Trying three grades of Huangshan Maofeng (green tea)

I'm reviewing half of a green tea sampler set from ITea World, three grades of Maofeng green tea.  It's represented as tying to a plucking standard and quality level:

6 Flavors Superior Green Tea Leaf Grade Collection Includes Longjing And Huangshan Maofeng 87G For Morning  ($36.90)

Introducing our Green Tea Leaf Grade Collection, a specially curated collection designed to help you discover how the picking grade of green tea leaves affects its flavor, aroma, and overall tea-drinking experience. This set includes two renowned Chinese green teas—Dragon Well (Longjing) and Huangshan Maofeng—both made from traditional heirloom varietals. The only difference? The picking grade of the leaves. You’ll be able to taste three distinct grades:

One bud, one leaf

One bud, two leaves

One bud, three leaves

Each tea is handpicked and processed by the same experienced tea master to ensure consistency in craftsmanship. By tasting the subtle variations from these different leaf grades, you'll develop a deeper understanding of green tea and find the perfect grade for your personal preferences.

I'll have to see how that bud theme works out for the Longjing; it usually just looks like small leaves.

In terms of value this seems fine; maybe 40 cents a gram for pretty good green tea.  It would be more in the Spring, and maybe it would make more sense to buy it then, even paying more, but for trying something novel (for people not already exposed to this range) they could catch back up on appreciating the fresh edge and intensity more later.

I wasn't keeping track of how many sample sets they've expanded to sell now.  It's a lot.  They're quite a bit better for this latest round of different sets than earlier on; the Dan Cong alone changes everything.  They cost more too; that's how it goes with higher quality, higher demand tea types.  Those earlier basic sets were great for just getting people started on basic oolongs and black teas, and such, but now these take another step.  An aged tea set has been pretty good, better than I expected, and another Longjing set was about as good as 8 or 9 month old versions were going to be.  Good Dan Cong is on another level, to me, and somehow theirs were way better than versions most often are.

Western vendors offer sample sets too, but they don't push into the range as far, or take up the same developed forms.  Most will offer one or two sets, so that you don't need to buy whole cakes of sheng or 50 grams of each type, and can go back and order more of what you like.  Yunnan Sourcing might sell 20 different sample sets, across a lot of types range, and maybe even more, but these are packaged in a novel way, set up to try each sample individually.  Does it make a difference?  Maybe not, usually.  But it's ideal for sharing them, or traveling with them, or not getting to some for a few months.

Review:

Level 4, 2 or 3 leaves:  fresh, bright, and vegetal, with pleasant sweetness and overall balance.  I don't want to overdo it with stating and re-stating that this must have been fresher when first produced, in April of 2024.  It's still good, this just wouldn't work for everyone into green tea.  The vegetal part tastes a little like green bean.  At least it's a relatively fresh version of green bean, not like well-steamed or canned forms.  Still, it tastes like green bean.

Level 2, 1 bud and 2 leaves:  slightly brighter and fresher, with a touch of nutty range.  This is more what I like best in green tea.  It's still vegetal, not that far off green bean, but it leans a little more towards sugar snap pea instead.  Feel might be slightly thicker; I'll have to focus on that as I go to tell better.

Premier, 1 bud and 1 leaf:  the flavor profile of this is different, with more separation from the other two than the first from the second.  There's a savory note in this.  That often reminds me of sun-dried tomato; maybe it's a little like that.  It doesn't necessarily seem fresher and brighter than the others.  The extra flavor range gives it more depth, but it's in a heavier and warmer tone.  

I don't necessarily like this more than the second version, where it did map like that in the middle round; it seemed better than the first.  It's just different.  There is different vegetal range beyond that savory note, that's hard to identify.  It's more like fresh soybean; back to coupling with some savory range.  It doesn't really express the nutty aspect in the second.

I hadn't mentioned brewing approach.  This proportion is moderate, for me, at maybe 5 grams per these 100 ml gaiwans (that probably fill to 90 at the most), so I used 20 or so seconds for the first round.  I'll bump that a little, on to 30.  Of course I didn't weigh or time any of that; I'm philosophically opposed to such things.  It's just to pass on an idea of it.

Level 4, #2:  a little grassiness is picking up, a fairly standard theme across a lot of green tea experience.  I wouldn't say that I hate that, I also just don't like it.  Flavors are generally clean, and decently fresh, but that grass flavor pulls it towards a steamed spinach effect.  I eat steamed spinach, to be clear; I like it.  And some seaweed, but this doesn't go there.  It expresses some umami but not enough that it stands out.  Feel is fine, but not full or rich, just present enough to support the experience.  It's not bad, it's just also not great.

Level 2:  this changed a good bit.  Nutty flavor range is replaced by a much greater depth.  It's a little towards the sun-dried tomato in the next version, just not a direct match.  Some degree of nutty flavor is still present.  I like the balance of this more, how it all comes together.  Feel is a little fuller than the first version.  Vegetal range is still in between fresh green bean and sugar snap pea, spanning both.  To me that's pleasant, but it would just depend on preference.  Someone else might interpret this as including kale as well, which I would take to be a more negative assessment (unless they love kale?).  

Being brewed stronger probably shifted how the flavors come across.  It's normal for some of that to happen across most tea types.

Premium:  steamed soybean is a much stronger flavor input now.  I actually like those, so this kind of works for me.  I'd probably rather experience Longjing of this quality level, but I already reviewed a set of those, and there are three more in this set.  I doubt that I'll be able to identify differences between the earlier one and that one, trying the teas weeks apart.  

When you taste in comparison like this the other teas tend to set a benchmark level, not an earlier experience, or all earlier experiences.  With enough tasting exposure you could place it against another range easier.  For me I would have better luck with that for other tea types, for sheng pu'er, black teas, and a range of oolongs.

Sweetness is pretty good in this, and thickness is fine, with a touch more aftertaste experience carrying over.  Some of that could serve as subtle quality markers.  That's more or less a working concept that I made up, one that helps me place what I'm experiencing.  The aspects that tend to identify tea quality the most don't necessarily directly overlap with those that make the experience most pleasant.  But then people could value different parts, or different aspects within a range, so that's subjective, and variable.

For green tea freshness would be a main concern, and these all are giving up a bit for being 9 or 10 months old.  From there distinctive flavor range would identify them as fully type-typical, kind of related to a quality issue, but different.  For green teas intensity, rich feel, sweetness level, and clean effect (like "refinement," an emergent property based on different aspects) would all identify quality.  Aftertaste expression kind of links with intensity, but it's something else as well.

To me this tasting a lot like cooked soybean and then sun-dried tomato and green bean beyond that is not an unusual theme (although I'm definitely no Maofeng expert), but back to preference it's also not completely positive.  The tea is good, but again I'd rather drink Longjing.  I'll brew these lighter next time, for more like 15 to 20 seconds, just to check on the difference that makes.

Level 4, #3:  lighter doesn't work as well for this; the sweetness seems to back off, and it comes across more like water vegetables were steamed in.  It's still ok, in one sense, but not as pleasant as the first two rounds.

Level 2:  again lower intensity isn't better for this, but to me the style and character hold up much better at this lower infusion strength.  Some intensity of flavor carries over better, even though it's also light.  The nutty aspect still stands out, in a nice way.  Vegetal range works well as a background input, not too focused on any one cooked vegetable theme.  I suppose sugar snap peas stand out most.  Grassiness doesn't enter in much.

Premier:  cooked soybean is now coupled with more cooked vegetables; this is a bit like a much stronger version of broth than the first was.  Warmth, depth, and some umami range stand out.  The Level 2 version covers brightness and freshness better, at this stage.

Nine cups of these teas is so much.  I'm curious about what one more strong round would be like, but it's getting to be a lot.  I'll take a break, and I may get back to that, or may not.  I would expect it will be more of that I've been describing, without much of a development or twist.

Fourth round, combined notes:  after a short break I did go there.  I do like these better brewed a bit longer, and they're holding up to this many rounds well.  None of the three are improving, or evolving in interesting and positive ways, more just hanging in there.  The descriptions from earlier rounds still apply.

Conclusions:

It's interesting liking the character of the Level 2 version the most, that flavor profile.  The Premier version is definitely a little more intense, with quite a bit more umami experience, but I don't like the taste of cooked soybeans with a little sundried tomato more than nuttiness with some brighter vegetal background.  The Level 4 version, the first, is more grassy, with more standard vegetable range.

I'm not sure this divide relates mostly to a plucking standard (what the material is made from).  They didn't confirm that plant types were identical, although they might be quite similar, or the same, and there's nothing in here about microclimate / terroir, them being from slightly different places.  Even being located on two different sides of the same hill could change things, a little, or broader inputs like elevation can.  Of course I'm not going to speculate about specifics.  They said that the same producer made them, implying that all other conditions were held to be as similar as possible, but who knows.

All in all this was an interesting experience.  It's hard to place in relation to Maofeng I've tried in the past; it's been awhile, and I've drank a good bit more Longjing, and not very much of that compared to sheng pu'er.  For a green tea drinker I think this would be all the nicer.

But then there's the freshness edge sub-theme; these must have had a little more of a fresh pop when first produced.  They're not settling into warmer, murkier flavors, necessarily, but it's quite possible that the comments here about cooked vegetables would've been about brighter or more floral range aspects when these were brand new.  I think exploring green tea right before the Spring harvest season is a little odd, but it could still make sense.  You would need to place it for what it is, considering that as one input.

It might be interesting for them to bundle left-over 2024 versions along with new 2025 teas.  I'm speculating about aging transition inputs, but in direct comparison you could try to sort that out, beyond different versions just varying for different reasons.  Aged green tea isn't a common thing, but to me transitions across different time-frames are interesting.  Black tea settles more over the first few months than people might expect, for example, and of course sheng pu'er does a lot more.

Sweetest Dew / Dylan Conroy sharing exceptional Qimen

 

This is a second review of teas sent by Dylan Conroy for me to try (after reviewing a white tea here), as much sharing experience as for review exposure, but both.  These are Qimen, a main black tea type he has been focusing on.

That type should be familiar as an older tea type, more original, often now sold as high volume production and moderate quality versions.  Of course there are exceptional versions out there, but they don't make it to the West so often.  People might demand Lapsang Souchong, Jin Jun Mei, or Dian Hong more, as Chinese black teas go, then onto Golden Monkey or whatever else.

These two tea versions were amazing.  I'll let the review description go on more about that, not really even doing much with conclusions beyond that account.  He sent a third to try, but I tend to avoid doing three way comparison reviews these days, so I'll get back to that.  It's too much tea to try, and I don't brew tea without actually drinking it.  I'll let his Sweetest Dew vending page description of both types serve as an introduction:

Old Style Qimen (listing for a bit under $30 per 50 grams, I think, 911 baht, although I'm not seeing that volume clearly defined)

Qimens originally were picked around Gu Yu, late April, underwent no shape making step and Then were then baked using charcoal. The maker of this tea is replicating the original Qimen.

Because the tea is a late pick, it is mostly leaves. And while you may expect a dark bitter brew, what you get instead is a medium-light brew that is very clean and has notes of natural honey and nuts. The profile isn't very complex but the flavor is simply enjoyable.

Qimen Mao Feng (the same price, 911 baht, or under $30 for 50 grams)

Qimen Mao Feng is the smoothest out of all the Qimens.

Contary to popular belief Qimen Mao Fengs are not made with the mao feng cultivar or use the Mao Feng picking standard. Mao Feng simply means there is no shape making step, the leaves hold the natural shape they took on during the making.

Qimen Mao Fengs, the original Qimen black tea, is the smoothest of all the styles. It also boasts the the most savory body. This particular one is rich and deep with a whismical floral aroma to it. While boasting no loud flavor notes or aromas, this Qimen will sooth you with a calm but rich body that is reminisent of Mao Feng green tea.

I looked for a picture of Dylan on his sales site but didn't find one.  Maybe I'll show what he looks like in one last review post.  I did see a cool looking travel set there, a small gaiwan and four cups, for about $20.  That might be worth looking into if someone is going to order tea, since shipping works out better if get more stuff, since the value gets better and better, the ratio of what you buy to cost of sending it, if the selling price is good to begin with.

Review:

Old Style Qimen:  I've not had even a basic version of qimen in so long I can't place how this relates to that.  I remember it as basic black tea, maybe a bit inky as flavor ranges go, but then I never tried anything presented as exceptional.

This is exceptional.  It's inky too, with good sweetness, good flavor complexity, great balance and depth.  Flavor might center on something along the lines of roasted sweet potato.  Mineral depth really stands out; it's complex.  Feel is nice and rich, especially for this being a first relatively light round.  I tend to go back to Dian Hong range as a baseline, for style, aspects, and match to preference, and this doesn't overlap that much with that typical range.  It's more refined, which is good, with a lot of depth and complexity, but it's not as basic in a sense that's both good and also limiting.  Depth comes across as much as the flavor, at this point, it's not as flavor-forward, which really could relate to it being a first round.  It's too early for those kind of conclusions anyway.

Qimen Mao Feng:  before that fully registered it stood out that it's good.  This has pretty good depth too but there's a range of intense flavor that really stands out.  This reminds me a little of the more oxidized style of Jin Jun Mei, the warmer, honey-toned versions of those.  Not a little either, an awful lot.  I mean like this version.  The strong honey note is common with those, ranging from honey taste into beeswax.  There is some general roasted sweet potato / yam range too; let's just say it's more yam in this version, even though at some point these interpretations tend to be guesswork.  Warm mineral tone also stands out.  Not like in the other, exactly, where that base layer and depth is a good half of the overall experience, but it supports the rest.  

Both of these are very complex and refined.  This is a quality range in black teas that doesn't come up that often.  To say that neither includes any flaws is technically correct, but it's discussing a range of concerns that doesn't even come to mind.  These are carefully and well made teas, the product of a long tradition, for sure.  It is also interesting trying versions from new places, people originating new styles, or borrowing from other areas, and this doesn't seem to be that.  

Maybe "Qimen Mao Feng" is a reference to exactly what I'm describing [later edit:  it's not], but even if so it's not a case of a new tea maker sorting out processing.  It couldn't be.  I can love the results from such a set of inputs, or possibly even prefer a version to these, but it never results in tea this refined.  The unusually fine leaf and bud material is surely a related input; that's not typical of almost any black tea types.  It's normal for Jin Jun Mei, and that's about it, of what I've tried.

I'm curious how this version can brew darker liquid when the leaf oxidation level seems much lighter (the color), and this includes a lot of fine bud content.  Intuitively both would seem to lead towards the opposite outcome.  For once no speculation goes with that observation; I just don't know.

Old Style Qimen #2:  intensity picks up in this, not that it was overly subtle the first round.  I'm not going to do justice to unpacking this complex flavor.  Warm mineral is definitely the base; that part is easy.  Roasted sweet potato is still dominant, but there's a lot more going on this round.  It seems like floral range joined that, a very rich, deep, and heavy floral range, like rose petals.  Dried fruit might relate to some of the rest, in a type range that's hard to pin down, along the line of dried tamarind, but that's not it.  It's so intense that it seems like there's more to it yet, maybe something like caraway seed spice, tying this to how a dark rye bread might come across.  

It's pleasant; it all really integrates.  It comes across as all one thing, but then when you try to describe what that is it seems like there's a lot to it.  Feel is rich and some aftertaste experience adds depth.  I would expect the other to be considerably different too; this will be a lot to experience in just two rounds.

Mao Feng Qimen:  it's more that the balance of the flavors from the last round changed, but something is fundamentally different in how it comes across.  It tastes like brandy; it has that richness, intensity, and depth.  Teas taking on a liqueur- like quality isn't new, but this form of that isn't familiar.  A high quality Wuyi Yancha oolong might start into that range, but not like this, in a lighter range form, like a touch of cognac versus this resembling brandy.  

Intensity, refinement, and complexity for this tea version are all off the charts.  There's a "wow!" effect, a simple response of appreciation, that goes beyond the attempt to evaluate aspects or describe it in terms of liking it to a certain degree.  This is better tea than I would tend to try to drink on a regular basis, even cost aside; tea just doesn't need to be like this.  Versions that are more basic, with simpler character and more rough edges, essentially almost all black teas, compared to this, can be appealing for being approachable, for not requiring or implying that you should fully experience and appreciate them.  

It would seem absurd to drink this tea along with toast and jam.  It would be good though, once you moved past that set of expectations.  I just never would have this tea with a rushed breakfast, which to me isn't necessarily the core of tea drinking and appreciation, that role as a mundane beverage, but somehow that helps me connect with teas, in a sense.  

Anyone who has tried a very exceptional, refined, complex, and unique Jin Jun Mei knows what I'm talking about.  I want to stop short of saying that some teas can be too high in quality, since I don't mean that, but moving past all "basicness" in style can almost seem to come with some limitation.  Very refined Wuyi Yancha can be similar; it calls for a different kind of experiential approach to really take it in.  I'm not an aesthetic setting / ceremonial approach / mystical tea experience kind of guy; for people on that page this could take black tea experience to another level.

Old Style Qimen #3:  brewed lighter it comes across as less intense, but not so different otherwise.  The depth and refinement are really nice.  Complexity would stand out more if this wasn't compared to the other version.  This is definitely nothing at all like the low-medium quality commercial versions of Qimen I've tried before.

Mao Feng Qimen:  the way the balance of the aspects I described shift is really novel and appealing, but hard to describe.  Different parts stand out more brewed at different intensity, or else it's just evolving through rounds, or both.  That beeswax note is really catchy, and the overall effect, the balance of complex flavors, is very appealing.  Higher end and forward flavor range balances so well with depth and a mineral base.  

Refinement is exceptional, not just a lack of flaws, but the opposite.  That last set of comments is the closest I've ever came to complaining that the quality level is too high.

Old Style Qimen #4:  a dark wood tone base picks up.  It's not like when teas get brewed out, and become woody, more that aromatic / aged furniture range that can come up, in between the flavor of rich dark tropical wood and aromatic oil that might be used as a preservative.  The thickness and richness of this tea is really something.  After you swallow it the aftertaste experience almost seems stronger than the taste while drinking it.  Rich mineral base seems to connect with a warm spice aspect, an aromatic incense range of spice, which of course is not separate from what I'm describing as aged furniture / tropical dark wood / essential oil that I can't place.  It's closest to an aromatic bark spice range but it also includes root spice sort of depth.  It's all quite nice.  

I doubt this tea is close to finished but I'll need to stop taking notes to go run an errand, and drinking 8 fast cups of hot tea on a ridiculously hot Bangkok afternoon is pushing it.  I ran 10k this morning, up early anyway to take our cat to get a bandage changed, an outcome from fighting a street cat, and experienced some mild heat stroke even at 10 AM.  

It's nice being able to see that on a heart rate graph now.  I don't need to, I can feel it internally, but there it is in stats, that I was running a slow pace (6:30 km or so) at 160 bpm heart rate, for the last 6 km.  The actual experience had more immediacy and depth than the stats; I felt a lot like walking instead.  But I didn't; I kept running "slow," and toughed it out.

for me doing 5k at 150 bpm is a rough go

what struggling looks like (note device distances don't match--strange)

Mao Feng Qimen:  floral range picked up a lot.  The earlier flavors are still there, but this continued that trend of the balance completely shifting round to round.  That's pleasant, and novel.  Transitions across infusions is normal but it's usually not that extreme.  New flavors can join, or some from the earlier set can drop out, but that kind of thing is more common for sheng pu'er than for black tea.

I don't feel like this version is completely eclipsing the other but I do like it more, and it's more unique, complex, and novel.  

From drinking upper-medium level quality oolong I've gotten into the habit of guessing what a normal price range would be for tea versions, for a style and quality level, and for this tea being so unique that really doesn't work.  For this version it's more about if the higher end of pricing can still make sense.  If this sold for much under $1 a gram it would be underpriced, but in general I just wouldn't consider buying much of anything for $1 a gram.  Most of what self-styled "curator vendors" are presenting as high quality, unique, exceptional, refined teas surely aren't on this level.

Let's consider a reference:  that "honey style" Jin Jun Mei from Wuyi Origin, that I mentioned earlier, somehow sells for $40 for 100 grams (that seems low).  Their "wild Jin Jun Mei" sells for $74.60 per 100 grams, that might be even better.  I can't place this tea version in relation to those two, although it's tempting to try, but it's exceptional enough that the second typically unheard of higher price range--high for black teas--might be about right.  Or if a tea style and version barely exists at all, which is probably true of that wild Jin Jun Mei too, then market rate is whatever a source says it is, because there is no second option out there.  

If smaller vendors tip towards a $1 / gram price range because their mark-up practices are different that's not necessarily unjustified.  Competing on value with a direct-from-producer outlet isn't practical.  Larger outlet vendors will sometimes describe not quite as novel and high quality teas in similar ways and sell them for that just under $1 / gram range.  Maybe that's fair too; not everyone is combing the internet for the best value for unrealistic novelty and quality level teas.  

Only a limited subset of tea drinkers could even appreciate what these are, really.  And I don't see that as a bad thing; I personally don't need for the teas I experience and enjoy to be anywhere near this good.  When I drink Wuyi Origin teas I have a similar experience, that I can tell they're that much better than everything else I ever drink, but that in some limited sense that must still be wasted on me.

Conclusions:

There doesn't seem to be much more to cover, really, since I wrote some conclusions into the notes.  The Old Style version was quite good, only seeming less interesting for the Mao Feng version being that extra bit better.  I really didn't expect these teas to hold their own with Wuyi Origin's (Cindy's) Jin Jun Mei versions.  Maybe only the one did, but quality level, complexity, refinement, and novel style were all really far up the scale for that tea version.  It holds its own with anything else.

For people considering ordering this that might pose a dilemma:  it's quite interesting to compare different styles or versions of novel tea types together, but for sure the Mao Feng version is better.  It would help shift the psychology of that decision a little if they weren't priced the same.

They were both pleasant to try; Dylan sharing these samples was much appreciated.

Mao Feng material white tea and Wang Put Tan Thai shou mei

Thai Wang Put Tan white left, Huang Shan right

An online contact has been describing positive experiences in exploring Chinese teas for awhile, Dylan Conroy, of the small online vending outlet, The Sweetest Dew.  This post is mostly a tea review, but to me that backstory is also interesting, so let's go into that first.

He explores culture and tea, which he sells, but the balance seems to relate more to exploration than profit.  That's not completely unheard of.

We have been discussing Qimen; that has been his previous main focus, in another area.  His "About Me" sales site section probably explains it better than my memory of earlier discussion:

"Some call him the Qimen Jesus, some others "the maofeng guy", but he prefers Dylan. Yup, simple ol' Dylan from Brooklyn...

I studied Mao Feng in Huang Shan, Yan Cha in Wuyi Shan and now Bi Luo Chun in Suzhou. This focused approach to finding teas not only allows me to find the best teas of each category, but to gain a deep understanding of the tea as I do...

The Sweetest Dew is not just a way to sell tea, it's a record of my journey in tea, in China and in Life. 

He is also on Instagram and YouTube. 

He sent this white tea version and also Qimen to try, which I'll get to later.  I'm comparison reviewing this version described here along with a Thai white tea version:

Huang Shan Mao Feng White Tea

This white tea is made with the traditional Mao Feng cultivar. It is subtle and but still has the vegetal nuttiness of a Mao Feng Green tea. The body is soft and fuzzy showing that the drying was done very well. This tea is honestly on par with Fu Ding Shou Meis. 

This is a new tea so we don't know how the flavors will develop as it ages. You can be one of the first to try it. 

It lists for 913 baht for 50 grams, a bit under $30 (there must be a way to change that listed currency).  That's a bit for white tea, but if it's exceptional that's still fair, and since I'm writing this after trying it I can confirm that it definitely is unique and very positive.  Dylan is helping a friend / local contact by selling her tea as well, with her story on a different page:

Hello! I am Jing, a post-80s generation, and my current job is to share the good tea from my hometown. I was born in a mountain village in She County, Huangshan, Anhui. My hometown is a very beautiful place, with a forest coverage rate of 80%, and the environment and soil are both beautiful. It is very suitable for the growth of tea trees. My family also has several acres of tea mountains. I have grown up smelling the fragrance of tea and drinking tea in tea mountains and tea factories since I was a child, so I have a strong affection for tea... 

The subtle taste and aroma of the tea leaves in each tea mountain are different. I like to use a cup of tea to feel the charm of a mountain. If you also like to drink tea, then taste the fresh fragrance of the vegetation thousands of miles away from my tea.

That sounds nice, that area, background, and perspective.  

On with describing the tea then, along with a Thai white version that my friend Huyen shared with me a couple of weeks ago while visiting from Vietnam.  It's from the Wang Put Than plantation, one of the main half dozen producers, maybe, or else maybe I just keep hearing about them even though they're not that, in relation to production volume. They market themselves as a producer who also emphasizes tea tourism, visiting their plantation, and maybe they do that well enough that their name keeps coming up.

Review:

Thai Wang Put Tan shou mei (2021):  subtle; that can happen.  I gave this a 20 second or so infusion time but it's not a lot of leaf, maybe only 4 grams or so.  I'll bump timing next round.  These teas can't really overbrew, for sure.

It's hard to isolate much more for flavors or character; not all that much is coming through just yet.  It seems pleasant, sweet, creamy, with rich flavors, maybe including a touch of caramel or toffee.  What does come across is nice, this just needs to be brewed stronger.

Huang Shan Mao Feng material Chinese white:  that offers a little more.  A light vegetal range gives it some intensity, just not much yet, combined with sweet floral tones.  A bit of spice joins the rest, in the general cinnamon range.  The vegetal range isn't heavy, like celery or green bean or the like, more a scent of fresh tree leaves in the spring.

Wang Put Tan, round 2:  an interesting range of flavors pick up.  A creaminess comes across, but that's not a main flavor.  There is cinnamon spice in this too, but it's also more a supporting aspect.  That flavor that stands out is probably really a set.  One main part is along the line of root beer, that root spice input.  Sweetness does take on a pleasant character, like light toffee.  

It's evident from the leaf color that this is considerably more oxidized, and that comes out in that slight warm tone.  It's all fairly subtle still, even for the 50 or so second infusion time, but it's quite pleasant.

Huang Shan white:  now this really hits, not so different than last round but at double the intensity.  That same list kind of works:  sweetness, vague fresh floral range, some degree of vegetal input, but a light and pleasant version of that, maybe towards fennel, sweet, light, and fresh.  There isn't a heavy spice input but a touch of cinnamon balances the rest, or that really could be a different spice input that only reminds me of cinnamon, that is somewhat similar.  

These are so different that it's odd asking which is better, but why not go there.  Preference would dictate that kind of judgment, or someone could ask a different question, which seems like a higher quality version within the style it's made in.  Perhaps for both this Chinese tea edges out the other Thai version.  The higher intensity is more pleasant, and additional complexity, and more novel flavor aspect set.  I can try to isolate feel and aftertaste more in a next round, since these also tie in to overall effect and to quality level.  

The Thai tea is still nice, just not quite as complex, intense, and interesting as the other.  This Chinese version bridging so much varying flavor aspect range is really novel, and it all integrates well.

Wang Put Tan, #3:  creaminess stands out again; that part is pleasant.  Warm flavor tones are also nice.  Intensity is a limitation though; even for using a 45-50 second infusion time this doesn't taste like all that much.  What is there, a bit of toffee, a hint of spice, and maybe some other warm tone adding context, is fine, it's good. Feel is fine, just not thick or pronounced. 

Huang Shan white:  vegetal range shifts, the green leaf effect.  It still tastes a little like fennel, but a faint edge picks up.  It would be bitterness if it was much stronger, so it's really not that, as we tend to typically perceive flavors, even if it is actually that.  It's like the scent of a dried oak or maple leaf, which are of course things we tend to not actually eat or taste.  It's quite good.  There is still the rest there, some limited spice, good sweetness, non-distinct floral range. Both of these aren't full in feel like oolongs more often are but not thin either. Overall balance is good. 

Conclusions / later rounds:

I tried both for a few more rounds, brewing a couple more quite strong.  The Thai version stayed remarkably similar, not changing much at all.  The Chinese white was quite positive for a couple of more infusions, and picked up a woody aspect note that wasn't really negative, it balanced ok with the rest.

I am evaluating the Huang Shan version much more positively here in the aspects list description, and the quality just seemed that much better.  And novelty; this was a style experiment, it seemed, trying out making white tea from green tea producing material, and to me it went well.  Probably this Chinese tea is selling for at least twice the cost of the Thai version (although I didn't see a sales listing for it), and for the most part that would seem fair to me, it really is a bit different.

What about commentary on that broad divide in oxidation level, or probably earlier aging input, or later aging potential?  The Chinese version was probably made in a much lighter style, not allowed to oxidize much at all during processing.  It suited the material; the outcome was quite positive.  Probably the opposite was true for the Thai tea, and they let it wither for a good bit longer, to draw out an oxidation input.  I liked that tea too, which does seem to be within the general range of shou mei, so maybe both decisions were appropriate.

I doubt that the three years of prior aging (the 2021 origin date for the Thai tea) had caused all or even most of that oxidation level difference.  Teas can age pretty fast in Thailand, in a hot and humid place, but I'd guess they made it to intentionally have a running start on browning, and changing to warmer toned character.  Once tea versions pick up a touch of cinnamon, as that had, that seems really nice.  

The minor differences in intensity and complexity were something else; I would guess that material quality factored in, that the producer who made the Chinese white was starting with better leaf material.  And it seems that quite simple processing led to a positive result.

Aging either wouldn't seem to make sense, for two different reasons. The Thai tea lacks intensity, and aging typically swaps out early intensity and fresh flavors for more warmth and depth. The Huang Shan version is very pleasant bright and fresh like that; it would seem a shame to give that up. 

I like white teas, even though in the past I've been critical of versions that lack flavor intensity and complexity.  If the bit that's there is positive you can always push the tea, brew it hot, and for a bit longer, or bump proportion, and if there just isn't much to offer even that won't work.  The Thai version was good, and the other didn't need to be stretched.

It would be nice if I could push a step further, and compare both of these to the same material being produced as different styles, as Jing mentioned in her intro part that I cited.  I've tried Mao Feng green tea but I'm definitely not the right person for that.  

It's interesting looking back on that section and seeing the claim that this white tea is on par with Fuding shou mei versions.  It's a good bit better than most of the standard commercial versions I've tried, but really it would need to be evaluated against a higher tier version range, not what ends up being pressed and sold as cakes that cost very little, the white tea equivalent of factory pu'er (which can be ok; I don't mean that as a slur).  It's good, but I'm not familiar with how it would compare to well above average quality versions, since I'm not familiar with boutique production Fuding shou mei.