Ma Tou Yan and Niu Lan Keng Rou Gui (Wuyi Yancha oolong)

 

A few weeks back I met a couple of contacts that I already knew in my favorite Bangkok Chinatown tea shop, in Jip Eu (their Maps link and FB page, for contacts).  We tried some interesting teas, and I bought something basic (I tend to stock up on Xiaguan tuochas there when I'm not really buying much tea just then), and they gave me some samples of really nice Wuyi Yancha to try.  

For the most part that's that shop's specialty, selling higher end, good versions of Wuyi Yancha, Fujian Wuyishan origin oolong.  Then a lot of their business also relates to selling lower quality, moderate character related blends to local shops and such.  We drank aged sheng that day; they carry some interesting versions of that too.  I've bought good Dan Cong there, upper medium quality versions that don't cost much, and we also tried a pretty good Longjing just then, one of the main Chinese green tea types.  They carry lots of different tea.

I think they're actually selling these; sometimes they pass on interesting samples that they aren't.  I don't remember if I asked about pricing, but it may not have stuck even if I had.  A lot of their higher end oolong range had sold for about 1000 baht per 100 grams in the past, if I'm remembering right, or about $15 per 50 grams.  Depending on quality level that's either a normal price range or else a really good deal, and I think it just depends on which tea it is for them.  Some would be worth more, rarer types, and for versions that don't match your own style preference it's not mostly about that kind of value rating.

The one place name reference is familiar, Ma Tou Yan, or horse head rock; it's in the natural park area in Wuyishan.  That's probably a high-demand origin, so that version may cost more than their standard quite good quality range.  It's odd that a tone-variation of "ma" also means horse in Thai; there's a good chance that word was derived directly from Chinese languages.  Since I'm terrible with hearing or speaking tones horse, dog, and come are basically all the same word to me, which is definitely a problem when it comes to trying to say things clearly.

Review:

Ma Tou Yan:  it's pretty good, as it should be.  Roast input comes across first, in a relatively balanced form.  I suppose if it was even more balanced maybe the roast input wouldn't come across first, but this is the opening round, and that could settle.  This does taste like cinnamon, as these often do, as the name Rou Gui translates to.  Inky mineral depth is substantial, as it should be.  

Overall balance is good; sweetness and all the rest are right in order.  For this being the first round it's a little early for the big picture evaluation, but I'm not noticing anything like a flaw in this, and even looking for a limitation requires some interpretation. 

Niu Lan Keng:  interesting, for overlapping quite a bit and also being very different.  The cinnamon range is common, and this is also sort of an upper medium level of roast.  Again the roast could integrate just a little better, but that's the kind of thing to consider and judge over a few rounds, not just the first one.  The mineral range is quite different.  The other one is a bit inky, but this is really inky, so that it reminds you of the smell of pen ink (versus ink from a copier or squid, I guess?).  

Layers of mineral bunch together, coming across as depth.  Of course it is expressed quite a bit in an aftertaste experience, which is also pronounced in the other, but not like this.  It comes across as intensity, often a limitation across a lot of oolong range, but it's definitely not a limitation for this version.  It will be interesting to see how the two balance as they unfold, if the different dimensions complement each other better in one than the other.  For aspects being this positive it leads on to looking for refinement too, not just balance, but subtlety of inputs, and finer aspect character working together.

For these being this good and this intense it would make sense to me for someone to drink them brewed light, maybe best trying only one version at a time, letting the intensity and effect of the aspects build up over rounds.  For trying to do a comparison that approach and effect won't work.  I'll need to drink water between rounds to get back to a clearer palate just to make out what's going on with them.  The aftertaste experience from both, maybe mostly the second, is so strong that the water tastes sweet and mineral-intensive for a few sips, like tea.  I'll need to brew these fast to not overdo it for intensity, not true flash infusions but under 10 seconds.

MTY #2:  again it's nice.  For someone looking for this particular flavor profile of tea this would be just the thing, for heavy and warm cinnamon supported by medium-high roast input.  This might balance even better after another year or so, once that roast input had time to settle.  Warm, complex mineral coats the outsides of your mouth, and just a hint of char is part of the roast effect.  That's the part that would be dialed in perfectly for some, or out of balance for others, too high, depending on preference.  A lot of people seem to like quite roasted tea, and this definitely isn't in the higher roast level range, but it's just below it.

Inky mineral is nice in this.  It's odd then that it's so much more pronounced in the other version.

NLK:  cinnamon is still present but the mineral is quite intense in this, maybe a little stronger.  For someone who couldn't get enough of that effect this is it.  It ties to a structured mouthfeel and strong aftertaste carry-over.  As a potential critique maybe this isn't as balanced as it could be; it's pretty far towards that one aspect range.  Sweetness and cinnamon do counter it, and balance it, but it's about as mineral intensive as any Wuyi Yancha I've ever tried, or maybe more so.

That shift in related feel structure might also divide judgment on the experience.  Some people love intense feel, so much so that they give up positive flavor range to brew oolongs extra strong to experience a blast of feel and aftertaste ranges.  There's no need to settle on flavor balance--at moderate infusion intensity--or quite intense feel and aftertaste with this; both are there.

Using maxed out proportion for these, my normal approach, probably isn't optimum.  I'm just brewing the samples as I received them, but this might be 10 grams.  Or maybe only 8, and the tea tends to expand, but either way it's a lot for a 100 ml gaiwan worth given how intense these teas are.  Even using fast infusion timing these are a bit strong.

MTY #3:  this integrates much better; lots of layers of flavors are balancing well in this, coming across as more refined.  Roast input is still pronounced but now essentially even with the heavy cinnamon and heavy mineral.  This is brewed lightly, or at least brewed quickly; it has to be, given this intensity and the proportion used.  "Lightly" there is relative; this is upper medium infusion strength, more than it would be easy to ever achieve using a more mild form of tea.

It's nice the way that the char effect has settled from being a main input to an extra edge.  Somehow you feel this tea more than you taste it after swallowing it; the overall effect stays with you.

NLK:  that heavy mineral range didn't settle to even up and balance with the rest in the same way, but it might be easing up a little.  The heavy roast input (upper-medium in terms of level, but the "char" effect is a heavy flavor tone) is similar to the other, but probably differences in that one aspect input could be broken down, if someone focused on it enough.

A coffee drinker might love this tea.  It doesn't give up anything in terms of flavor intensity and complexity to coffee, and some of the flavors overlap.  There's extra bitterness in coffee, and the feel is full in an unusual way in it, which tea doesn't completely match, but this isn't thin in feel at all.  It would be disrespectful to this tea but it would be interesting to see how it works out with milk and sugar in it, how far that parallel with coffee could be stretched.

I usually notice drug-like effect from sheng pu'er most, that rush that you get, and a specific but varying range of head buzz, cha qi, as tea drinkers call it, but this has it too.  Maybe caffeine level alone is really high, or that plus theanine; who knows what goes into that effect.  Breakfast wasn't that heavy, a mix of baked goods we picked up on bakery shopping spree yesterday; maybe I'll snack a little on more and then continue.  

Maybe it will be informative how baked goods tend to go in a place like Bangkok:  for breakfast I had a Krispy Kreme doughnut, a couple of custard filled eclairs (the small spherical kind), and a chocolate version of a cashew-topped toffee cake.  There is more traditional bread with green pandan custard on the table; maybe I'll get to that too.

MTY #4:  this seems to balance a good bit better than the other version.  Earlier on I would've guessed that the opposite was going to happen, that the other would settle in intensity and really fall together, but the most intense range in that is still a bit extreme in comparison with the rest.  It's sort of a subtle, emergent theme but to me better Wuyi Yancha takes on a liqueur-like character, like cognac or brandy, and this expresses that.  It's more like cognac, or even like the scent of the solvent base in perfume.  I suppose it must be more pleasant than that sounds.

NLK:  this is improved in balance.  Heavy mineral range, a moderate intensity but strong roast flavor, and cinnamon all stand out, but none take over.  Aftertaste is really significant.  Feel has moderated; it was almost rough or dry in body before, in the first couple of rounds, tying to that flavor intensity, and now it's not as strong.  I suppose the other tea seems better in quality, as markers tend to go, but really they're just slightly different styles.  Maybe the "markers" theme is just something I tend to make up and apply.

For someone seeking out pronounced mineral, pronounced cinnamon, light but noticeable char roast effect, and overall intensity this version would be better.  It's dialed up.  The other is plenty intense, but this goes further.  Oolongs in general don't tend to work out like this; the material just can't support coming across that strong.

Both are exceptional.  I suppose both exceed my expectations, in different ways.  I thought that the teas would be good but these really are novel.

MTY #5:  the balance gets better and better, with cinnamon standing out all the more.  It's a good sign.

NLK:  this balances well too, but heavy mineral stands out more than the cinnamon.  Again for someone really looking to get that full "rock oolong" mineral effect this is it.  To me balance is really the thing, not one aspect standing out being better, but then preferences do vary.

a water park outing with a favorite cousin

a park outing with family; we rode paddle-boat ducks

the other boat

Wuyi Origin 2019 Rou Gui

A friend recently sent a few interesting teas to try, including a 2019 Wuyi Origin Rou Gui.  

I wrote review notes before looking up what he said it was, beyond remembering it was Rou Gui, and it probably is the same version I used for this water type testing back in 2019, or maybe it's not.  Not much comes of looking back to compare character; it sounds similar, but that was focused on minor differences between using Volvic bottled water and filtered local tap water for brewing.

It's interesting that this isn't the fruitier style of Rou Gui I have tried more of in the past.  They make and sell both versions; I'm not sure what that difference relates to.  It would seem that it would have to be a slightly different plant type variation, that they couldn't use processing differences to cause that much of a main aspects range shift, or that terroir input would cause that particular change.  Or maybe that's completely wrong, and it is more related to one of those inputs.  Cindy has mentioned before that the exact same plants can be especially fruity some years, which they can notice even when picking the leaves, from the scent of fresh oils on them, so for sure growing conditions each year play a role.

Wuyi Origin sells a 2023 version that seems likely to be similar, citing all they say about it here:

Location: Qing shi yan (青狮岩）

Harvest: 2023.May.3rd

Cultivar：Rou gui  cultivar

Roasting level:  Medium Roasting ( 3 times charcoal fire roasting )

                                    The first time :  20th of June

                                    The second time : 24st of July                              

                                    The thrid time : 10th of September

This cinnamon is in Qingshiyan Zhengyan Mountain Farm, and the tea garden is on the flat ground. The sunshine shines from morning till night, and there is plenty of sunshine time. The unique growth environment makes this cinnamon have a very direct and sharp cinnamon. The first infusion  is full of fragrance. Cinnamon aroma is flamboyant, strong and lasting. Cinnamon fragrance always exists from beginning to the end, and there is no  any fertilizer and pesticide using  in this tea garden 

Medium charcoal roasting,  stewed this tea has ripe fruit flavor, its tea soup is fragrant and pure, and its taste is mellow, thick and sweet.

This Rou Gui was hand-made the totally steps  We made it by hand from picking fresh leaves, Oxidation, and then the last Maocha sorting . The tea strip is very compact and complete. The raw fresh leaves is from Qingshiyan garden ,it is  part of Zhengyan Farm in WuYi National Garden Park . 

Highly recommended, this is a very standard  taste of the Rou Gui Cultivar with "spicy " and "ripe fruit" fragrance.

The Feature of this tea is quite direct ,you can get it easily .

Suggestion: 7-8g / 80 ml gaiwan or Pot . 100C

I last reviewed a Rou Gui that was supposedly from the Zhengyan park area in September (and I think it was), a sample from a local Chinatown shop, from Jip Eu.  It wasn't on this quality level.  That doesn't necessarily mean that the origin area was mis-represented; just being from a famous origin area, where conditions are generally quite favorable for growing those plant types, doesn't mean that a tea will achieve a certain quality level.  That tea was really good, clearly better than the medium quality re-sale outlet version I compared it to in that post, but this version is the next step up.

It's a little early to be getting into conclusions but this website version--not the one I'm tasting--sells for $15 for 25 grams, not discounted when buying more volume as their site is set up.  

There is some room for improvement in the version I'm trying; it could be slightly more complex, or refined, with slightly extended aftertaste experience.  

But all of those aspects are already so positive that it wouldn't necessarily be easy to notice that improvement; this contains no flaws, and all the positive aspects are pretty far up the scale.  And I suspect that aging (this being a 4 year old version) has muted the higher end / more aromatic flavor range, bringing out more smoothness and depth, so part of what I'm saying could be more intense relates to a difference in tea type instead, to how somewhat aged versions vary from newer ones.  Then it's down to what people value most in tea experience, whether that's an improvement or it's not as good.

Review:

first infusion:  that's heavier on cinnamon than Cindy's Rou Gui usually are.  Somehow there are two different styles or versions of them, with one quite fruity, including citrus, or even peach, and the other the more familiar cinnamon.  Per an input from a local Chinatown shop owner it's even similar to a specific version of cinnamon; as I recall one type is regarded as true cinnamon and another a related variation.  Maybe he said similar to Vietnamese cinnamon?  That would probably only be a confusing form of reference to a secondary plant type.  Anyway...

This tastes like cinnamon.  Maybe there is some fruit tone included, but it's really mostly that, with some warm mineral base.  It's clean, and balanced; pretty good Rou Gui (with "pretty good" used here in the understated sense).  Oxidation level must be a little higher than I'm accustomed to in their fruity style Rou Gui, or I could easily be mixing up a roast input, or it could be both.  

This comes across as balanced and complex for one flavor note standing out so much.  The mineral tone includes an ink sort of character, not uncommon for Wuyi Yancha, but a marker for better versions.  That effect can be interpreted as leaning towards a liqueur or cognac nature.

second infusion:  cinnamon gets even stronger; interesting.  It includes so much earthiness and warmth it's on to folding in some tree-bark range.  I get it that cinnamon is tree bark, but I mean how more common tree bark smells, aged or cured versions of hardwood stored for firewood.  Hickory wood has a nice rich smell; maybe like that.  I grew up in the forests of PA and spent a lot of time cutting firewood but I'm not claiming here that I could actually identify cut wood by smell; that's just a guess.

trees, snow, and wild turkeys at my parents' house

This is so interesting and pleasant that I'd like to add more, but that's it; it tastes like cinnamon, a specific wood tone, and mineral base.

third infusion:  I tried this brewed faster to see how aspects would vary but it's mostly just lighter.  Brighter cinnamon flavor and sweetness stands out more, so a vague hint of citrus seems more intense, but it's still pretty similar.  For me optimum intensity is more medium; that bright character is nice, and aftertaste is still pronounced, but the strong hit of balanced and intense flavor is nicer.

fourth infusion:  warmer tones pick up, probably more from brewing this slightly longer than a natural transition cycle.  It's great the way a simple range of flavors comes across as so complex and intense.  In between the cinnamon and mineral depth, separate from the supporting fruit range, there is flavor range tying it together, along the lines of other spice or tisane.  Then a pronounced aftertaste extends the experience, makes it longer and adds a sensation of depth.  This is really clean in character too; it's hard to describe how the complete absence of flaws and great balance work together.  

The roast level in this is so perfect that it's easy to lose track of that even being an input.  I wonder if it's not aged a couple of years?  That would settle a roast input, leaving behind positive transition while smoothing over rougher edges. [later edit:  it's 4 years old, so sure, that input changed it a little].

fifth infusion:  it's changing slightly, but not enough that it's going to be easy to describe, not in terms of identifying separate flavors.  The spice input seems to shift from straight cinnamon more onto root spice.  A light touch of citrus might be getting heavier, moving from fresh orange peel to dried orange peel.  

It's still quite pleasant; it's not changing in terms of losing intensity, balance, or appeal.  I went with a high proportion, brewing all that Bruce sent me, which has to be around 8 grams.  That's a lot to brew at one time in a 90 to 100 ml gaiwan, even though that is my standard approach.  For someone using a more typical 5 or 6 gram proportion this would probably transition faster, since infusion times would probably be a little longer, unless someone likes their tea wispy light.  It works for that; it was fine in that very lightly brewed round.

Conclusions:

I drank more rounds but it continued on in a similar way.

I'm curious what this is, what it was sold as by them.  The Wuyi Origin lists a separate now sold-out version they describe as "boutique," that had sold for $32 per 25 grams instead of $15, for twice as much.  Material quality and potential can vary quite a bit, from year to year, or location to location, depending on what the plants experience that year.  

From how vendors and producers often market teas it might seem like one main lot of given year and season's tea is produced but really it's not like that.  Teas are harvested and processed in batches, and in cases where a vendor is trying to make a uniform and consistent version from year to year they might mix batches to arrive at a certain effect, a certain balance of aspects.  That would align with yearly named-type branding, how teas are sold.  Tea from a higher level specialty producer is something else; it would be produced and sold as different versions like this.

Which leads back to me not knowing exactly what this is, how it was presented.  It's clearly quite good, but it might be that it was a more standard offering 4 years ago, sold as a more ordinary type.  The balance of oxidation level and roast input seem very favorable, so by ordinary I mean truly exceptional but sold as their more moderate priced range, possibly even selling for less than 50 cents a gram 4 years ago.

Then to me the fruity range style versions can be even more distinctive, because for Rou Gui with cinnamon as the dominant flavor aspect it either balances or it doesn't, either including plenty of other complexity and refinement or not.  But fruity Rou Gui can be completely novel, expressing a set of flavor aspects that you'll only experience in that one version that one time.  Unless it comes up in a similar form again, but it's usually not like that; peach, citrus, floral tones, or whatever else can balance in a unique way.  

Well-balanced and high quality cinnamon-dominant Rou Gui is still very nice, a pleasant experience.  It's a tea quality range that one might never get around to experiencing, depending on the sourcing approach they take.  This may have lost some intensity across the four years; it may not be as good as it was two years ago, per my preference.  For heavier roast levels aging really is a positive input, even across 3 or 4 years, but surely this was moderate in roast level earlier on, not low, but not beyond medium.  All that is just guesses though.  

This is still truly exceptional tea, so I'm splitting hairs here a bit, comparing it to as good as I think Rou Gui character could possibly be.  This is relatively close to that, for this style, perhaps with some limited range for improvement.

Comparing ITeaWorld Shui Xian and Wuyishan park origin Rou Gui

 

Shui Xian left, in all photos

Trying one of the last of the ITeaWorld oolongs, a Da Hong Pao, led me to giving review of those one more go.  This isn't that; it's their Shui Xian, or branded here as Minnan Narcissus, which that translates to, a reference to a flower type.

That Da Hong Pao was pretty good:  intense, earthy, deep with mineral tones, and clean.  A heavy roast input and good base of minerals gave it a really inky mineral effect, a bit heavy-handed but nice.  It was what I see as one part of the range of being type-typical.  Some versions sold as that can be more refined and balanced, less intense, but it's probably the more common type theme for those to be heading towards that heavy roast input and high degree of mineral tone, almost rough natured for being so intense.

These will be different.  This Rou Gui is from Jip Eu, that Chinatown shop I never stop mentioning.  They gave me this sample in a recent visit there.  It's presented as from grown inside the Wuyishan park / nature presever area, and it probably is that, since it's passed on from the brother of Kittichai (the owner).  His brother and other family lives in that area, and still produces tea there (I think; I suppose it could be that he's only a vendor instead).  We talk about his family history from time to time and I've seen a picture of him at a family tea processing small factory within the Wuyishan park area, that had to be removed when they changed the area use restrictions a long time ago.  So I guess that would be 50 years back, and he would be getting along in age now?

I think Jip Eu may not even sell this tea version, it may just be something they shared that they picked up.  It's interesting a recent review also related to that context, the one about frozen oolong, tea that was never dried.

This isn't mainly a claim about what this Rou Gui is, or developed support for any of that story.  It should be good, and the style could vary quite a bit.  I've lost track of the unique name they use for "within the park area" in Wuyishan, which there's a word for (Chinese terms don't stick with me), but in unsuccessfully looking that up I found an interesting reference about that area:

After harvest, fresh tea leaves require four months of processing -- they're baked for more than a month -- before they're ready to serve.

In addition to Da Hong Pao, Shui Xian (Narcissus) and Rougui (Cassia) are two Wuyi cliff teas recommended for beginners.

Shui Xian is elegant and smooth. Rougui has a spicy and fierce kick.

Tea at Chun Hui ranges from $45 per 500 grams to $450 -- each brew takes about 8 grams of tea leaves.

So not the term I was looking for but that summary is interesting, given what I'm about to compare.  I think Rou Gui could be elegant and smooth and Shui Xian could be a bit rough or the opposite (which I would typically call refined) based on growing conditions input and maybe even more so processing choices.  Anyway, it's interesting.  

The price range is too; $9 per 100 grams up to nearly $1 a gram.  That sounds right; that's how we tend to buy it in Western outlets too.  Stopping at a $1 a gram might be a little low, but beyond that.  It's nice that they say you should brew using a heavy proportion; I think so too.  That's assuming they mean 8 grams in a 100 ml range of infusion; of course it would also be possible to use a much lower proportion and adjust timing, or even brew Western style, but I don't think that works out as well for this tea type range.

I looked up selling price and description in the ITeaWorld site and this is $20 or so per 100 grams (which is fine, maybe a really good value depending on quality), and there isn't much text description.  It says "tea leaves from 60 year old tea trees with distinct orchid aroma," from Dongguantown, Yongchun, Fujian (which means nothing to me).  Since they're using a graphic to describe the tea further I can include that:

Oxidation level and perceived sweetness mean something to me but the rest doesn't.  Let's actually try it then.

To be clear this is probably an unfair tasting, because these were presented as completely different quality level versions.  ITeaWorld teas have been above average in quality level, some maybe slightly better than that, but they're selling them for normal market rates for ordinary range tea, implying they're not some unusual quality level version.  If you can find $9 per 100 gram versions of Wuyi Yancha, based anywhere, in online outlets, Chinatown shops, wherever, those tend to be rough edged and limited quality teas.  $20 is more normal range.  I've bought versions that fit more of the $20 profile (expectations) for under $5 in Bangkok, but usually you get bad tea trying that buying approach.

If the two teas seem similar in quality level this is really either an impressive outcome for the ITeaWorld Shui Xian or a disappointment for the Rou Gui.  If I happen to like one better than the other related to personal preference for aspects that's wouldn't necessarily relate to a clear judgement one way or the other, related to quality scope.

Review:

ITea World Shui Xian:  the dry leaf smells really nice.  I'm not getting all that much intensity from the brewed liquid, the opposite effect from the Da Hong Pao, which started really fast.  This is a more refined version, it seems, and probably lower in oxidation and roast level.  Not that this is a direct opposition; more oxidation and roast level might make a tea brew faster, and come across as more intense, but different styles could have flaws or rough edges, or balance really well.  

I suppose mineral base and floral range does come through.  I should do a flavor list next round though, since this is quite light.

I'm brewing two of their samples, so 7 grams in total, and it looks like the other sample is more than that, maybe 8, maybe with larger, more whole leaves making it look even bigger.

Jip Eu Rou Gui:  this is more intense but also still opening up.  I brewed these for around 20 seconds but people tend to use a rinse step in part because the first round is slow to get going otherwise, even if you soak the leaves for awhile.  There is heavier flavor range to this, and maybe it does include cinnamon.

It goes without saying, since I've said it so often, but brewing 15 grams of tea at one time is a lot; I won't get far for infusion count, and will try these again later in the afternoon.  It's fine to brew 3 1/2 or 4 grams at a time, that sample packet worth, it just requires adjustment, and I'm accustomed to this range of process.

ITea World Shui Xian, 2:  that's more like it.  This is actually pretty good.  I wouldn't say that an intense floral character comes across but depth of mineral tone standing out more isn't a bad thing.  Feel is fairly full, and aftertaste experience carries over, mostly settled on the mineral tone.  Sweetness is fine, and flavor range, but it's the way the mineral tone serves as a base and feel and aftertaste supports the rest that make it work well.  

Oxidation and roast level do seem to be moderate; it's that lighter style of Wuyi Yancha.  I like that, but when the other range is perfectly balanced--medium level for both--there's a sort of magic to that, but it's far more common for the roast to go a bit far, to take on a char effect.  There's a perfume-like aromatic tone that good Wuyi Yancha can express that this taps into some, almost like cognac, but it's not so pronounced in this version.  For 20 cents a gram tea this is fine, maybe slightly better than I would expect.

Jip Eu Rou Gui:  cinnamon is really standing out in this now; that's quite pleasant.  It's not as if this gives up anything for refinement to the other, but the style is quite different.  They seem to have oxidized this a bit more, not in that modern light range, more in a very well-balanced traditional form (as I take it, but what do I know?).  

Feel and aftertaste are ok, and mineral depth, maybe even directly equivalent to the other, but for flavor range being a bit stronger those come across as weaker.  Does it make sense what I mean by that?  The other is refined and light in terms of flavor intensity, with decent floral range and mineral present, but a shift in higher intensity after you drink it makes aftertaste stand out all the more.  The initial punch of sweet, warm, and rich cinnamon tone in this other version is a good bit more intense, so the same level of flavor carry-over, comparable to the first, seems lighter in comparison.  Interesting!

This might be gaining flavor intensity through the inclusion of a wood tone, in between green wood and truly aged dryer range.  Of course the cinnamon is spice instead, with mineral base.

color difference is apparent in the leaves, lighter Shui Xian left

ITeaWorld Shui Xian, 3:  brewed slightly longer to zero in on feel differences an aromatic wood-tone picks up in this version too.  Floral range is still there, but the mineral is so much more pronounced that it would be easy to miss it.  Rich feel and aftertaste stand out all the more.

Jip Eu Rou Gui:  that cinnamon note is really dominant.  It's pleasant, so that completely works.  As far as quality level there isn't much gap between these, so I guess in one sense the Rou Gui falls a little short of expectations.  Maybe it's more that the other exceeded them; these are pretty good teas.  There seems to be at least one more level beyond these both, I think, but they're good.

The character of that cinnamon input and how the rest balances is so positive that I actually like the Rou Gui more, but I think that's down to preference for an aspect set, more than it being better.  It seems slightly sweeter, which balances well with the mineral base and cinnamon tone.  It might give up a little in terms of rich feel.

ITeaWorld Shui Xian 4:  evolving further to wood tone, not necessarily positive transition, at least in terms of flavor.  It's still good though; the supporting feel, mineral base, and aftertaste range are all nice.  

Jip Eu Rou Gui:  intensity is stronger than ever; this is evolving in the other direction, improving.  Even stronger mineral base picks up along with the sweeter cinnamon tone, and aftertaste / finish duration improves.

This reminds me of a comment by a tea maker friend once (Cindy), that it's possible to make Wuyi Yancha versions even from other tea plant types, grown in different areas.  The main trade-off or limitation isn't initial flavor profile, necessarily, since those can still be pleasant, but she said that they tend to brew out really fast, that they lack the same durability.  

I remember seeing an online comment once about how Wuyi Yancha always tend to brew out really fast, and wondering what went into that, since sometimes that is absolutely true, and in other cases it's the opposite, and they can brew a dozen very pleasant rounds.  I think alteration by using higher oxidation level and more roast input comes at a cost, related to this factor, that intensity and differing aspect range also relates to teas brewing out a bit faster.

ITeaWorld Shui Xian 5:  it's still ok.  It's funny how the heavy mineral tone picked up so much that this is much closer to the Da Hong Pao version character (the sample version I didn't review).  That's not a bad thing; I like that inky, slightly rough, heavy mineral input.  Wood tone picking up to a higher level than floral tone input is less positive, but that's still ok.  Aftertaste is really pronounced still, and feel is fine.

Jip Eu Rou Gui:  higher sweetness level stands out at this point, and that cinnamon tone, as it has the whole time.  This is definitely staying more refined and balanced over these middle level rounds.  I think even the aftertaste range is more extended than it had been; that's odd.  Feel might still be a little thinner than for the other version.

There is a good chance that this Rou Gui will evolve more positively, or decline less, over the next 4 or 5 rounds, but this is enough of this story told already.

Conclusions:

Some of what I expected, some I didn't.  I think the quality level is a bit higher for the Rou Gui version, as it should be, given initial expectations and context, but it was interesting how some of the positive aspects that generally tie closely to quality level were equivalent or even superior in the Shui Xian version.  Feel is richer, smoother, and thicker in the Shui Xian, for example.  Rou Gui might be slightly more intense related to using a bit more tea material, and equivalent brewing process, but the Shui Xian held its own ok even related to that.

I liked the Rou Gui more, as I only barely mentioned in one place in this, but I think that was as much about liking typical Rou Gui style more than the general lighter Wuyi Yancha preparation range.  That related both to flavor range, that cinnamon, and the overall balance of all the rest.  That part probably varies by person, which character or aspects are best.

Again this ITeaWorld product is slightly better than I expected.  There's a trend where  a new broad type vendor outlets, supporting sales through limited background content, usually sell fairly mediocre teas, and these have seemed decent.  Maybe what I'm saying seems contradictory, since in another place I've said that they're only of above average quality, which isn't high praise.  Quality and value tend to couple together; I would expect something different from a 20 cent a gram Wuyi Yancha version than one selling for 40 cents per gram, or 80.  

I think this context is already clear enough, but let's go a step further, and consider how a well-regarded US vendor sells two Shui Xian versions at different levels / types (from Seven Cups):

Shuixian (Narcissus), Organic Rock Wulong Tea 2022 (50 grams for $28.50, so $57 for 100):  

A richly floral rock wulong with an aroma reminiscent of narcissus flowers and a deep full flavor. Traditionally charcoal roasted to develop sweetness while still preserving a high aroma. A great tea for new rock wulong tea drinkers due to its inviting fragrance, rich taste, and relatively low price.

Laocong Shuixian (Old Bush Narcissus) Rock Wulong Tea 2022 ($19.74 for 25 grams, more like $80 per 100 grams):  

A truly distinctive high-end rock wulong that showcases the unique character of teas made from mature tea plants. Made from old growth Shuixian tea bushes on average 60 years old. Mature plants provide a smoother, more layered full flavor and more complex nutrition than tea made from younger plants. Fragrant wood and toasted grain aromatics accompany a soft body with persistent minerality and sweetness that intensifies with each sip.

This Shui Xian sells for less than half of their lower priced range version, but then buying directly from China tends to cost less.  How shipping factors in varies, and sometimes adding $30 at the end for that evens things up, but they've followed the standard practice of building in shipping in these listings since it's free for $40 orders or over.

Probably both of these Seven Cups Shui Xian versions are even better; I'd be surprised if that wasn't the case.  But value tends to be all over the map for different vendors, price in relation to quality level.  I'd expect that you can buy versions just as good as these listed ones for half as much through Wuyi Origin, a well respected direct from producer sales outlet.  For this more ordinary range of quality level ITeaWorld seems to be a decent source, across most of what I've tried from them, and for this tea.

Water type experiments, with Wuyi Origins Rou Gui and KTM Lao Man E sheng

This is all a bit much.  I've been meaning to test the effect of using different water versions on tea for awhile, it was just always too much messing around to get to it.  Now that I finally did results were interesting, but one part related to sample type selection could have went better.

In retrospect it was odd using teas I hadn't reviewed before, and teas of this quality level for this purpose.  Cindy's Wuyi Origin Rou Gui versions are about as good as that type ever gets, and the fruitier version is a strong contender for my favorite tea among all types and versions.  I guess the reasoning was that using good tea is going to tell more of the story related to what input the water has, versus using teas that are of medium quality, and trying to extrapolate results to likely outcome if the teas had been better.  It was also about just using interesting versions that I had around.

The same concern and atypical theme applies for the King Tea Mall Lao Man E sample; this is a gushu version from a respected, in demand origin area.  It's questionable judgement, shifting focus off the tea onto the effect water mineral content variation has on preparing it.  One might argue that both can be covered at the same time, but per the actual experience a lot gets lost.

About water type / input testing in general, it had always seemed next to impossible to identify what a really good or ideal source of water would be.  Really doing that process justice would involve trying lots of water types, and then probably folding in how that varies across at least a few different tea types.  Online discussions of water mineral levels as an input have been interesting, and standard patterns of opinions do emerge, but nothing that works well as starting point guidance. 

Avoiding high levels of calcium is generally advocated, for example, but my own interpretation of what would be low, medium, and high based on sampling lots of hearsay may or may not be remotely reliable.  I mentioned some advice passed on by Peter Jones in covering some theory in this post, which was really about trying a Myanmar Kokang shu version:

We are still several months away from any conclusions. But basically you want your alkalinity to be 1/2 your total hardness, a pH in the 7s, and a balance of 2/1 of Ca to Mg. The other positive ion mineral salts also play a role in extraction...

The form I finally arrived on--definitely not a final word on a practical, functional approach--was to try two completely different teas using Volvic water (which gets mentioned as some people's personal favorite), compared to the filtered local Bangkok tap water I use at home.  It was a stretch but I picked two relatively random, opposite type teas I happened to have on hand, a Rou Gui and a sheng pu'er.  It turned out to be not the best selection because I didn't factor in the high level of bitterness in the sheng version (a Lao Man E); kind of an obvious mistake to make, in retrospect.  Trying an already familiar, milder version would've made a lot more sense.

I can't describe what the local water is like in relation to lots of other sources, but of course I have tried the same teas prepared using it and also other spring water, RO water, and whatever is being used in other places.  My friend Sasha had a favorite spring water he used, for example, and some of those teas I had tried at home, a number of versions tasted there many times.  A vendor at an expo had been using RO water, and I re-tasted the same teas I tried with them again at home within a couple of days, and I try teas in shops sometimes.  To really isolate differences trying the tea prepared together is all but essential; the point here is that how differences in water source work out in general, and how the local water compares, isn't completely unfamiliar.

Bangkok municipal water had been truly awful, years back.  It varied so much even the color and smell could be off.  We used bottled spring water for years, or at least local water sold as such, which really could be different things.  As of a few years ago we switched over to using a multi-stage filtration system, and the water seems fine.  Per online hearsay the tap water here is based on rainwater sources instead of natural spring origin, so it's low in mineral content, which makes sense given that it rains a lot and we're not exactly near a mountainous or even hilly area.  Per other hearsay local distribution systems are a main problem for water quality, the pipes from there to houses, not so much what the processing centers put out, or even use of old pipes in your house.  It probably helps to live right beside one of the main Royal palaces in Bangkok as we do; infrastructure seems pretty stable and well maintained.

One might expect the water quality and mineral contents to vary based on lots of local factors, and I'm not certain that it doesn't.  I've included a number of captures from the local Bangkok real-time water quality monitoring system, from when I tried these teas, but of course those don't include a measurement of contents broken out by mineral grams / liter at any given time.

It would make the most sense to run this type of comparison multiple times, evaluating tea types one at a time.  I didn't do that, I tried two types together.  That I still don't consider a mistake; I've been training to do comparisons that make sense, or else those that don't instead, for about three years now.  I've tried hundreds of teas over uncountable combined tasting sessions.  It's familiar ground.  If someone without that odd tasting habit wanted to get the clearest results I'd definitely recommend using the more intuitive approach, trying the teas one at a time, perhaps using 3 or 4 types of water to add review complexity.  Selecting mild, well-known versions of teas would probably work best, regardless of type; that part was a mistake.

I'll probably try this again with a rolled oolong version to see how it works with a very mild but complex tea, which should also help to isolate feel effect even better.

Review, comparison of Wuyi Origins Rou Gui with two water types:

Rou Gui with Volvic:  just amazing tea!  I'm not sure if that's the water though.  This didn't say if it was fruity type or cinnamon Rou Gui but judging from the heavy, warm cinnamon taste it's that.  Flavor is intense, feel is thick, level of roast is perfect, slightly noticeable but only complimentary.

Rou Gui with filtered tap water:  this is similar but the flavor may pop a little less.  It seems to be drawing out a lightly different vegetal note, as if the warm mineral resembles celery just a little.  Cinnamon is slightly flattened out.  This difference is so minor that tasting across different times it wouldn't really stand out as much, but side by side it does quite a bit.  Sweetness is down just a little too.  It's the same great tea, almost the same flavor profile and feel, just a little different.

an early round; color differences didn't seem to tell a lot of story, so I'll pass on adding more about that

Second infusion:

Rou Gui with Volvic:  this tea is just perfect as cinnamon intensive Rou Gui goes.  The balance, intensity, all the profile taken together; this is it.  The cinnamon part really jumps out.  It's warm and rich, almost connecting a little with a very subtle roast level, or maybe it only seems that way.

Rou Gui with tap water:  it's almost the same experience but it is missing some of the one high point that makes the other tea experience so special, the brightness, sharpness, and intensity of that cinnamon flavor.  The deeper tones and supporting elements carry across fairly well; fullness and body isn't bad, kind of similar.  The first version might have a slightly heavier, oilier feel, which is more positive.  It's a quite similar tea experience but funny how those parts that seem most interesting and critical are what flattens out.


It's too early for conclusions but the results already seem clear enough; this local water doesn't work as well.  I don't foresee buying bottled water to drink tea with though.  I wouldn't throw out a few large plastic bottles a week to get this effect difference, or probably even one 1.5 liter bottle a week to review using a different version.  It's a shame the local water isn't better but adding expense and impacting the environment to drink slightly different versions of tea isn't going to work out.  Maybe a charcoal treatment effect will help; that idea comes up a lot.

Later edit:  it was too early for conclusions; the opposite kind of trend turned up in the fourth and fifth infusions, a trend that was much more pronounced in the sheng version.

Third infusion:

Rou Gui with Volvic:  This tea is probably evolving a bit in character but I've lost track of clear prior impression to describe that.  It's still great, probably with a slightly shifted balance of aspects.

Rou Gui with tap water:  it's great with this water too, with less difference standing out than had initially.  It's still not quite as intense, giving up just a little sweetness, and more so dropping out just a little punch in the warm cinnamon aspect.  There is a very minor difference in the mineral tone, so subtle it would only come across in direct comparison, but it doesn't work to describe it or judge how negative it is.  I think it is slightly negative versus neutral, but that's a judgement call at this point, as much just a difference.

Fourth infusion:

Rou Gui with Volvic:  a slightly dry underlying mineral in this might have increased this round, it just doesn't stand out as much in this as it had for the sheng at this stage, or take exactly the same form.  The tap water version is just as good this round, or perhaps even slightly better.  So strange; I have no idea why that would be.  I would expect effects to shift a lot for increasing brewing time in later round but this isn't really onto that as much as it would be in two more infusions.

Rou Gui with tap water:  still really exceptional, not losing anything for intensity or positive range.  I think depth is picking up, that the one-note emphasis on cinnamon is deepening to include a lot of other warmer tone range, that it balances even better.  It was great the other way too though, focused more on that one flavor aspect.

Fifth infusion:

I'll lengthen infusion time slightly but these teas are holding up; adding a lot of time for that wouldn't be positive.  I'm brewing these over 10 seconds now, for what I'd take to be optimum, maybe around 15, but it goes without saying that I'm not timing this, since I just don't.


Rou Gui with Volvic:  mineral is a bit much in this, a dry version of it.  Looking at the mineral profile calcium and magnesium seem to be at the level I'd expect to work best, based on following online discussions about that (12 mg and 8 mg, respectively).  It's not "hard" water, but that should be enough to play a standard role in extraction and setting profile.  The rest, the total dissolved solids value, would be a bit much; there's lots of other minerals in this.  This is still really pleasant, and a very nice citrus aspect is ramping up in this tea, a "chen pi" dried mandarin peel type effect.

Rou Gui with tap water:  slightly better than the Volvic, for not including so much of that dry mineral effect.  The rest of the profile is similar.  The citrus part may be at a slightly lower level, so not as intense or positive, but the overall effect is better for not tasting as much like that dry version of mineral.  Mineral is great in tea, in the right balance; it grounds the experience.  Older plant source teas and natural origin teas seem to express a lot of that, an underlying mineral element supporting overall complexity.  It's just slightly nicer in this tap water version for balancing better, in this particular infusion of this tea, per my judgement.  The difference in extracting other flavor range hasn't dropped out but is has shifted in balance; it seems to matter less.

I didn't note differences or aspect range for feel or aftertaste much for these; that didn't seem to vary as much as flavor related to the water type input.

a later round; adjusting infusion times would change effect of color difference

Lao Man E sheng water source input testing:

King Tea Mall 2018 Lao Man E sheng gushu with Volvic:  bitterness stands out; to be expected.  One could learn to love that effect, even at this level, but I haven't.  If it balances well with the rest I can appreciate it, even like it, but this is a bit much.  The tea seems to obviously be good tea; all the other markers for quality work out, thick feel, clean flavors, depth and complexity, lingering aftertaste.  That front end bitterness really defines the experience though, then it trails on, not dropping that much intensity for awhile.  At least sweetness goes along with it, and there is plenty of other range.  I'd expect it to drop off a little by round 3 or so but I'm not sure how far past that I'll get.

Lao Man E with filtered tap water:  a touch of metallic taste seems to be added to the rest.  That extended aftertaste is going to make this a terrible choice for combined tasting though, about as poor a choice as one could make.  I might have considered that, but it's not like I'm drinking Lao Man E all the time.  Rinsing your palate with plain water (not warm, not cold) works, but it's a lot to rinse in this case.  Making mistakes to learn from can be a good thing, it's just more pleasant when they're less obvious, less stupid mistakes.

In general the flavor profile seems to pop a little less, again, with that mineral difference the main change.  Sweetness may be slightly reduced but bitterness is dominating the flavor profile anyway, so it would stand out less.

Second infusion:

Lao Man E with Volvic:  bitterness is easing up; it's balancing a little better.  It won't be until the next round this approaches a more conventional sheng profile though, more evened out.  The point here is the difference anyway.

Lao Man E with tap water:  beyond a touch of mineral difference in this (not really a positive one; a touch of metallic flavor) and a slightly reduced fullness of feel it's similar.  The other Volvic brewed version comes across as slightly sweeter.  In the case of the Rou Gui it's about a shift in the best attributes being slightly dimmed, but the character isn't so different beyond that.  In the case of this it comes across differently.  That shift in underlying mineral, slightly less full feel, and slight reduction in sweetness seems to add up to change the tea character more.  They're only small shifts, and the basic aspects are the same beyond that, the general feel, flavors range, aftertaste, feel, but the effect is more of a change, or a change at a deeper level.  Again the Volvic brewed tea is just better; there was no trade-off that benefited using this local Bangkok tap water, at least not yet at this stage of infusions.

Third infusion:

Lao Man E with Volvic:  this is much better balanced for transitioning over those rounds.  Not in comparison with sheng that doesn't emphasize bitterness, if someone doesn't like bitterness, but I'm fine with it at this level, it's just definitely not a close match to personal preference.  The thick feel is nice, how clean this tea is, how the different layers of aspects work together.  One part under that is actually a little floral, drifting a little towards fruit, but deeper light mineral is really stronger. 

Rich, full feel is nice.  Aftertaste works a lot better for dropping off.  Usually people would couple those last two descriptions with where the feel impacts your mouth or throat, with aftertaste also related to a lingering feel.  I'm never so good with all that, in part for not valuing it.  It probably is as much a valid quality marker as what I do pick up more, but it seems a developed preference that would be as natural to never develop.

Lao Man E with tap water:  this finally works about as well as the other version.  It gives up a little thickness in feel but somehow the fruit and floral range (complex, but subtle, hard to define) is standing out a little more in this.  It might be working out as well or even better for not stripping out as intense a version of that bitterness.  Feel losing a little thickness isn't as positive.

The floral and fruit range I can try to define, to describe, but it would be a guess:  it's bright and sweet, so along the line of plumeria and dried mango.  There are lots of types of dried mango, so those tend to vary a lot, but that gets complicated to wade into that.  The brighter, sweeter, more citrus oriented kind.  In retasting both that bitterness hitting a little harder in the Volvic version isn't quite as positive, to me.  It may make for an exception that stripping out a little less intensity wouldn't always be a bad thing.

Fourth infusion:

Lao Man E with Volvic:  it's really strange how this is exhibiting a stronger mineral aspect, a slight metallic range.  It's almost as if I've mixed up the water sources, but then this probably does have more mineral content, so maybe that makes sense.  I have no idea what that means.

Lao Man E with tap water:  it's nice how that balance evened out.  Bitterness is still pronounced but the proportion is more relatable now.  The complexity is nice, the range of flavor, and how feel and aftertaste contribute to overall effect.

Fifth infusion:

Lao Man E with Volvic:  a dry mineral input is much stronger in this tea version.  It tips just a little towards how chlorine comes, that's just not it.  It's much more positive to say it tastes like limestone, and to be fair it's really in between the two.

Lao Man E with tap water:  there is less mineral effect in this, making it come across as sweeter in character, and better balanced.  I don't know that it is actually sweeter; that may just be how it seems, without as much of the mineral input changing things.  The tap water version was actually slightly better over the last two infusions, but to be fair the difference is a bit minor.

Conclusions:

It's crazy that two main shifts occurred in difference, varying a lot in early and later rounds.  Volvic brewed tea was clearly much better over the first two infusions, and clearly not as positive in the last, probably more even in the fourth, with tap water working just a little better in that round too.  I can't really unpack or explain that.  Somehow a shift in flavor and feel proportion across rounds favored the Volvic earlier on, and the filtered tap water later (which probably contains a lot less mineral).

It's worth noting that different people can and do use completely different timing sequences related to brewing different rounds to different infusion strengths.  It's more common to use lower proportions and longer times, and then to extend the timing more across later rounds than I tend to.  Why that is becomes a lot to account for, and beyond citing personal preference some of the rest wouldn't be clear.  It's hard for me to account for why people like tea prepared differently than I do; to some extent I suppose I never could.

It could be interesting to consider the water mineral content though, starting with the Volvic listing:

I'm kind of guessing, since I have been involved with plenty of discussions about water content but haven't memorized ranges, but the calcium and magnesium levels look ok, if maybe even a little low.  Per discussions those two are the main factors, with a moderate amount improving results, and high levels throwing them way off.  Looking back through old discussions and references, Rie Taluli did a review post comparing tasting results using of a number of types for green tea, and in a discussion comment of that post Peter Jones (who is into reviewing mineral effect themes) cited listings of standard mineral content of a number of brands:


EVIAN - Natural spring in France - 290mg/L sodium bicarbonate, 81mg/L calcium, 27mg/L magnesium, 6.7mg/L sodium. 

AQUAFINA (Pepsi), DASANI (Coke) - Municipal water through RO - no sodium bicarbonate, no calcium, no magnesium, no sodium. 

GLACEAU (Coke) - Municipal water through RO - no data, but unlike Dasani, they then add back in for flavor the calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonate. 

FIJI WATER - Natural spring in Fiji - 153mg/L bicarbonate, 18mg/L calcium, 14mg/L magnesium, 18mg/L sodium. 

NESTLE PURE LIFE - Municipal water through RO - no bicarbonate, 7.4-11mg/L calcium, 2.9-5mg/L magnesium, 4.4-9mg/L sodium. 

ARROWHEAD (Nestle) - Natural spring in Arkansas - no bicarbonate, 4-66mg/L calcium, 1.4-19mg/L magnesium, 3-17mg/L sodium.


I can't imagine that using Evian would work well, and it's odd that Arrowhead water is so inconsistent, but I'll leave off saying much more about the rest.  I do come back to the sodium level idea related to the local water version level.

About the local water description, some input is offered by Bangkok real time tap water quality monitoring (http://twqonline.mwa.co.th/EN/map.php?type=).  We live next to the Chitralada station, in the center.  These don't mean that much to me but they could to someone else:

free residual chlorine levels, Nov 9, 2019, 1 PM

chloride levels (mg / L)

turbidity (NTU)

ph

salinity, listed as g / L (seems wrong, too high?)

July 2019 ph capture (to show variability)

I don't know what was in that water, for specific mineral content, and I don't know what the filtration process would have removed.  Chloride level was around 4 mg / l in this water, versus 15 mg / l in Volvic, but what of that?  Salinity just seemed wrong; those readings would seem like way too much salt, in the 150 mg / l range.  What if that is right; shouldn't the water taste like salt?  As a baseline I checked how much is in seawater:

On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of approximately 3.5%, or 35 parts per thousand.  This means that for every 1 litre (1000 mL) of seawater there are 35 grams of salts (mostly, but not entirely, sodium chloride) dissolved in it.


So 35,000 mg / l, which still doesn't answer if I could taste 150 mg, but it's a context of sorts.  It occurred to me that salt is sodium chloride, so unless I'm missing something the two values don't match up, the measured amounts of chlorides and salinity.  That prompted me to look up answers to both questions, how much salt can one taste, and what are normal levels for these.  This WHO reference covers the first:

Taste thresholds for sodium chloride and calcium chloride in water are in the range 200–300 mg/litre (2). The taste of coffee is affected if it is made with water containing a chloride concentration of 400 mg/litre as sodium chloride or 530 mg/litre as calcium chloride (3).



I don't think we can take that second sentence as good input about coffee enthusiast perspective.  More input from that source pins down range of chloride in typical fresh water:

The mean chloride concentration in several rivers in the United Kingdom was in the range 11–42 mg/litre during 1974–81..


That still doesn't resolve the monitoring inconsistency between salinity and choloride levels, but it is interesting to compare that to sodium levels in the other bottled waters.

Further conclusions:

That last section was mislabeled, wasn't it; not much for conclusions in there, or even speculation.

I suspect this tap water version ended up with very little mineral content in it, due to starting out with limited amounts and filtration removing some.  It's interesting to consider that tea producing more positive infusions initially might generally relate to producing less positive infusions across later rounds.  At least that did happen here, per my interpretation, and it may work out as a somewhat uniform generality (or may not; that goes without saying).  This could explain why some people push teas to produce very long counts of infusions, and others tend to not like them as much after a much shorter sequence, although simple preference difference seems to be just as relevant an input. 

Then again, who knows.  Round after round of trying out lots of water and tea versions would tell a longer, more accurate story.  In online discussion it's not uncommon for people to claim that they prefer different water (mineral content, presumably) for different tea types, and that would intuitively make sense.

I've never ran across much detailed speculation of why soaking bamboo charcoal in water is said to improve the results for making tea with it, even though people advocating that practice comes up a lot in discussion.  Even when it's being sold for this use, as in the case of this Yunnan Sourcing version, there's not necessarily a reason for why it might make any difference.  It probably does, it would just be interesting to hear guesses about why.  Here is one that Google search turned up, Tony Gebely's input, but somehow it's not satisfying as a complete and plausible explanation:


The idea behind bamboo charcoal, and any charcoal for that matter is the fact that it is extremely porous and will absorb impurities in water. It really isn’t “filtering” water if you set a stick in the water, in order to filter the water, the water must pass through granulated charcoal or some other medium (this is how Brita filters work)...


It would seem that it could be both adding and removing minerals from the water, and that only testing, instead of speculation or traditional input, would shed light on this.  I would tentatively accept that it really does improve results, although that would be clearer to me if I tried it myself.