Sun Yunshan describes Wanmu Tea Garden and Xinyang tea culture

 

I've been hoping to tell more of the story of Wanmu Tea Garden, a Xinyang, Henan tea grower and producer (factory).  This is a better form of that than I could've hoped for, input that's mostly from the main founder, Sun Yunshan.  It describes their approach to tea, what is produced locally there, and hints towards some parts of Chinese perspective on tea.  As a tea enthusiast I'm very grateful to have access to this.

I've been talking about trying their teas, a little, and have one more black tea to try and review, which is likely to be exceptional, an award winning version.  I've already reviewed exceptional yellow teas from them, and novel Dong Fang Mei Ren oolong versions, which are an interesting and pleasant local interpretation of that style (here and here).  But here as an introduction I only want to frame some of my own perspective towards Chinese tea culture, and to a limited extent Chinese culture in general.  

Often somewhat trivial forms or depictions of Chinese tea culture come across, when Western vendors or enthusiasts describe their own limited contact, or sales oriented spin.  It ends up relating to aesthetics, or an appreciation of ceremony, maybe venturing into animistic spiritualism, although I come in contact with a lot more of that within Thai culture, to be honest.  That's a story for another day.  I think there is great potential value in recognizing, appreciating, and communicating with spiritual forces that you may not literally believe in, even if those only represent foundational dimensions of yourself in the end.

I experience a very pragmatic and limited form of tea culture.  It's about the tea.  But at the same time I have a deep appreciation for people holding different worldviews, and valuing different experiences, and for Chinese culture in particular.  

I've been to China several times, and have been friends with a number of Chinese people.  Some were fellow parents of my children's classmates, some work contacts, and of course some favorites have related to tea themes, especially one favorite producer who I've discussed so many times here.  Two local Chinese - Thai Bangkok Chinatown shop owners are like an aunt and uncle to me.  I've been through plenty of discussion of Chinese culture, and varying perspective issues.  

It's a little sad that a narrow, negative stereotype informs misguided bias within some Americans' perspective on China, but this is normal.  Everything I thought that I knew about Russians went out the window when I visited Russia, and met Russian friends, replaced by a more complex impression of typical positive and negative character traits.  People really vary as individuals wherever you go, and culture only shapes parts of the form of their worldview, and informs their experiences.

I have no difficulty at all in setting aside potentially problematic conflicts in terms of national interest, or the more problematic sides of government character.  Being from the US I need to be able to make this separation, in order to appreciate and embrace my own traditional culture, and national character.  The Republicans and Democrats don't represent my own culture at all, to me.  The perspectives, lifestyle patterns, social roles, and hopes and dreams of Americans do, of course including immigrants, since the US is a nation of immigrants.

So related to tea culture I can easily appreciate that thousands of years of history have went into developing the complex, nuanced, and very deep experience of many types of Chinese tea, coupled with a history of brewing and serving tea.  This includes a perspective on how healthy the drink must be, its role in daily life experience, and aesthetic or meditational experiences, or however one takes it.  

At the same time it's really about soaking dried leaves in hot water, and enjoying the resulting unique beverage, often tied to social contact.  That contrast between a simple yet also complex and profound experience is the foundation for Chinese tea culture, as I see it.  And as a tea enthusiast we join in this simply by trying the tea, only partly informed by whatever cultural contact we also experience.  Even if that tea is from Thailand, Vietnam, India, or elsewhere; these are connected experiences.

Considered in that light Mr. Sun Yunshan is sharing very deep, personal, and also simple experiences with us, especially his perspective on them.  Again I am very grateful for this.

my point of contact there, Gisele, from Thailand, now living in China

Interview with Wanmu Tea Garden (Wanmu Tea Industry Development Co., Ltd.)

1. Can you describe the background of your tea company?

Chinese: 你能介绍一下你们茶企的背景吗？

Our company is called Shangcheng Wanmu Tea Garden Tea Industry Development Co., Ltd. It is a privately owned enterprise invested by an individual. The company mainly focuses on solving the production, processing, and sales needs of tea grown within the 11,000-mu tea garden area of our administrative village.

⸻

2. Your founder [the main source for this content] has been described to me as an authority on tea and a local community leader. Can you expand on these roles?

Chinese: 有人形容你们的创始人是一位茶叶专家，也是当地的社区领袖。你能进一步介绍这些角色吗？

Our founder, Mr. Sun Yunshan, is an inheritor of local tea-making techniques and a contributor to drafting several technical standards (for example, Xinyang White Tea – 2024). However, he does not consider himself a “tea expert.” He is deeply attached to his homeland, loves tea, enjoys research and exploration, and is enthusiastic about helping others. He is a young man with ambition and vision.

⸻

3. To what extent does your production company also function as a tea cooperative—beyond purchasing and processing materials, and including other forms of cooperation with local farmers?

Chinese: 你们的生产企业在多大程度上承担着“茶叶合作社”的角色？

Our company has a certain scale and influence in the local area and is the only large-scale enterprise in our administrative village. We voluntarily take on the responsibility of ensuring stable purchasing, processing, and income growth for local tea farmers. Since our establishment, we have purchased fresh leaves without limit, continuously expanded production capacity, and extended the production period so that tea farmers can earn more income. We also undertake ecological pest control, ecological tea garden construction, maintenance of the certified Green Food production base, and offer free technical training to farmers.

4. To what extent did government economic or agricultural support contribute to founding or expanding your company into tea production?

Chinese: 政府在经济或农业发展方面的支持，对你们企业的创立或扩展起到了多大作用？

The government provides certain construction-related programs, generally in the form of proportional subsidies. However, the subsidy ratio is relatively low, the procedures are complicated, and they require early planning, which often does not align with the company’s own development plans. At present, we receive only minimal subsidies.

⸻

5. What are the main local types of tea produced in your area (Xinyang, Henan)?

Chinese: 你们所在地主要生产哪些本地茶类？

In Xinyang City and Shangcheng County, traditional green tea is the primary product. Over the past decade, black tea production has been steadily developed and improved. In recent years, white tea has also grown rapidly and is currently undergoing further transformation.

yellow teas from them, reviewed here

6. I’ve tried Dong Fang Mei Ren and yellow tea from your company. What motivates you to experiment with teas from other regions or historical tea types?

Chinese: 你们尝试其他产区或历史茶类的动力是什么？

Our company has expanded from producing only green tea to producing all six major categories of Chinese tea: green, black, white, oolong, yellow, and dark tea. Over ten years ago, we realized that green tea alone had a relatively narrow consumer base and was more difficult to store. Based on market demand, we began developing black tea, white tea, oolong tea, yellow tea, and dark tea. Last year, we also incorporated tea tree flowers, honeysuckle, mulberry leaf tea, and wild chrysanthemum into our product line.

By adjusting the production structure, expanding product categories, and extending the production cycle, we aim to explore more potential from our local ecological advantages and high-quality fresh leaves. Extending production from the traditional spring-only season to all four seasons not only diversifies products but also reduces inventory pressure and increases farmers’ income year-round, motivating them to better maintain their tea gardens.

⸻

7. How does your “Green Food” certification compare with international organic testing and certification standards?

Chinese: 你们的“绿色标识”认证与国际有机标准相比，有哪些异同？

The Green Food label is certified by the China Green Food Development Center. It is similar to international organic testing standards, though some testing values differ. Over the past five years, teas produced in our Green Food certified base have been tested by multiple domestic institutions, and the results consistently show: no detectable pesticide residues and no excess heavy metals.

⸻

8. To what extent do these developments reflect national trends across China—such as increased production capacity, government support, and cross-regional or hybrid tea styles?

Chinese: 这些发展在多大程度上反映了中国茶行业的普遍趋势？

China’s tea production capacity continues to increase steadily and is relatively oversupplied. Adjusting the industry structure and expanding product categories helps small enterprises survive and also eases sales pressure. For example, black tea, white tea, oolong tea, and dark tea have longer storage periods. In particular, white tea and dark tea improve in flavor with aging and have certain collectible value. Storing tea among the general population helps balance variations in annual production and changing market demand, reducing the risk of extreme shortages.

⸻

9. Is the tea industry continually evolving?

Chinese: 茶产业是否在持续演变？

There will always be new research and innovation in the tea industry. However, tea is a culturally rooted product, and as the saying goes, “everything changes, but the fundamentals remain.” Therefore, the six major tea categories and traditional tea-drinking practices will not change drastically. The rise of new-style tea beverages mainly serves to expand usage scenarios and attract more consumers; it does not significantly affect traditional tea culture.

⸻

10. How is awareness of and demand for tea changing among Chinese consumers?

Chinese: 中国消费者对茶的认知与需求正在发生怎样的变化？

With improved living standards and economic conditions, the number of tea drinkers in China is increasing. People who previously did not drink tea have begun to drink tea or tea-based beverages. Consumers who used to drink tea without caring about quality are now exploring more varieties and seeking higher-quality teas—and this trend will continue.

⸻

11. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) concepts are not widely understood in the West. How are these ideas perceived and applied within modern mainstream Chinese culture?

Chinese: 在现代中国主流文化中，中医理念是如何被接受和应用的？

Although Western and Chinese cultures clashed during China’s reform and opening-up period, this did not diminish people’s confidence in the TCM principle of pattern-based diagnosis. In recent years, TCM-based wellness practices and medicinal-food therapies have modernized traditional consumption methods to better align with contemporary lifestyles. Many people now use medicinal-food-homology herbs as daily tea beverages. For example, the honeysuckle tea, mulberry leaf tea, and wild chrysanthemum tea produced by our company are all TCM herbs. As people deepen their understanding of TCM concepts, many can determine their own physical conditions and use common herbs for maintenance and health regulation.

⸻

12. Does this extend beyond seasonal tea drinking—for example, choosing teas according to physical conditions such as tiredness or illness?

Chinese: 是否也包括根据身体状况调整饮茶选择？

According to TCM theories, people can easily identify changes in their physical state. For instance:

• When internal heat is high, they drink green tea, yellow tea, or white tea.

• When the body is cold, they drink black tea, dark tea, or oolong.

They also adjust tea choices based on the time of day—green tea in the morning for alertness, white tea in the afternoon for calmness. Moreover:

• Spring: green or yellow tea

• Summer: white tea or oolong

• Autumn & winter: black tea or dark tea

Closing thoughts

It was interesting how the ideas transitioned from local producer background, on to broader Chinese production issues and cultural trends, then to practical daily tea drinking practices.  I think that last section will resonate with a lot of American tea enthusiasts.

Wanmu Xinyang, Henan award winning black tea

 

I just finished a great interview post with background on this tea producer, which I'll post not too long after this review, given how editing issues work out.  So I won't say much more about them; it's there.

I've tried really good, seemingly type-typical yellow teas from them, and two somewhat unconventional Dong Fang Mei Ren versions (Oriental Beauty, or local interpretations of that style).  In the past I've reviewed Maojian from the same Thai tea contact, that would have been from them, but the posts may or may not have tied the sourcing back to them, and in a sense it doesn't matter.  They were great, even though green tea isn't my favorite type, or really it's my least favorite.  Somehow I've always liked Longjing anyway, and those green teas were fine.

This should be great.  The only background is that the sample said that it won an award (these were provided for free for review; many thanks for that).  I asked Gisele, that friend who works for them, if their teas are grouped by consistent brand versions, and the answer wasn't a clear yes or no.  

As tea enthusiasts familiar with general background would know it's not really easy for producers to make versions of the exact same tea types every year, produced at volume, as companies like Lipton do.  Lipton puts a lot of effort into balancing inputs that vary, so even with year to year variations in quality and style they can adjust for that through a complex blending process.  Some other medium scale tea producers try to do the same, but in general it's the tiny, direct sourcing vendors that describe each tea as a variation related to the same version from the year before.  

I'll try to link to what looks most like this tea online, in the Wanmu site information, but it may or may not be completely identical.  I'm not claiming that they imply that the listing represents this tea; this award-related version may well be a unique one-off.  One listed won an award, but different versions could have won different awards.  Here's a black tea they identify, again which may relate to a higher volume production version, or simply a different batch:

Craftsmanship • Xinyang Black Tea

Craftsmanship Xinyang Black Tea is made from carefully selected tender buds and leaves of top-quality spring tea from high-mountain tea gardens. It is refined through the withering, rolling, fermentation, and baking processes of Xinyang black tea. The tea buds are compact and covered with golden down. The tea soup is bright golden yellow with floating tea hairs. It is smooth and mellow on the palate, with a rich and mellow aroma, and a refreshing and sweet aftertaste!

not so far off, but seemingly not an exact match, related to appearance

This image showing an award certificate and the tea looks more like that one (listed on the site), with more buds content, and that part being redder than the rest of this sample.  

The context is a little different for a producer than a re-sale vendor.  Producers might try to make different batches for sale in different channels, while small-scale vendors, or even medium scale outlets, might try to make branding themes as consistent as possible, carrying one each of a limited number or teas with a distinct theme.

Review:

dry scent:  this is as fragrant as any black tea I've ever smelled, or I suppose any tea.  To me sweet floral and fruit range stands out the most, but there is also a strong cacao note.  The buds and leaves are very fine, very small; this might share some aspect range with Jin Jun Mei as a result.

first infusion:  color is a little golden-amber, versus just being reddish.  Oxidation level should be lower than a most typical range.

Interesting!  Honey sweetness stands out most.  There is a cacao note to this, but there's a lot going on.  Floral range is pronounced, across a rich, sweet, heavy floral scope.  Fruit doesn't stand out as much as that, even though the scent implied that it would.  Warm tone range is very pleasant.  Feel is rich and thick, with a pleasant aftertaste carrying over after.  All of this is from a relatively fast first infusion, just a first look at the tea, not how it will be after full development.  

It's hard to emphasize clearly how that full, rich, thick feel and pervasive sweetness serve as a foundation for the rest.  Black tea mouthfeel range varies, but this is unique.  That sweetness actually tastes like honey was added, even though for sure it's natural.  Mineral range is warm (I've not mentioned that part yet), but the input is limited, helping balance the rest, instead of being a dominant aspect.

second infusion:  mineral intensity bumps up a good bit.  This may peak at a more evolved character range next round; it still may be transitioning to get there.  Sweetness still stands out a lot, with the flavor of honey fading just a little.  Floral range is so pronounced this probably tastes like two or three distinct flower inputs.  One part is rich and intense, like lavender.  Another is warm, smooth, and towards more subtle grain-like range, like chrysanthemum.  A hint of citrus enters in, not so pronounced, but at the same time distinct.  It tastes like tangerine, both the actual fruit and that tangier edge of the peel.  

Feel is slightly drier, with just a little more structure, but still very positive and full.  An extra touch of fruit may add to overall complexity, along the line of jujube, dried Chinese date, and the prior cacao is also still there, a bit stronger than that fruit note. 

The way it all balances is really something.  None of those aspects are remotely negative, and they come together as a symphony of flavor and tactile experience.  It's good, really exceptional.

Not just to look for any possible negatives, but it might be helpful to describe how this relates to my primary preference for black tea.  I mention here a lot that I love Dian Hong the most, Yunnan black teas, for a number of different reasons, and related to simple preference that I can't explain.  I love the depth and complexity in those, even though they sometimes give up some high end range, the forward floral or brighter fruit this is also expressing, in addition to those deeper tones (cacao, warm dried fruit, supporting mineral tone).  In those it often relates to a roasted sweet potato or yam aspect.  I suppose if someone used their imagination part of that would also relate to this tea; it's really complex.

So does this work as well for me, related to that preference?  It's more complex, more layered, interesting in terms of including more experience scope.  It has good depth.  I think in a sense I also like the simplicity of those teas, that even though they're not as complex and refined that makes them easy to appreciate.  There is less to love but what is there expresses depth.  

I can't conclude that I don't like this as much, because it is such a pleasant and unique experience.  But drinking this tea with food at breakfast wouldn't seem appropriate; you would tend to have it when you focus on the experience.  Which is great, when you are on that page.  But there's something magical about drinking through lots and lots of a more basic favorite black tea version, that includes good balance and great depth, but not those extra themes, not so much complexity and refinement.  It's comforting.  You can drink it for a half an hour or hour and then not really focus on the tea, and let it take you on an inward journey instead, or just relax, and decompress.

third infusion:  cinnamon enters in as a main aspect; it's amazing that it could transition like that.  A high degree of transition is one thing, but the tea adding dominant, positive aspect range like that each round is really something.  Maybe the bud and fine leaf content is releasing compounds more each at different phases (infusion rounds)?  Rich fruit also picks up.  What seemed like a hint of citrus across other deeper tones now comes across more as cooked peach.  Of course cooked peach, cinnamon, and other rich, creamy depth is a lot of the description of a peach pie.

Permit me a tangent.  I was experimenting with different flavor combinations during an extended pie cooking phase in my youth, in my early 20s, and settle on peach and cherry as a favorite (for a time; that kept changing).  I mentioned that to an older co-worker, and he thought it was funny that I described a very traditional Southern pie version, that his mother and grandmother had made (we were in Texas).  If you can make a butter and flour crust and go buy frozen peaches and cherries I highly recommend giving it a try.

Warm tones continue to evolve.  Cinnamon connects to that, but there's a hint of other bark range as well, maybe a cured hardwood bark flavor.  To me it balances well with the rest, the brighter and creamier range, so that I'm not describing that as a flaw or limitation entering in.  It ties to that slightly drier or more substantial mouthfeel I had described.  You can emphasize or limit those kinds of inputs simply by raising or lowering brewing temperature (higher draws out heavier flavors), or by extending the infusion timing.  I'm brewing this relatively fast, for no longer than 15 seconds, because the character and intensity is so pleasant right at that strength.

fourth infusion:  it finally stops the sequence of changing a lot each round; this isn't so far from the last.  It's a nice place for it to level off.  Cinnamon is a dominant aspect now, but cacao also hangs in there.  It would be natural to include roasted sweet potato as a reasonable interpretation.  Rich floral range didn't drop out but cooked fruit tones took over.  I suppose this does taste a bit more like roasted sweet potato than cooked peach, so it is still changing, just not as dramatically, since the total balance doesn't shift as much.  I'll describe one more round and consider it a story fully enough told, infused a little longer to see how that changes it.

fifth infusion:  citrus bumps a little more again; interesting.  The rest is starting to combine more, so it's harder to make out as those distinct flavor inputs.  It's surely far from finished, and it will probably make another 5 good infusions, but this round could represent the best of the tea already experienced.  It's interesting how that aftertaste expression works, how citrus really stands out as a distinct note, beyond the warmer tones.  It's almost as if you experience that part along the center and back of your tongue.  I have no idea what that means; I suppose it doesn't really mean anything, it's just interesting.

The feel really balances in an interesting way too.  I think there were subtle transitions in the feel all along these 5 infusions.  And this goes back to explaining how simple, basic, good tea with great depth and moderate complexity can be pleasant in a different way.  This tea demands your full attention, because there is so much going on.  That's great, for a tea review tasting, or a session with friends, when they're all focused on the experience as well.  For a mixed group with some non tea drinkers included sticking to something more basic would be better, to dial down the stimulus level, and not include so much complexity that you'd probably miss related to turning up the background noise.

The neighbors are doing construction here; that works as an example of a less than optimum input.  Drilling into concrete, it sounds like?  It's normal for me, at least, since they're half a year into that construction project.  But in general this tea might be ideal for when you have free time and no construction noise to enable focus.  

Conclusions:

What about that moderate oxidation level; would this have been different, or better, if it was a little higher?  It's not my place to guess, but I don't think so.  I think they've dialed processing into an optimum, landing in the same place the best Jin Jun Mei processing tends to favor.  It could be that a higher than usual proportion of bud content brews to a different color than leaf content, but I'm guessing that oxidation level is a part of it, keeping it slightly lower.  

It doesn't matter; the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and this tea is fantastic.  It's odd that the only potential limitation might be that there is too much to pay attention to, too much complexity, too much round to round transition, so that it would only work best when you give it plenty of focus.  Of course that's not really negative.  It's almost like I'm complaining that it's too good.  It is one of the better teas I've ever tried, not just better black teas.

Related to that quality assessment I mean that some aspects tend to stand out as either individual quality markers (indicating where a tea stands, by just one aspect), or as emergent sets of aspects in relation to overall quality.  This stands out for both.

An individual aspect marking quality might be thickness of mouthfeel, aftertaste range, or unique and distinctive flavor range.  Positive transitions across rounds are a good sign, or an appropriate mineral base flavor matching and grounding the rest especially well.  An emergent range marking quality might be complexity (covering a lot of aspect range), balance (with sweetness balancing with the rest), or refinement, the last relating to how it all comes together.  All of this extends beyond lacking flaws.  This tea version excels in relation to all of that.  

Wanmu Tea Garden (Xinyang, Henan producer) Dong Fang Mei Ren

 

first and second samples

third sample

I'm trying three more versions of another type of tea from the Wanmu Tea Garden (small factory producer), a Xinyang, Henan (China) tea producer.  There is a little more background on them from trying two yellow tea versions, that were exceptional, but I've still not turned up more depth of background.  Their website mentions a more history than that blog post, but nothing on this tea type.

These are presented as versions of Dong Fang Mei Ren, more commonly known in Western tea circles as either Oriental Beauty or Eastern / Asian Beauty (renaming around "oriental" moving to seem negative).  The other sample I have yet to try is described as an award winning black tea; it is probably a more standard offering type from them.  They would sell a tea like this, but may well be working out processing details, or which inputs make the best version of it.  

The review part goes into issues of it being true to type, and why to some extent that may not apply.  Some tea types are source-area limited, as pu'er is (from Yunnan), or Japanese tea versions (sencha, gyokuro, matcha, and others).  Teas like Wuyishan area oolongs or Longjing green tea could potentially be made from material from other places, but those are source limited too, so only versions from the original area would be authentic.  

It's my understanding that Dong Fang Mei Ren / Oriental Beauty is a style, relating to plant type, location input, and processed form, but that it's not tied to one origin area, beyond originating in Taiwan.  Good versions are made outside of Taiwan, in Thailand and Vietnam, produced by copying those three main inputs as closely as possible.  Those use plant types from Taiwan, which should also relate to using bug-bitten material.  

These teas are made using local plant types, so they won't be as similar.  I didn't know that when trying the first two samples, and had talked to my Wanmu contact prior to trying the third, to cover that by then.  So the goal, for them, might be to produce the best quality, most pleasant tea possible, using comparable but different inputs, that won't necessarily match the original aspect range closely.  Oxidation level is one main related concern, which I go into more in these notes.

Review:

#1, first infusion:  this looks a little lighter than the other, more golden and less towards golden-amber; it's surely less oxidized.  It will be interesting to see how that works out.

Flavor is interesting; very complex, covering more ground than is typical for just about any tea version or type.  It includes warm, rich, sweet tones and also some greener, lighter, more vegetal range.  It's a little early to say that's going to amount to a flaw or limitation but that's a natural early impression.  

The warm and rich flavors present are right for Dong Fang Mei Ren, which I still think of as Oriental Beauty.  There's honey sweetness and a citrus note, not extending into warm cinnamon type spice much, but it's complex in different directions, potentially including that.  Sure, I think it's there.  The vegetal note is along the line of green wood.  As a primary flavor input that wouldn't be good at all, but it balances better than it sounds in this.  

The feel has a bit of a related edge, almost implying bitterness is also present in the flavor.  It's in that space where feel and taste seem to overlap, astringency and bitterness.

#2:  interesting, also quite different.  I was expecting at least one of these to completely match the standard DFMR / OB flavor profile, but neither really do.  This is warmer and richer, and that part works.  Sweetness is ok; it would seem sweeter if there were more of an associated fruit note, which doesn't stand out, but there's some to make it balance.  There's a wood range flavor that's completely different than the mild green wood in the other, in this case more along the line of cured oak.  Someone might interpret that associated dry feel as linking with sourness, versus bitterness.  That's not how DFMR / OB goes.

I really thought that I'd be discussing how these fall well within standard DFMR range, describing how fruit in one compares to more cinnamon in the other, or something such.  Instead this might be about how they vary from that range.  These were presented as experimental tea versions, not a finished product that they've been producing for awhile.  That impression came from those yellow teas being absolutely spot-on for character, and very pleasant in aspect range.  Even great related to flavor complexity, cleanness, depth, and balance.  These two versions could be interpreted as showing flaws as much as promise, and falling much further from trueness to type.

Maybe that could relate to using a very different plant type material than what DFMR / OB is usually made from?  I don't know that part.  Of course processing also comes into play, and growing conditions inputs.  I'll try a lighter version of both; that may help them stand out more positively.

This makes me wonder what the third sample is like.  I won't know until I try it.

#1, second infusion:  it balances better.  Honey sweetness stands out as a dominant flavor this round, which is typically pleasant, in a lot of mixed flavor contexts.  This tastes a lot more like a good Jin Jun Mei I just tried at a favorite Chinatown shop recently than one would imagine it could.  I wonder if they could make something similar?

Fruit drops back, maybe extending into dried fruit more, maybe apricot.  The wood tone does soften, and for the most part transitions out.  It's not exactly type-typical for OB (I'll start writing the shorter form), but it's as close as these have been, and it's quite pleasant.  Feel is full, without much astringency, beyond that fullness.  You probably wouldn't think of green wood, or even vegetal range, when trying this, for this infusion.

#2:  this is better as well.  That wood tone has softened, with more complexity entering in.  Astringency hangs in there more, in that different form, but it decreases, with broader positive flavors making it balance better.  It is a lot closer to cinnamon spice; that's one decent interpretation for a main flavor input.  A good bit of wood offsets how one experiences that.  

It seems like oxidation level for both of these might be a little low, maybe less so for the second one, but possibly even for it.  Then maybe the material isn't as suited for this tea type, or at least it might not be able to duplicate how Taiwanese oolong material ends up in that form.  Looking up standard online references don't mention the plant type used, or at least the first two didn't, so I asked Google's AI to fill that in:

Oriental Beauty tea is made from a specific cultivar of the Camellia sinensis plant, but its unique flavor comes from being bitten by the tea green leafhopper. The insect bites damage the leaves, causing the plant to produce a special chemical reaction that creates a natural honey-like aroma and sweet taste. The tea is a type of oolong tea that requires this specific, pesticide-free process to achieve its distinct qualities. 

Plant: The base is the Camellia sinensis tea plant, with a cultivar often used being Chin-shin Dah-pang, notes Nih.

Insect: The tea green leafhopper (Jacobiasca formosana) bites the leaves, stems, and buds.

Flavor development: The insect bites trigger a defense response in the plant, leading to the production of chemicals like diol, which are converted into compounds like hotrienol during processing.

Pesticide-free: This process is only possible on tea plants that have not been sprayed with pesticides.

It's usually bug-bitten, as this covers.  I thought that Qing Xin / Chin Shin would've been a common plant type used, but one from Thailand I reviewed not long ago used a #17 variant, with good outcome.  Here's that review; it was from Tea Side (a Thai vendor selling Thai teas online), and that was the Ruan Zhi / Bai Lu cultivar, however one names that.

In looking up that reference I ran across lots I've written about lots of OB versions, from different places, made from different cultivars (plant types).  It would work to scan through another dozen posts here to get a feel for different range.  I won't go into what it means here here, but this covers lots of local Taiwanese cultivars / plant types:

this TRES / TTES content is off that agency site now, I think, so attribution would require some extra steps finding it on the wayback machine

#1, third infusion:  it's even better; this is evolving to taste a bit like bees' wax, not just honey.  That's really like Jin Jun Mei then (Fujian black tea from the Wuyishan area).  It's odd that it's so close, for being less oxidized (seemingly).  Kittichai, the Jip Eu Chinatown shop owner, just mentioned that good Jin Jun Mei should be a little less oxidized; it may relate to that, that the black tea style is also like that.

For flavor list this also includes a bit of citrus and dried fruit, and limited warm tone range, some mineral.  Feel is quite pleasant.  The vegetal edge is diminished, but I suppose a little is still there.  It's not that close to type-typical original OB but it's good.

#2:  warmer toned, which one would expect to match OB better, but that one wood flavor aspect and slightly dryer feel really throws that off.  It's also pretty good, but I suppose I like the first more.  It balances better, for the green wood and astringency generally dropping out.  This does include some fruit, but it's harder to appreciate as separate from a cured wood flavor range.  I tend to describe warm toned dried fruit as like tamarind, as a default, and it's not so far from that, just probably not so close either.  It probably works better to say it includes some dried Chinese date, jujube, and then a warm mineral tone that seems to link is really something else.

It's pleasant, but if this is an experimental tea it may not be quite there yet.  It's not balanced and pleasant enough.

Second review, the third type:

first infusion:  again a bit more vegetal than DFMR / OB tends to be.  The flavors are nice, bright, clean, and complex, but the range is completely different than that standard oolong type.  Some sort of warm tones are there, in the background, but this is mostly floral with some green wood sort of vegetal range, so completely different.  Maybe there's a touch of citrus fruit; I'll check again next round.

#2:  this tea is interesting for balancing between two different things.  On the one hand the astringency and vegetal range (mostly flavor related, not feel) ties to a lighter themed tea, not really a standard type that's easy to reference, but along the lines of green or light oolong.  Since it's a non-standard form it might come across as less approachable or positive, just due to being unfamiliar.  

Then on the other side it also balances well, and is clean and complex, so it has a range of positive character going for it.  It just doesn't completely "make sense," related to falling outside of expectations.  Not just for DFMR / OB, but related to the entire range of standard tea types.  In a sense it tastes like an adjusted version of a green tea, not an oolong.

Setting all that aside the actual aspects are pleasant.  It includes some kind of non-descript fruit and floral range, and that doesn't really oppose the vegetal range (towards "green").  That last aspect is closest to green wood, but it might be even closer to a somewhat unfamiliar vegetable type.  Bitterness is really moderate, but present, but the flavor isn't so far off bitter gourd.  If that's unfamiliar I suppose it's a little towards okra?

In talking to Gisele about these, that tea contact, who works for them, she said that it probably wouldn't match normal DFMR / OB character for using a different, local plant type, and for growing conditions being different.  And of course processing steps wouldn't be a complete match; this isn't oxidized as much.  She said that her understanding is the range for OB is 60 to 85% oxidation level, and I suppose that kind of works, even though that kind of designation is problematic.  80 to 85 might be more normal, probably even overlapping with the lower end range of black tea (Shai Hong, often more lightly oxidized Dian Hong, as a sun-dried variation).

#3:  a little more spice emerges, and the tone warms; this creeps a little closer to standard OB range.  Deeper fruit tones seem to pick up, replacing brighter range that had seemed split between floral tones and fruit earlier on.  It's dried fruit, along the line of dried apricot.  This may well be my favorite of these three versions, but the "#1" version was pretty good too.  The third, the second I tried, had a bit of warm cured wood flavor, and dryness of feel, that threw it off a bit, to me.

It's odd judging these based on my judgment.  I love Oriental Beauty, so that should work, but I don't love green tea range as much as all other tea types.  If it's especially vegetal, like Japanese green teas tasting like seaweed, that's not so pleasant, per my preference.  This vegetal range matches with other green tea range, I guess.  I suppose it should match with Xinyang Maojian, the main type they make in this area.

#4:  a hint of citrus picks up, maybe along the line of tangerine peel.  This is the best that it's been.  If tones were a good bit warmer, if this had been more oxidized, it might actually come closer to normal OB range.  It's still good, it's just a different kind of tea.  I'm not sure that vegetal edge would ever completely drop out, but more oxidation may transition it quite a bit.  Just a guess; I really wouldn't know.

Brightness is good, how clean this is in effect, and intensity and complexity.  Sweetness level is good.  Feel is fuller and richer than it sounds, given how one might expect astringency to pair with some bitterness and vegetal flavor range.  There is some astringency, but it's limited.  It's not full, round, and smooth as light oolongs tend to be, but there is some fullness to it.

A green tea drinker who also likes light oolong might absolutely love this.  But it's hard for me to see it from that kind of perspective.  

I completely "get" Dan Cong, and the clean nature, intensity, and refinement match for this, but the flavor profile is completely different (from that oolong type).  And the feel.  There is a characteristic astringency edge to lower quality Dan Cong that partly matches part of this better than the smooth, rich, full, approachable nature of higher quality Dan Cong versions.  I've always wondered what that's about.  Does it relate to using more whole leaf, to growing tea at higher altitude, to getting processing steps just right?  Maybe all of those, or maybe it's something else.

#5:  hanging in there; this is still the best it's been, which is quite pleasant.  Again I think this is my favorite of the three versions.  To review the flavor list, which I keep mentioning in relation to what changes, in order of intensity, this is balanced between expressing dried apricot, a bit of citrus, cinnamon, and a vegetal range note, now in between a wood tone and some type of gourd.  If it's easier to relate to that last vegetal aspect isn't far off the small eggplant version Thais often use, which is almost nothing like the purple eggplant used in the US.

It's good.  It's not very close to standard Taiwanese OB, but still pleasant.  Thai versions of OB (I've probably reviewed a half dozen here) are much closer to that, but it's not a fair comparison, since they've imported those Taiwanese oolong related plant types, and are trying to replicate the growing conditions and processing steps.  Same for Vietnamese versions.  This is something else, that has to be judged as something different.  The more you expect it to be "type-typical" the worse it comes out in judgment.  Judged as a varied form of OB that leans a little towards green tea two of these versions would seem exceptional.

Comparing yellow tea versions from a Xinyang, Henan producer

 

I'm trying teas sent for review by an earlier producer contact, from the Shangcheng County Wanmu Tea Garden Tea Industry Development Company.  That lengthy name is explained by it being a corporation name, not really a direct sales vendor branding, which are essentially always tied to catchier, shorter names (Yunnan Sourcing, Seven Cups, and so on).  In this case Chinese Tea Time was the local outlet name I tried teas as presented by earlier, last year.

I don't often try teas from factory producers.  It's not that products from this sort of origin would have to be inferior to artisanal, hand made, small producer offerings, it just works out that way, that I run across the other extreme in source form more.  I probably am trying a good bit of tea from factory production, but the level or levels of sales in between that and a final sales vendor cover up that true origin.  If I--or anyone else--buy teas in tins in a local Chinatown shop they're from mainstream production sources, like this one.  

There wouldn't have to be a lot of significant difference between a small producer making tea on a different type of machines and larger scale factory production (completely hand made tea just isn't how that tends to work).  In practice sure, differences would enter in, but the colorful, warm feel you would get from the image of small family production may not always relate to a lot of differences in quality of outcome.  Consistency and control would improve based on more standardized production forms, and variation and the potential for routine changes that are helpful, or mistakes that may or may not be informative, could be factored out.  This post is more about reporting how two experimental versions of tea turned out, not all that; just adding some extra thoughts.

More background on the teas and that local area are here in a Facebook page, Xinyang Diary.

Here is another Instagram link to a local vendor sales portal, Chinese Tea Time (by local meaning based in Thailand; I'm here, at least just now).  This is their Shoppee outlet link, similar to Amazon or Ebay in the US (which doesn't seem to be active just now; that kind of channel can be seasonal). 

Here is more background on that tea producer, from their website:

Shangcheng County Wanmu Tea Garden Tea Industry Development Co., Ltd., located in Hanchong Village, Wanggang Town, Shangcheng County, Xinyang City, Henan Province, was established in 2020 with a registered capital of 10 million yuan and a total area of ​​6,300 square meters. The company's standardized tea processing facility was completed and put into production in February 2022. 

It is a comprehensive enterprise integrating tea cultivation technology promotion, production and processing, marketing, innovative research and development, tea-tourism integration, and e-commerce. The company produces tea varieties including Shangcheng high mountain tea, Xinyang Maojian, Xinyang black tea, white tea, and oolong tea.

That's amazing, that it's that new a producer.  I tried those earlier teas in 2024 and they were exceptional (reviewed here:  Xinyang Maojian and Himjian; exceptional quality green teas).

I won't cover a lot of what discussing this vendor and their background with that contact related to here, but I'll keep adding more across different review posts.  

photo credit their website

Green tea is a main category produced in that area, those green tea versions, and then black tea might also be a main local category, and presumably a somewhat narrowly defined standard style.  They're also experimenting with other production, hence this yellow tea review, and the Dong Fang Mei Ren versions that will follow (aka Oriental Beauty, a name producers and vendors have more or less dropped out, due to oriental now seeming pejorative, to many people).  I'll try a black tea (a sample sent) that relates to a product listed on a website more directly.

One interesting theme related to something along the lines of organic tea production.  They're certified to a local variation of such a thing, a Chinese "green mark" designation, which would just use different testing and limitation criteria, aimed at a similar goal.  That's hard to place, but generally positive.  

It's no surprise that local certifications take on different forms within China than outside it.  My "real job" duties relate to ISO systems certification, within IT scope, and related control and process implementation, and the form that takes varies by geographic region.  A theme like information security (cybersecurity) is essentially identical globally, and the controls are the same, but the standardized sets of controls and certifications differ quite a bit.

So more background will follow, in a next post, and I'll get on with covering two yellow tea versions here.

Review:

#1:  I won't have much to compare these to, having only tried a few yellow teas, maybe only 2 or 3, but this is pleasant, and interesting.  Flavor range is what I expected, not so far off green tea, but with additional warm and unusual sort of range, a little extra mineral, and flavor that's not unlike either cured hay or cardboard.  Cured hay sounds better; lets go with that.  

Some floral tone adjoins the green tea related range, but it's going to be hard to identify.  The overall flavor range is complex.  Some mineral ties to the cured hay range.  Sort of in between there is some vegetal scope, which is hard to describe.  Not completely unlike spinach or kale.  There's a touch of mint in this; that's different.  It's hardly even fully opened up, but I did give it longer than it needed to start, 20 seconds or more.  Flavor range is clean, it's intense.  Mouthfeel is fine, with good structure, and some aftertaste expression.  There's a lot going on.

back to reviewing outside (in Bangkok), with company

#2:  similar in a lot of ways; the difference will be minor enough that I'll end up discussing how they differ, even though it's really based on them sharing more than they don't, at this point.  There's one sweeter tone in this.  The vegetal range isn't completely different, but it may include more sweet corn instead, and a bit more floral tone than either.  That floral range is smooth and rich, sort of roundish, as one might expect sunflowers to smell.  I've ran across sunflowers, I just don't remember a related scent.

That touch of mint is present in this too, maybe just a bit lighter.  The cured hay effect is also lighter.  So maybe it's less fermented?  Again they're so close to each other that I'm citing minor differences; they're quite similar teas.  This might seem a little brighter and sweeter, tied to that floral range standing out more.  It's almost towards citrusy, including a touch of lemon, along with a creaminess.  It's pleasant.  Both are, really.

I think that the second sample might include slightly less tea, maybe one gram less, and some differences are going to emerge from brewing it less intense.  I can compensate by adjusting timing just a little.

#1, second infusion:  these are brewed very fast, to try them extra light, and see what that changes.  Intensity is still good, and the same general range emerges, but of course it's lighter.  Balance is very nice in this, the way that list of flavors covered in the first round integrates together.  These are probably the best yellow tea versions I've ever tried, which isn't saying much, since I've tried so few.  The first would have been from Korea, from way back when, which I kept some of.  It was sold as two packs of tea, wrapped separately, on the expensive side, maybe for close to $1 a gram.  It should be 8 or 9 years old now; I'm not sure if that's a favorable thing or not, aging it like that.  There was no reason to do so, and also no reason to drink straight through both packs.

Vegetal range dropped out, as much as anything did.  Cured hay related aspect may be slightly diminished, with a bit more floral tone entering in.  Mint is still present; that's still nice.  It's so faint that I doubt most people would identify it, or see it as tasting like that, but to me it seems clear.  I've tasted mint in a good number of teas over the years, making it easier to notice.  Obviously it's natural mint flavor; they didn't add anything to this tea.

#2:  similar, just a little lighter.  The overall balance shifts a little, maybe a littler warmer.  Mineral might stand out just a little more.

#1, 3rd infusion:  probably a lot like the last round, maybe a little stronger for being brewed slightly longer.  The mineral is really picking up; that might just keep extending.  It's nice the way that it connects with the cured hay effect, tasting like hay that had been cured even longer.  

#2:  still a little lighter, a little sweeter and more floral.  The overall balance and aspect set isn't so different.  It's interesting how clean these both are, for having that one unusual fermented character.  I didn't expect them to taste sour, or anything like that, but these are both clean and bright.  I would expect mineral tone to keep picking up, or maybe even a vegetal edge, so even though it's still kind of early from here I would expect the flavor balance to be less positive.

#1, 4th infusion:  that distinctive cured hay sort of flavor stands out all the more.  It's not really transitioning that much.  Pleasantness hasn't diminished; the balance still really works.

#2:  a little lighter than the first version, at this point, with less vegetal and mineral range.  The floral tone is still nice, in a good proportion.  Vegetal and mineral are in the same range but slightly different; it would be possible to break that down further.  

Conclusion:

This style matches what I've tried of yellow teas before, the little that has come up.  These are quite good.  It seems nothing like experimental tea versions; they must be pretty far through process development.  The material had to be pretty good for results to be this positive, beyond getting the secondary steaming / fermentation stage to give good results.  

I don't know lots about yellow tea; my understanding is that it's more or less post-fermented by storing it within wetted paper layers, or something similar, perhaps not necessarily being affected by the input of bacteria and fungus in the same ways that pu'er or hei cha versions are.  Wikipedia and AI sources would inform more detail.

It's interesting that these could be so clean, balanced, complex, and refined, that nothing seemed "off" at all, related to the outcome from that input.  The limited range of other yellow tea I've tried was like that, but these might be a little better.  Then again it's been years; it's hard to say.  They're definitely good.

Related to a match to my own personal preference they're still fine.  I like sheng pu'er the most, which isn't so far removed from green tea (maybe the closest type to these, but they're different), but green tea not nearly as much.  This style and how these come across are pleasant.  Maybe others would value this unique outcome more, if buying this rare and probably difficult to produce style relates to high final sales prices.  I don't buy green tea, or even oolong, even though I like lots of range of that; I'm stuck mostly on sheng.  That's normal; there's so much to get to, and it varies so much, that you can easily get caught up in all of it.

Chinese Tea Time Oriental Beauty / Dong Fang Mei Ren

 

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

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

a Thai Oriental Beauty version that I reviewed last year

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Review:

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

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

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

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

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

  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

mixed oxidation level, per this color range

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

  

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

Conclusions:

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

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

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

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

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

completely unrelated, a cute little girl wearing a beanie