral base flavor going in it could seem all the more positive.  

Dian Hong drinkers would know what I'm talking about, and anyone new to tea reading this might think it's all nonsense.  Trueness to type expectations aren't really a made up thing, but they do extend how people experience tea into an abstract range, moving beyond "how good; how pleasant?," into "does this match what I expect?"

The Moychay tea is a really good value, for as pleasant as this is.  It may not work well for spending an hour just focusing on it, for me, for it missing my main personal preference range by a couple of aspects, but this would still be a great breakfast tea.  For someone with different black tea preference it may seem much better than that.

Thai wild origin material Dian Hong style black tea

Not long ago I reviewed a tea that I identified as my favorite sheng version, a pu'er in all but name, since it was from Thailand.  The producer was Aphiwat, someone I've mentioned before.  This time I'm reviewing a Dian Hong style black tea that I also bought.  It's good; I've tried it a few times before this review.

Of course Dian Hong literally means Yunnan black tea, so I mean that it's in a common style related to that type.  The plants are surely quite similar, Assamica trees, and the growing area isn't that far from China, just not that close either, not right across a border.  Dian Hong is actually a broad range, but the most typical version range is exactly like these, with the flavor aspects I'm describing here, or a related set, similar in appearance to this tea.

This is Aphiwat's FB profile link,  and this is his producer vendor page there.  He's not really set up for website based sales, or direct overseas sales, but it's also not a secret what the source is.

Review:

First infusion:  a bit light; I decided to use that approach of brewing the first round light.  It doesn't matter; the fuller flavor and feel will emerge next round either way.  

You can already tell this is great.  Fruit tones emerge, and some cacao, with underlying mineral and some roasted yam.  One part of the fruit is light and citrusy, with a more main part like dried dark cherry.  Sweetness is good, taste is clean, there are no flaws, and feel is already picking up limited fullness.  There is no astringency edge, in the sense that harsher black teas include one.  It's not tart; I dislike that flavor range, and it's nicer for me when it's not there.  It's great.

Second round:  warmer tones pick up; this is plenty strong.  If anything a little over optimum, but that's fine, trying it brewed in different ways.  Feel stands out a lot, extending from richness to very mild dryness, to about as rich and still light as orthodox Assam tends to ever be.  It even resembles malt as much as it's ever going to, made this way.  Fruit still stands out, the same set, dried dark cherry, and a hint of citrus.  Roasted yam, cacao, and mineral depth are still the rest.

Feel is a big part of the story, and sweetness, along with intensity, and balance.  It gets awkward explaining those, without repeating ideas that might not add up to much.  This is a very close match for Dian Hong style; it's just what this tea is.  It's no surprise; it's made from old Assamica plants in the north of Thailand, that match Yunnan versions about as well as any from elsewhere.  And then it's also different; the flavor character would never exactly match, even though it's so close you couldn't say it's not from Yunnan, as you can more easily pick up from sheng versions.

It's just good.  All of those aspects are positive, and they all balance and integrate well.  I could drink this for a month straight, and I barely even drink black tea now.  In a sense it's a simpler, more basic, less refined tea than good oolongs, but it fulfills a different character role.  I'd rather drink this twice a week for a year than almost any oolong version of any kind.  It's a perfect breakfast tea, and it's also good enough to drink alone, to spend a half an hour just appreciating it.

Third infusion:  even brewed quite fast this draws out good intensity.  Lighter flavor tones stand out more brewed faster; the citrus edge in the fruit emerges more, and warmer mineral eases up.  Rich feel doesn't change much, but the light dry edge is gone.  I think cacao stands out slightly more brewed light, but that could be a judgement call.  

I bought a good bit of this tea but I'm thinking of buying more.  I rarely own more than a kilogram of any tea; I don't "tong up" buying pu'er, and have only bought an entire kg of black tea once, a kg and a half, as it turned out.  That was black tea from Viet Sun, that I bought a year ago, a batch that I might only own 100 grams of now.  I gave it away frequently as gifts, to monks, as a thanks to people for helping us, and so on.  It had a tart edge; it didn't match my preference nearly as well, based on just that one secondary flavor input.  So it goes with preference; someone else could appreciate the tartness the most.

I'll brew one more round and drop the note taking.  This doesn't transition as much as some tea types, even though it might include an interesting extra flavor in the next few rounds.

Fourth infusion:  warmth extends just slightly.  Dried cherry might be shifting towards dried tamarind, or it has already changed.  Mineral seems to stand out a little more.  For someone who has never experienced anything like that, mineral really standing out in black tea, oolong, or sheng pu'er, that might not be familiar or meaningful at all.  For people deep into tea exploration they might either seek out and value that input or else see others as more important.  Either way it adds depth and balance to the experience.  It helps a lot having nice sweetness offset it, as is present in this.  It also matches well with the cacao, dried fruit, and roasted yam.

All in all a really nice, basic tea.  It would only seem basic to people who already love Dian Hong style teas, and for them, for someone with my preferences, it's just great.  It wasn't that long ago that you could find pretty good Chinese versions of this that didn't cost much, but I suppose as with most other tea range prices have jumped quite a bit, and more expensive curator sources have replaced market-type options selling good versions.  

Maybe Yunnan Sourcing's versions are this good (for Chinese teas), some of them, or it's possible this is better than the average there.  Tea Side sells Thai Dian Hong style tea directly, but that is likely to cost more than YS Chinese versions.  There's no reason why Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnamese related range couldn't also be good, made in a similar style, from similar material, so there would be plenty of range to look into, but you need to try lots of versions to run across one this good.

my favorite sheng again! a Thai version from Aphiwat.

 

I skipped buying new Thai sheng from my favorite source this year, back closer to spring.  I'd stocked up early in the year, on Vietnamese teas instead, and had bought quite a bit of this version last year, and was limiting tea purchasing to essentially none.

But I just made an exception, and bought some of the 2024 version again, and a Dian Hong-style black tea, again from Aphiwat.  It's more or less my favorite overall sheng version right now, and has been for a year or two.  There is no Western facing vending outlet for this tea, but Aphiwat can be contacted here.

An online group question about the best sheng version I've ever tried (that anyone in the group had) reminded me of the difference between versions seeming exceptional in that way, as a high-water mark, and just being favorites, more within the ordinary range, but special.  I won't shed much light on that difference.  I suppose some LBZ or Bing Dao versions that I've tried were better than this, more interesting, more refined, with more unique and noteworthy sets of aspects.  Many teas have more aging potential; I think this is best for drinking within the first year or two.  

But beyond all that this really clicks for me.  Maybe why will come across in the review, or maybe I'll just not make sense in voicing this divide.

Breaking usual form I've already tried this tea so I know what I think of it.  It's quite good, and relatively similar to last year's version.

Review:

that extra color is probably from some oxidation, not aging effect

1:  I let this brew a little long to get it started; it might be a little rough due to that, and it's definitely slightly overbrewed.  It's on the bitter and intense side, but that's part of what I'm signed up for, what I like about it.  Sweetness is good, and flavor complexity.  Astringency is definitely there but it's not harsh.  Bitterness is pronounced, and a little intense, but not bad, at a decent level.  I'll do more of a flavor list next round.

2:  for flavor breakdown this is mostly floral, and it's always hard for me to describe the level beyond that, which flowers.  One part tastes a little like plant stem, coupled with the bitterness.  Some warmth seems to connect with mineral that's in between light and warm.  For a tea from 2024 that's a lot of transition already, to shift over to not being very light in mineral tone, and other flavor, but that's Thai storage for you, hot and humid, with changes happening fast.  Sweetness level is good; it matches the rest.  Feel is full, with good structure.  Aftertaste is pleasant; it's all the sweeter after you swallow.

Now I'm having trouble explaining why this is so pleasant.  It sounds like lots of other sheng experiences, doesn't it?  It really is, I suppose.  The material seems good, making the balance work.  The intensity is great.  Me liking this style helps a lot, and I really didn't love it as much, before years of trying versions like this.  It evolved to be a favorite.

3:  rich feel is evolving a bit more; I think that's another part of why this works so well for me.  And aftertaste experience; sweetness and some bitterness trails after, and the floral range.  And it's really clean in effect, without much of a hint of a flaw, or off aspect.  I suppose that plant-stem vegetal range tying to the bitterness not everyone would love, but I see that as just as positive as it is negative or neutral.  It works with the rest.

4:  honey-like flavor picks up a little.  It makes the floral range seem to draw closer to tones that align with that, like one would a sunflower to smell, although maybe they don't, really.  My wife and I visited a sunflower farm a couple of years ago, but I don't remember that I tried smelling them.

Related to style, it seems like this might be a little more oxidized than conventional sheng, which is why it's so approachable as such a young version (about 8 or 9 months old, I think; spring can run early here).  That's why the mineral includes warm tones, and why the honey input matches warm floral range.  It all tips just a little towards dried fruit, but that can be hard to place.  Like dried longan, maybe, a personal favorite of mine, or not so far off dried mango, if that's more familiar.  

5:  bitterness and astringency are easing up, but it always was relatively approachable.  It's just pleasant now, well balanced, intense, warmer in tone, quite nice.  

I could say more about minor transitions over another half dozen rounds but that's a main part of the story.  And I have to go; I have other things to do.

later rounds:  I drank another 8 or so infusions the next day; this tea really hangs in there for intensity, and related to staying pleasant.  That's not really even stretching it.  Between the 5th and 9th or so it's at its best; warm honey and fruit flavors really dominate, then bitterness picks up a bit later on.

Christmas

I tried this on Christmas day; odd I hadn't mentioned that.  Kalani was sick, just as Keoni was getting over being sick, so we did kind of a relaxed day, before going out later on.  Shopping for gifts never really came together; at best they got a few token gifts from us, and not much for that.  We spent some of the time planned for that on a doctor visit.  As usual Eye ran late catching up on errands, only back here in Bangkok for the last two days, after spending the fall in the US, where the kids go to school.

I hope everyone reading this is having a great holiday season, and no matter how well or badly gift giving works out that some personal connections make it feel special.

a long nap on Christmas day, after waking up early

doing math assignments on Christmas break; that's not ideal

Christmas Eve outlet outing.  it's great to see them again.

Wawee Tea 2023 gushu Thai sheng

 

An earlier version related to this has been one of my favorites, and this might be as well.  It's from Wawee Tea (also here or here), so from Wawee, the main sheng production area outside of Chiang Rai.  I won't be sharing a lot of backstory here; it's presented as Thai sheng (pu'er-style tea) from old plant material.  Those links tell more of their story.

I loved the version last year for matching my own preference so closely.  The same is true of Aphiwat's version I've been discussing, and one from Moychay wasn't so different.  I think from repeatedly trying sheng versions from Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam the general style range has evolved to become my main tea preference, with the narrower set of aspects in those few the closest match.  

I expect this will be a little closer to conventional Yunnan versions than the one from Aphiwat was, but that material seemed to be quite good quality, so maybe not better in that regard.  His tea had an unusual plant or flower stem edge to it, a flavor that didn't pair with an astringency aspect as much as I would've expected, since the feel was rich but not rough or structured.  It also had amazing intensity, complexity, durability, and sweetness, along with substantial bitterness.  It's too hard to explain here but I don't think it's a type that's well-suited for aging, that it's perhaps as positive as it would ever be this year or next.  Since it's such a personal favorite while still young that's not as much of a limitation.

This will be related in flavor range, I expect, but without as much of that one unusual edge.  I would expect it to include less fruit range and more floral tones, based on last year's version, with bitterness level not so different, and feel different but in a way that's not simple to describe, more structured, fuller in feel.  Never mind all that; this will be about this tea, not comparison to others, but if it helps define an aspect or transition expectation I'll get into that.  

As to what comes before the brewed tea experience the appearance is just beautiful, as in the photos, and the smell is sweet, complex, fragrant, and floral.  This is pressed a bit tight; that adds a little challenge in separating out a bit to brew, more care in not breaking up leaves.  With a now more conventional loose pressing you can just push in the pick or knife from any direction and flake off a chunk of about the size you want.  It'll slow aging transition slightly too, but otherwise it makes no difference.  It's still much easier to separate off the tea than for older style factory cakes, more broken material pressed just as hard, which are looser and easier to access than iron cake versions, or typical tuochas. 

I'm trying this on day 4 out of 5 of a fast; I've not eaten in 3 1/2 days.  That won't change much.  It's generally better not to drink most of a liter of sheng on a completely empty stomach but it'll be alright.  I drank some salt water earlier, a sodium and potassium mix, which isn't nearly as good a stomach buffer as toast or cereal, but it will have to do.

Review:  

First infusion:  I let this brew about 15 seconds because I skipped a rinse step; that's a judgement call.  It would've infused better with a rinse, and I'd skip saying "this is still a bit light," but it is still throwing out the tea.  This will brew about 15 infusions, most likely, a half dozen more than I'll drink in a sitting, so that would've made sense.  It's still a bit light; I gave half to a nearby plant to continue on making better notes.  Of course it's as I already described it, sweet, floral, complex, seemingly well balanced.

Second infusion:  that's it!  Sweetness and flavor intensity pick way up; I can start brewing this faster and lighter.  A honey-like flavor note stands out; it's always nice when it works out like that.  There is good warmth to these flavor tones for being so young.  I would generally expect it to be a little more oxidized than is typical in that case, implied by the mix of colors in the dried leaves.  The darker yellow brewed liquid and mix of brown on the wet leaves would also more or less confirm that.  For a version intended for long aging that's probably more negative than positive, but if someone plans to drink this within the first 2 or 3 years it can be more positive than negative.  

The character right now is fantastic; no complaints.  Then it's complicated and hard to sort out how a mix of varying extra oxidation level works out, if this really will age well, even long term, because many of the leaves are as green as could be. 

Bitterness level is still considerable, but still in the middle of the scale in relation to typical Menghai versions.  Floral range seems to stand out, but there is plenty more going on with this.  The warm honey tone ties to mineral tones across a lighter and heavier scale, and to other warm flavor range that could be towards spice.  To me the main flavor range, which is complex, and hard to break apart, combines both floral and fruit range.  

It's almost a bit citrusy, or actually is, not in one distinct form (lemon, orange, tangerine), but I would expect that to evolve and seem to link to different range across infusions.  This is a lot like the version I really loved earlier this year (last year's tea, and I think most of a year of aging transition amounted to a lot more than it would've in a cooler and drier place, when I tried it in February or so).

I suspect that a lot of South East Asian teas are slightly more oxidized than Yunnan versions not just because they don't process them quickly enough, but because it's pretty warm and humid across a lot of the entire region (not so much at elevation in northern Laos and Vietnam, but maybe even there in comparison with a lot of Yunnan).  Everything changes quickly as a result; cereal can get stale still in the factory sealed packaging, and leaving partly brewed tea out overnight doesn't go as well as elsewhere.  A picked fresh leaf would oxidize a little pretty fast.

third infusion:  it's so good!  That one flavor input, like honey, is probably closer to how beeswax smells, warm, rich, and sweet.  A citrus edge warms up a little too, with other range I interpret as floral just as strong or stronger.  Feel and aftertaste work together to support a more complex experience, in this case in a very positive form.  It's rich and full, with a good bit of structure, and the bitter edge carries over to sweetness plus the other flavors trailing in aftertaste.  Sometimes that effect can be even stronger; there is plenty of flavor experience a minute after drinking this tea, but for some versions it really goes on and on, sometimes seemingly even stronger than the actual flavor.

I'm saying that the citrus is warm in tone, but this might cover both a warmer tangerine range and lighter lemon input.  It makes it come across as complex and satisfying, since that's only part of the range.  

The version from Aphiwat extended to ripe and sweet pineapple, related to a fresh fruit version that wouldn't be familiar to most people in the US.  Even if you try an exported fresh pineapple most plant types are sweet, citrusy, and intense but a little harsh, and other types here express a much warmer tone.  That's like a branded version "Maui Gold," I guess (which sounds like a weed strain).  Anyway this is different, more broad range citrus, honey and beeswax, and floral tones.  A vegetal input is harder to place, maybe like a bit of green wood, not dominant, but there in the mix.

fourth infusion:  I should've backed off my normal 8 gram or so proportion; without food in my stomach I might be able to drink a couple more rounds but will only get halfway through this infusion cycle, at best.  This tea will be great in the afternoon but for doing a relaxed day while fasting I don't need to get blasted on caffeine.  I have some errands to run; it'll help with that.

Intensity stands out in this experience (with the flavor set not transitioning quickly, so I won't add much about that).  I think that's part of what I like about sheng, what I'm acclimated to.  Probably if I would "get" the cha qi / body feel part more that would be intense too.  When fasting energy levels tend to go all over the place, and sitting in a dark room is enough to bring on a crash, while doing something outside can trigger the opposite, great physical and mental energy and clarity.

Finishing this cup is probably all I'll have for now.  My stomach still feels ok but the continual deep emptiness I've felt for days has shifted in form, warning me not to keep going.  I'm sweating in a different way.  I bet a couple of interesting late transitions would tell more of the story of this tea; maybe I can make notes over the next few hours as I get to those.

re-tasting two days later (I didn't make more notes):  this won't be round by round, but I will add some thoughts, about re-trying the tea when I'm back out of fasting (I finished 5 full days last evening; that went ok).  No change related to that factor, that I could tell.

I like the tea, in a style closer to conventional Yunnan versions than Aphiwat's.  Bitterness isn't so different, but feel might have just a little more feel structure, and give up a little for sweetness level.  Lighter mineral tones are stronger, which together with the feel makes it come across as a little drier.  It seems like unusual flavor range in Aphiwat's version is replaced by a more standard floral range in this.  

This tea might be better to drink a year or two later, to rest and settle a bit, and let the rough edges wear off, and flavor deepen.  I didn't buy that earler Wawee Tea sheng version this year until late January / early Feb. or so, coming up on a year after production, which is only three months from now, but drank more in March and April.  This character seems ok for longer aging too, drinking this as a 15 year old version, but I don't think Aphiwat's tea would have great potential for that kind of longevity.

They sent me some maocha from 2017, so 6 1/2 year old tea, and of course I can't assume that the starting point was quite similar, but it will inform part of how this might age.

Flavor list interpretation would always vary a good bit, so the comprehensive, round by round flavors list--mostly missing here--might not be so meaningful anyway.  To help make that point here are tasting notes from that friend that visited here, John Lim, for Aphiwat's sheng, which I've described as floral with some fruit, and a plant stem related bitterness:

Gushu material, viscous and mellow.

I get ginger , lemongrass and wildflowers. Relatively sweet as well.

Subsequent brews bring out its bitter nature as well.

This tea feels like life in the mountains. Filled with herbs, grass and wildflowers. Bitter sweet life experiences.

More poetic than my writing; nice!  Lemongrass makes sense, which I've interpreted differently, as citrus range or pineapple.  Floral we both agreed on (I just didn't narrow it further), and the plant-stem, slightly edgy input could be an interpretation of bitterness overlapping with herbal nature.  Herbs tend to not taste like plant stem, usually covering a warmer range, but I've described that warm rich tone as relating to honey, if I remember right, or maybe that was beeswax.  It seems to be about breaking down a very complex and broad range of flavors into sets that match foods, floral, or vegetal experiences, which themselves are often not one dimensional, so sort of equivalent sets can vary a lot.

Later I tried Aphiwat's tea brewed Western style and it did taste a lot more like ginger and lemongrass; it's odd how combining what would be a lot of Gongfu infusion range together can change things.  Or maybe it was all related to suggestion, expecting that, then noticing it?

Also if you brew any tea much lighter or stronger it will emphasize a different range, related to flavor and other aspects.  Judging from the look of John's brewing--a photo--he used about half the proportion of tea leaf, a more conservative and sensible 4 or 5 grams per 100 ml instead of 8 or so, which would make it much easier to dial in lighter infusions, probably using longer infusion times.

I've just screwed up brewing this tea in a way that highlights that, writing these second trial notes.  While typing I let a round brew too long (nearly 30 seconds?), and then will often brew a flash-infused round to mix with that, instead of diluting tea with water.  Tasting the stronger in comparison with the fast-brewed round they're completely different, and not just in terms of intensity, also differing flavor aspects come through.  The light one is too wispy to make it out clearly, but just a touch stronger would make the point better.  Mixing the two rounds lands closer to an optimum, in a form that's far different than both tried separately. 

Sweetness has been picking up in this tea, and bitterness easing off; this is what I really valued in the other version last year (this overall experience, not that particular transition pattern).  Still, if this rests for 6 more months--or a year or two--it will be that bit more approachable, requiring less dialing in for infusion process.  

I have a few cakes now around 4 years old that are coming out the other side of that somewhat young but more settled range, not getting better every year now, fading some but well short of the broader character transition onto being aged.  Essentially all of those I don't own enough of to make waiting out another decade of transition such an attractive prospect.  I'll probably work on finishing most of them, leaving only tea I bought enough extra to age-transition around to wait out that longer cycle.  I can't finish all the half-consumed cakes I own now in a few months, or even half a year; I mean I'll work towards that.

One last point comes to mind, that I've tried 10 year old dry stored teas that are less fermentation transitioned than teas tend to be here after 3 years.  All of these times and stages I'm citing depend on the particular storage input, in addition to the tea character starting point, which I did say a little about.

Is this tea as good as Aphiwat's, or better or worse?  Just different.  Maybe I prefer his a little more, but I think the opposite would be true trying both as two year old versions, and they might be pretty even next year.  Related to long term aging potential I expect this has much more.  All that is just guesses though.  I've tried a somewhat aged version from them before (I should link to that, right?), and I'll post another within another week or so.

my company for tasting again. two marks on her are actually heart shaped.

so green in the rainy season

the other garden

impressive, but spanning across a walkway.  since it's a Buddhist household he gets to use the space.

A favorite Thai sheng ("pu'er") from Aphiwat

Perfect timing, reviewing a Thai sheng version just after discussing those in relation to sharing one in a Chinatown tasting session and post.  I just bought this.  Last year I tried three exceptional versions of Thai sheng (pu'er-like tea) from Aphiwat, this producer, and from Wawee Tea and Moychay, and his may have been my favorite.  That last post goes into all that, with vendor contacts, and earlier review citations.

For completeness this is Aphiwat's FB profile link and this is his FB business page, and this post shows pictures of where he lives, and the clothing style that's typically worn by his local indigenous group.  His earlier description of their name was interesting:

We are not Archer Arkhar. The real name is Aownye Gaokhue, or Aownyer Kokhue.  But other people call us Archer Arkha.

Aphiwat

that traditional clothing (photo provided by Aphiwat, for an earlier post)

Review:

editing notes, second round trial input:  I tried this again later, after earlier on--here--struggling to place a fruit aspect.  It's like fresh pineapple.

How could I miss that, and how could sheng taste like pineapple?  I think it would be natural for someone else to interpret it as a lighter lemon citrus note, with other fruit included, and I did compare it to other tropical fruit in the first review.  

Note that I mean fresh pineapple, which is nothing like the canned version.  There are lots of versions of pineapple, and this related flavor is in a rich and warm but also bright range.  Onto the original review.

first infusion:  I think maybe this is just a little better than last year's!  It's absurd how pleasant this tea is.  To be sure some of that is from me growing to love Thai sheng style and aspects more and more over the last two years.  

Floral tone is the main input, rich and sweet, and complex.  It's sweet and intense like lavender, but lighter in tone, maybe most similar to the flowering tropical vines by our house.

There is some bitterness, yet to evolve much, and some other vegetal flavor range, close to flower stem.  There's a catchy warm tone, maybe not so far off honey sweetness input, of course linking to the high level of sweetness, and I think mineral supports the rest, giving it complexity.  

That honey, warm tone, and floral range might remind me of sunflower, or beeswax, maybe also matching some tropical fruit.  

second infusion:  beeswax seems an even closer match this round.  Lots of floral range too, or maybe that's as naturally interpreted as fruit.  

Bitterness is picking up with intensity (although to be clear this had been at a good intensity level last round, and it's just that much stronger for brewing for another 10 second round this time), but it's not bitter at all for young sheng.  Sometimes that's a sign that the tea was oxidized in processing, swapping out some bitterness input for sweetness and warmer tone, but I'm not so sure about this.  

If this had oxidized more than for standard Yunnan sheng processing that would cost it for long-term aging potential.  To me this tea shouldn't be aged anyway, because it's fantastic now, and it would be a stretch to guess that it might get better.  

The sweetness, rich warmth, high level of complex floral and fruit input, and balanced, complementary vegetal range that makes this work as well as it does.  I can't say for sure that this is better than last year, but maybe just a little.  

third infusion:  the rich feel keeps ramping up along with the depth, complexity, and intensity.  Looking closer at the leaves there is minor color variation to them.  It's possible that they've maxed out complexity by inconsistently processing these leaves, with some just a bit more oxidized than others, or maybe some heated a little more, drawing out more fragrance towards green tea character.  It's a happy accident if so; it's great.

Aftertaste experience is really nice in this too, the way sweetness carries over, and the mild bitter edge, floral tone, even the rich feel, to some extent.  A minute later it's still trailing off, and two minutes on it's more faint but not gone.  For sure some Yunnan versions express even crazier degrees of aftertaste experience, but that does add depth.  The most pleasant part of the experience is the initial taste, where you just go "wow!" every round.

fourth infusion:  the floral and fruit intensity is crazy.  I think it could be that fruit even more of an input than floral range, depending on interpretation, really a complex set of aspects.  This might be closest to fresh lychee in flavor, although that can include a mild citrus and spice range aspect that this doesn't, so it's just the light but rich fruit part of that.  It's not far off rambutan either.  

That warmth, which I've said is related to either honey or rich floral tone, is also similar to dried longan.  Dried longan is very pleasant, along the line of dried date but not earthy, maybe a little towards blueberry, or closest to Chinese date (jujube).

fifth infusion:  a flavor list doesn't do justice to how complex, integrated, and intense this is.  Bitterness joining the rest is pleasant at this moderate level.  People link that to a hui gan theme, a bitterness experience that changes to sweetness, sometimes associated with specific mouthfeel forms, but both inputs are there in that first wave of flavor, and both carry over afterwards. 

leaf color variation is even clearer in later rounds

sixth infusion:  that beeswax flavor input also makes this very catchy, along with all the rest being intense and well-balanced.  With twice the level of bitterness I would still love this tea, but it would fall within a more conventional sheng experience range.  The rest shines much more for balancing in this way, the sweetness and other intensity.  

Of course this tea is far from finished; it brewed well over a dozen rounds, but the notes start to repeat, and the write-up runs too long.  This didn't transition to be a lot different in later rounds.

Conclusion

I think I love this tea much more than most would because it's such a good match to my personal preferences.  I love Thai versions of sheng, the typical flavor set and feel of them, and this may be my favorite example so far.  And one of my favorite teas I've tried in general; it's really something.  

The 2022 version had a potential problem in not being as fully dried as cakes tend to be, and it was pressed a little tight, and this version corrects all that.  It was easy to get a 7 or so gram flake to peel off one side with almost no effort.  Since the leaf layering pattern is a little different for this being hand-pressed one might need to adjust a conventional tea-pick or knife cake / bing separation approach, but after that it's easily accessible.