Chinese Tea Time Oriental Beauty / Dong Fang Mei Ren

 

I'm reviewing a third tea sent by Chinese Tea Time for review (many thanks to them), this time a version of Oriental Beauty / Dong Fang Mei Ren.  

It's from China, so not conventional in background right away, since that's a Taiwanese origin oolong type.  Typically it's relatively oxidized in style, more so than most oolong range, twisted in dry leaf form, but in a looser, more curled form than Wuyi Yancha, Dan Cong, or sheng pu'er maocha.  Typical flavor profile includes citrus, bergamot or orange, warm tones, cinnamon, or dried fruit.  Even the leaf appearance of this version doesn't match the standard look, the twisted leaf preparation, so this may be a little off a standard form range.

a Thai Oriental Beauty version that I reviewed last year

This version, one produced in Thailand, shows that typical appearance.  Not only is the leaf twisted in a more open, coiled style color variation often includes dark brown and light tan colored leaves, sometimes with lighter bud content, as this includes.

I can't find a good product description of the Chinese Tea Time version I'm reviewing.  Here is a very general one on their Instagram page:

Dongfang Meiren or Oriental beauty tea is a semi-fermented tea with a mellow taste, easy to drink, and a beautiful bright yellow color. It is suitable for those who love to eat meat. It is rich in many benefits, such as...

Who knows about that kind of thing, attributed health benefits; you can click the link to check if you want.  Their Shopee sales page had included more details for the green teas that I reviewed, but it seems to be out of stock now, so there is no listing to reference.  After talking with the main business owner and contact it's unavailable, at least through that Shopee outlet, and they would only sell directly from China just now.  That earlier Instagram page probably works as a contact link, as well as any other.

To be clear their specialty is probably green tea.  Those earlier two versions were fantastic.  In discussing this with the business owner more input on that background came up:

I think the tea looks different because it wasn't made from a Taiwanese version of a tea plant, but from the plant used to make Xinyang Maojian instead.

Xinyang Maojian from Shangcheng (local area) has a unique smell and taste, which varies by origin location.  Shangcheng tea is unique and positive in taste because natural mineral water is used to grow the tea, and the air is clean (very little pollution).  Shangcheng is near the high mountain (Dabie Shan), and the highest point in those mountains.

I like the taste and smell of the tea from Shangcheng better than from the rest of the Xingang Maojian from other places.

Some of the tea we sell is made by Mr. Sun Wen Shan, a well-known tea master, whom I can say has golden hands.  He loves to make many kinds of tea, not only green tea, but white, oolong, yellow, and black tea.  He has always received awards in events he has participated in the event, this year receiving a gold medal in a local contest.  

Growing location is also a factor, a main input.  I sometimes like other green teas even more than his when they are produced from high mountain tea material sources, because these can include even more floral aspects.

All that is clear enough.  It's interesting to note that tea types can be made from plant types, cultivars, or else plant versions with naturally varying genetics, that have different names than the final tea types, or there might not be distinct plant names.  Either way this OB isn't made from a Taiwanese oolong plant, instead one more often used to produce green tea.

Maybe oxidation level is lower, as I've more or less guessed in this review, or maybe a lot of the difference is from plant type input and and minor variations in processing.  It sort of doesn't matter, how the causes sort out; the end effect is what it is.  The tea is good, just not a close match for conventional Taiwanese Oriental Beauty style.

Review:

Infusion #1:  this is different, not in the normal style range for the type.  Oriental Beauty is almost always about 80% oxidized, or at least that's how it tends to be presented.  Accurately identifying that as a percentage level might not work.  This is much greener, or at least it looks to be so, and flavor character suggests that.  It may work really well, it's just odd trying it in a different form.  

Flavor character is interesting.  There is a greenish / vegetal edge, and then other warm and complex range.  It's a little closer to how some Dan Cong comes across, just not exactly a match for that either.  I'm looking for conventional OB range, citrus, or bergamot, with cinnamon or other spice, and warm and sweet tones in general.  It's sort of like that, but I'd not describe it as such without seeking that out, being biased to find it.  It might be as floral as any of that.

#2:  I brewed this light; often that helps with identifying flavor aspects.  I'll try it brewed stronger next round to see how that changes things.  It's more complex than it had been, including an interesting flavor set.  Some warmer tones pick up, but it's still in a relatively medium range for warmth versus lighter floral or vegetal character.  Sweetness seems to resemble honey, and there is some citrus range, just not as pronounced as OB often includes.  From there it seems more floral to me, not really also including spice as much as that.

Judged in relation to quality this is clearly quite good.  Fullness is pleasant, general character is refined, and complexity is good.  As a match to standard OB style it doesn't work as well.  Someone really into that tea type might absolutely love this, or could be disappointed.  It would depend on the other range that they also like, and how they take this character not being the other way, more oxidized, warmer in tone, including citrus, sometimes dried fruit, even more sweetness, and some spice range, towards cinnamon.

People often want to guess if a leaf material input was really bug bitten, and for this it's more a question of what set of inputs is different.  Is it tea plant type, harvest period, terroir or processing related, or the bug-bitten part?  The oxidation level seems lower than is most typical, so that's a likely part of it.

  

[Later edit]:  per input from the vendor this oxidation level isn't really below medium range for oolongs, and the leaves look darker in the final wet version than I would expect.  But flavors match more lightly oxidized teas, and the brewed color is fairly light, dark golden yellow instead of on towards redder.

second infusion of that Thai OB; I'm using "redder" here loosely

As a separate aside, it's also possible that there had been some original range of "Oriental Beauty" style that is broader than we are now familiar with, that this type evolved later to become closer to black tea than it had been earlier on.  We now just assume that what is fairly consistent from Taiwan is how that tea type had originally been, but it's normal for preference for oolong types and how they are made to shift over time, even time periods as short as a decade.  Wuyi Yancha were more oxidized in a more traditional style, I've heard, and it's even clearer in relation to Anxi (Fujian) Tie Guan Yin, which have evolved to be hardly oxidized at all, often with little or no roast input in processing.  It's commonly mentioned that a more traditional TGY form was nothing like that in the past.

More likely this is a modern interpretation, based on the current OB form, but adjusted from that, more different in relation to a number of inputs varying than just one.

#3:  I'm not describing the vegetal input clearly for this.  It tastes like flower plant stem, that characteristic odd astringency, touch of bitterness, and light edge.  From there fullness of feel, clean flavors, and complexity identify this as good quality tea, but again the style is unusual.  Not just for Oriental Beauty, really; it's in an atypical range in general.  

I had said that this seems to share some common ground with Dan Cong, related to it being lighter (less oxidized), floral, complex, and refined, but it's not a close match.  That vegetal input isn't so familiar from any other tea type that comes to mind.  Any vegetal range overlaps most with green tea as a broad category type.

Feel is a little unusual too, more noticeable when brewed stronger.  It has an unusual form of the astringency.  I guess that matches what one might expect tying to the vegetal flavor, what might result from biting a flower plant stem, a mild puckering effect, versus other conventional fullness or roughness.  That part isn't necessarily positive, but not so negative either.  It just makes for an odd experience for so many parts being unconventional.  It's as if this is more connected to a tea type that I'm not familiar with, instead of being an example of Taiwanese-style Oriental Beauty.

#4:  citrus picks up; that's positive.  Warmth increases too, with the honey-like tone standing out more.  This is more like conventional OB than it had been.  If the plant-stem input was swapped out for something richer and deeper, like cinnamon or raisin, this would be a perfect match.  As it is these aspects work well enough together; it's pleasant.  

It's quite refined, a vague term I use to mean that it's clean, complex, and balanced in a way that's hard to describe.  Since this isn't transitioning so much I'll probably just do one more round of notes and let that go, even though this might only be half finished.

mixed oxidation level, per this color range

#5:  more of the same.  Depth may pick up just a little; this is evolving positively, even if it's not changing much.  That's a good sign for the quality level.

  

Later rounds, which I tried later and didn't take notes for, tasted distinctly like pine needle.  So much so that I wondered if I hadn't missed an obvious flavor interpretation, or if instead it had evolved to change, shifting from a different vegetal tone to that.

Conclusions:

Someone's experience of this tea would depend on how they relate to the atypical aspects set, if that seems positive or off-putting.  Often you can tie that to other types preference, for example concluding that a green tea or sheng pu'er drinker might love it, while a black tea drinker wouldn't.  Maybe that's it, setting aside the sheng part, since this isn't as intense, astringent in the same way, as bitter, or as complex across floral or other typical sheng range.  Someone would need to be open to a range of different green tea styles to appreciate this.  

A Dan Cong drinker may or may not completely get it; it overlaps with that type as much as any other, but still not so much, kind of in between that and green tea character.  That one vegetal flavor range and edge is different.  Anyone who mostly loves the connection between typical OB style and black tea range might be disappointed; it lacks the warmth, depth, heavier tones, and towards dried fruit sweetness and flavor, versus lighter honey.  Citrus is moderate, and in a different form than is typical for traditional OB, not the heavy bergamot / richer orange tone.

I like it; that may or may not have come across in the descriptions.  But then I'm also a black tea drinker, and love warm and rich oolong versions, so I might like a more basic and flawed conventional OB version as much as this one.  It probably matches preference better for people who drink green tea and also oolong, versus a sheng pu'er drinker who also likes black teas.  I like oolong too, lots of range of it, and it had been my main preference for years, but once you get swept up in sheng it's hard going back, and I use black tea as my main range for alternating experiences.

One last aside, that Chinese Tea Time vendor mentioned that direct sales from China are still possible, of course varying in relation to Spring green tea availability, with the 2024 season pretty much over now.  They were selling teas in a conventional diverse volume range through Shopee, the local Thai Amazon equivalent, but their sales from China would need to be higher in volume for that to still make sense, more like 500 grams per version instead of 50 or 100.  Their Instagram profile should work as a contact.

That list of health benefits, and the Instagram page appearance.  It's interesting that their Tik Tok page has good following, shown in a post citing that profile's high level stats.

completely unrelated, a cute little girl wearing a beanie

Xinyang Maojian and Himjian; exceptional quality green teas

Maojian left, in all photos

I'm trying two green teas sent for review by a somewhat local online vendor, a Thai business owner living in China now. 

It can be odd trying green teas since they're my least favorite category. I can appreciate good Longjing, and sometimes buy fishhook style Vietnamese Thai Nguyen green tea if I see it.  I can tell if Japanese green teas are good from trying enough but the general style doesn't match my preference, so I would never buy sencha or gyokuro. 

To spoil the outcome these were surprisingly good, among the best quality green teas that I've ever tried. One might suspect that most of the best versions in styles beyond the few we know of in "the West" are only known of and drank in China, and when less known types make it out the quality is moderate.  I had a related experience with Qimen (black tea) not so long ago, trying a range one would typically never encounter. 

These citations of Instagram listings work as one reference, and local Thai online sales on Shoppee (like Amazon) are here and here. 

Xinyang Wild Tea, floral fragrance, high mountain, organic, premium, ancient tea tree

490 baht for 50 grams, a bit under $15

Gaoshanxin Yang Maojian Tea (Grade 1, top 2 leaves)

Also 490 baht for 50 grams.

Both those prices are presented as discounted rates, from an original higher price.  Under $15 for 50 grams of either does seem like a steal, given the review findings.

Review:

Xinyang Maojian:  it was clear that these were high quality teas long before brewing them.  The appearance is novel and promising, and dry tea scent rich, complex, and sweet.  Both have tea dust inside the bag, from trichomes, fine hairs on the buds of fresh, high quality tea.  I suppose it's conceivable that a tea could look beautiful, smell great, and contain tea fuzz and not be well above average quality tea but it would seem unlikely. 

This reminds me of running across a grass blade looking green tea version in a Beijing market a decade back, sold only as high mountain tea, which I never identified further.  It surely wasn't close to this good, but I wouldn't have known then either way. 

Taste is rich.  Umami comes across first, then vegetal range beyond that, along with freshness and sweetness.  This is really in between aspects I would associate with other green tea styles, which means nothing, since I haven't tried much of the entire range of Chinese green teas.  

Umami isn't as pronounced as in many Japanese green teas, but it's still pronounced.  Richer warm tones include a toasted rice sort of aspect I'd associate with Longjing.  Floral tone and vegetal range I can't really match to other green tea, but that would vary across many types.  Vegetal range is close to sugar snap pea, very fresh and clean.

Xinyang Himajian:  this includes richer, warmer tones.  There is some umami present too, but the whole general range is shifted.  It includes light, sweet, floral range too, but also warmer tones, not exactly matching the toasted rice in the other, but not completely different.  It tastes a bit like barley tea, that one flavor aspect.  Tisanes in general and barley tea in particular generally express a limited flavor range though, only so much complexity.  This is far more complex, going further than pretty good green tea versions often do.  

I'll have to look up how much these sell for to set up a baseline for reference after tasting, but these are clearly among the best quality green teas I've ever tried.  I wasn't really expecting that.

This includes vegetal range too, more like a fresh version of green bean instead of sugar snap pea (so heavier).  That may sound negative, as if cooked vegetables isn't a promising range for tea.  I mean that these seem to express the flavor of a lightly steamed vegetable, retaining that freshness and sweetness, not the they resemble well-cooked vegetables of any kind.

There is plenty of floral range too, just occurring in warmer tones, I guess more towards lavender, but then isolating and describing floral tones isn't really one of my strengths.  Feel is rich and full for both of these teas, with aftertaste experience carry-over.  They're clearly exceptional quality teas.

As of the first round I like the lighter tone character of the other version better, but the way these aspects in this come together in this version, and the way refined complexity and intensity is expressed, make it slightly better overall.

Quality one can determine by a range of typical markers, which vary by tea type.  It's an entirely different thing than match to preference.  The description list for these teas indicates what great quality is for green tea:  good balance, flavor intensity, positive flavor aspects, refinement, presence of umami (when matching the style), clean flavor range / lack of flaws, full feel (less of a determining input for green tea), and pronounced aftertaste experience.  In general--which varies by specific tea type--flavor aspect range varies by type as much as quality, and heavier vegetal flavors indicate a lower quality version, with sweetness and lighter floral range standing out more in many better green teas.

Maojian #2:  vegetal range shifts; this is much more complex.  Brewing this in different ways would draw out far different results.  Using cooler water would lighten flavors (this is well off boiling point but not cool, not 70 or 75 C); many people would prefer that.  Brewing this using an approach closer to Western brewing might be more conventional, longer infusion times at a lower proportion, again shifting temperature to cooler water. It's easier, and it trades out experience of transitions for even more complexity. 

Vegetal range is now dominant, with umami secondary.  Flavor is centered more on green beans, versus sugar snap peas in a first infusion.  Sweetness is great; overall complexity and intensity is perfect.  I've tried some exceptional green teas before but nothing in this style, and not much at this quality level.

Himajian:  warm tones pick up in this in an unexpected way.  It adds a lot of mineral range, and umami approaching seaweed levels and flavor.  It's still floral with some vegetal range, but it almost comes across as spice, for this being so novel and intense.  I don't love a lot of seaweed flavor range but again this really works.  It's just so clean; there is no negative fishy or sea-oriented flavor related to that, just dominant vegetal range, that is hard to place.  

I had a fantastic version of well-roasted river weed in Laos once, an experience I never will forget; this isn't completely dis-similar to that.  Maybe it would help to say that one part of the experience seems close enough to toasted sesame seeds, that flavor warmth and depth.

Maojian #3:  this shifts again; I guess it will continue like that for both.  A unique vegetal aspect enters in, like flower stem.  Floral range still supports that, and sweetness is good, so it balances well.  It could still be interpreted as tasting mainly like sugar snap pea; this shifting interpretation tends to focus on what changes, as reviews often do.  

It's hard to describe how this balances, how complexity, refinement, intensity, and additional feel and aftertaste aspects support this.

Himjian:  yet another pronounced shift in flavor range, but again it's hard to describe.  Warm tones ramp way up, and they were already pronounced before.  It might taste a bit like roasted almonds.  It's not completely nutty in the sense of peanuts or cashews but still in that general range.  

Maojian #4:  I'll give this one more slightly longer soak and end the notes here.  These will keep going.

A toasted rice / cashew sort of note picks up.  Again brewing just a little of either of these for a shorter time at a lower proportion would be different; that would also be pleasant and interesting.  Aftertaste expression may even pick up in this.  Mineral tones and other supporting range also really supports complexity.

Himjian:  this really is shifting towards a spice tone, in a way that's hard to isolate.  It does taste a little like that roasted river weed, but there's no way that helps for most readers.  The warmer spice range that picks up is a bit like aromatic incense spice, along the line of sandalwood.  A higher level of structure picks up in the feel, of course nothing like the far more intense sheng pu'er range, but it is interesting that it changes.  Aftertaste lends the experience greater complexity.

Both these teas are just fantastic.  I had no idea that they would be like this.  It made for an interesting surprise, trying versions that are more novel and higher in quality than I could've expected. 

People who think that they don't like green tea might be surprised by these.  Some people who already do like green tea might be even more surprised, that the range extends beyond what they have experienced. 

tea event in a Bangkok mall this week