Extending an online meetup social circle

 

There's something new related to tea I've not mentioned yet, that meetup circle of three other friends and myself trying out extending that form to include other people joining.  This describes how that goes, and introduces those others, all with really interesting background related to tea, more than it covers the discussions content.  I wrote some notes on the specific content of one of the meetups but I'll hold off on that post until some later news adds to that.

One issue with even meeting with those four friends is dealing with the online form.  Work meetings are like that over the last year, of course, from working from home for nearly half a year, but social meetups are different.  The feel and pacing, and potential to embrace tangents, all vary a lot more than a structured work-meeting form.  For background context those friends are Ralph Rauschert, Huyen Dinh, and Suzana Syiem, all experienced, committed tea enthusiasts and active social media participants from Germany, Vietnam, and India, respectively.  

Encountering all these contacts relates to writing this blog, of course, and also to experience in moderating a tea group that I helped found, International Tea Talk.

Let's start with who we've already met with; that part is amazing.  We talked first with Jaba Borgorhain, from a tea producing family in Assam, next with Anna of Kinnari Tea, a Laos tea vendor and development consultant, and Cindy Chen of Wuyi Origin, who needs no introduction for many.  She is a very well regarded Wuyishan based producer, from a traditional tea producing family there.  She's in a very unique position for being part of a Chaozhou, Guangdong tea producing family; her husband's background. 

I've met all these friends and the meetup attendees in person with one exception: Cindy and I haven't crossed paths yet.  That's a real shame, because she's as kind and genuine as anyone could be, and experienced with the subject of tea on a level we conventional tea enthusiasts can't really relate to, born into it.  Cindy's daughter could Gongfu brew effectively at the age of two.  That girl probably could've taught me a good bit about tea at the age of four, and I'll never catch up to her current exposure level.  Cindy must have been like that, steeped in an amazing degree of tea exposure by early childhood, which kept on going from there. 

the meetup with Jaba

meetup with Anna (photo credit Suzana Syiem)

Going into these sessions one open question was how well the form would work.  It was never set up as any sort of interview session, with no fixed format or scope.  As those months of online meeting with my other friends went on over 2020 we talked more about what was going on than tea, of course always passing on local pandemic updates.  Meeting new people for the first round raised a concern over how introduction would go, and theme focus, versus actually getting to what those joiners had to contribute about their tea experiences.  

In all three cases their exposure runs incredibly deep, maybe more so for Cindy being in those unusual circumstances, but really just more different in type than degree for each.  Anna's background spans tea vending, running a shop, producing an RTD kombucha, helping producers adjust processing, and onto NGO coordinated development issues.  Jaba is from a tea producing family and covers some of that same diverse scope, with an interest in tea history and fair trade issues.  Laos and Assam are seeing changes in longstanding tea traditions as they become something they never were before, versus Chinese forms being more grounded in history and consistent, both in terms of the tea itself and the culture.  Plenty of change and disruption happens there too; I mean relatively speaking.

Talking to Jaba stuck with the subject of tea more.  Ralph and I met her here in Bangkok the first day that I met both, so that bit of introduction was already complete.  The Indian / Assam context being so familiar to Suzana probably helped.  Development issues were interesting, about what is changing, and what will continue to change.  That's the part I expect to report more on in the next couple of months, so I'll set it aside here.  One thing I didn't necessarily expect was discussing local tea preference issues and import and shipping concerns in Vietnam, Germany, and Thailand, the conversation scope going in both directions like that.

with Ralph and Jaba at Jip Eu, my favorite Chinatown shop (and Kittichai, the owner)

Meeting Anna was more of a personal introduction.  Her tea background extends to significant awareness across a broad range of traditions.  The development themes about Laos tea are perhaps even more fascinating, for starting from closer to scratch, in an odd twist based partly on use of tea plants from an older tradition that are far older than anyone living today.  That mix of inputs can result in production of some amazing forms of tea.  But we didn't get too far into that.  Interpersonal inputs can play into discussion scope, without a clear theme or central moderation keeping it on a limited track.  Anna seemed genuinely interested in finding out about the others, instead of just talking about her history. It's not as if that introduction scope is a bad outcome, or one that falls short in some sense, even though it would replace some novel potential related to the subject of tea.  

Some of the same happened with Cindy; we didn't get far talking about her tea.  At one point she discussed her personal favorites, and it even drifted into discussing pu'er versus Chinese oolongs, but it never settled into a Q & A scope, about processing or tea types, or into much history.  Cindy did mention how Wuyishan tea demand has transitioned over the last 20 years; that was really interesting.  One cool part about Cindy, which really applies to the other two friends as well, is how tea expertise and related perspective is amazing but she shines as a person even more.  If I had to choose between never talking to Cindy again or never trying any of their tea I wouldn't miss the tea, even though it consistently represents the best quality versions of any tea that I've ever tried.

my favorite picture of Cindy, as the red riding hood of tea

The complete meetup potential was never clear, if the form would turn up some novel further direction.  For now I think it's  little too chaotic and unfocused to shift to include more scope, for example to add more participants at the same time, or record sessions for sharing through video with others, or to add more structure in any way.  

It's a potential problem to look back at each session and regret what wasn't covered or expressed, a bit of which I'm guilty of passing on in this write-up, and in immediate perspective after.  That seems to be looking at the glass that's half empty.  A social meetup is about the social part first, or else it's a topical interview or whatever else.

it's nice seeing Huyen's kitten play, and just catching up

Meeting any or all of those three again would be nice.  For not getting into that much about tea we left a lot of ground uncovered in the last two sessions, but the introduction was more a main theme.  Jaba has more to cover about tea too; there will be plenty of updates about local changes we only touched on in general that time.

Maybe the most interesting potential relates to online contacts who have agreed to join but haven't yet.  Russian tea culture has been a favorite theme for a long time, since visiting there three years ago, and trying a lot of great tea from Moychay.  We've not been able to connect yet with a friend in Nepal who makes great tea, and tries out some new related themes, co-op processing and agricultural tourism.  I know some other tea producers, and Eastern European tea culture is interesting; lots of places are.  It's funny how it works out that it would be interesting to hear more about American tea culture, an interesting subject that gets far more attention online than the related Chinese experience, at least in the "Western internet."

Since I've not did justice to introducing these meetup visitors I'll share some links that go further with that, prior writing about them and what they've been up to, with an extra reference contact added.

Making rock oolong (Wuyi Yancha): an interview with Cindy Chen

Making tea in Wuyishan; sharing pictures and video from Cindy Chen

Wuyi Origin site based blog

Kinnari Tea sheng comparison (Nyot Ou district in Phongsaly, Laos)

Kinnari Tea Laos Moonlight White (maybe quite out of stock, but an example of an interesting tea)

Kinnari - ຊາຈາກລາວ Tea of Laos Facebook page

Oiirabot Assam hand made black tea

Trying Assam falap, a variation of bamboo sheng (from Jaba, an interesting tea, but I'm not sure if they actually sell it or not)

Oiirabot Instagram page

a rare off-tea theme, visiting Wat Pho, the Bangkok temple where I had ordained

Vietnamese and Assam green teas comparison

in the same order, with more details following

I'm getting behind on trying samples.  Vendors and friends passing them on is much appreciated, but two reviews a week doesn't keep up, even for doing combined tasting.  I'll try a green tea version that a friend visiting from Assam passed on, Jaba Borgohain, and green tea versions from Somnuc Anousinh, that Laos friend who gets out to lots of local SE Asian countries to try remote-produced teas.  One of these he even made, on a visit to a farm in Vietnam, if I've got that part right.

Oddly neither of those friends is actually a tea vendor.  Jaba more or less helps represent the Assam tea industry in the form of researching and discussing issues.  That's a really informal and undefined role, as I understand it, as much an unusual expression of interest as an actual role.  Somnuc owns a small coffee and tea shop (partly owns, at least) but the travel and tea buying is mostly a hobby interest.  He probably sells some of what he turns up; it would be easy to grab an extra few kilos here and there and have resale income offset that travel expense.  But for both it's a labor of love, not a business or significant revenue stream.  That's interesting commonality to share, since I'm not getting paid to write this either, beyond the tea samples coming my way for review.

I just met Somnuc here to pass on some teas in exchange

I keep saying that green tea is my least favorite broad type; that's interesting background.  These will be unconventional, I'd expect, so it won't be a matter of checking a known type against an expected profile, or quality level markers and expectation.  I've only heard about the Assam version, from another mutual friend, who said that he liked the Assam black teas Jaba passed on better.  Those were really good; it can be hard placing them.  They were probably as good or slightly better than any Assam I've yet to try.  Then again I'd expect the other Assam sources I've reviewed have moved on from producing teas at the same level I tried more of a couple of years ago when I was more on that page.

Onto review then.  As to methodology I'll Gongfu brew these, even though they would turn out as well or maybe even better brewed Western style.  It's just more familiar at this point.  For most better teas, of any types, Gongfu brewing lets you experience more of the transition, it just separates out distinct flavors and other aspect character that emerges across more rounds.  I say "maybe better" because in some cases mixing those together--in Western brewing form--is more positive.  I'll use relatively cooler water temperature, standard for green tea brewing process.

I'll back off the proportion a little (closer to the 1 gram / 15 ml range than towards 10, but I don't weigh tea), and lengthen time to compensate.  I get it why people do control prepared weight versus volume better, and why some would see an approach that's slightly less controlled as invalid.  I see this as relating to a difference between engineering and science research perspectives (I'm an industrial engineer, not that it really matters).

Scientists conduct careful research; they control factors as much as possible, analyzing one variable at a time, documenting everything.  Engineers make things work.  Eventually that has to pair with a clear description of what worked, and why (unless you work in a IT scope, as I sort of do now, and then it just depends), but messing around and trying things out is valid.  Per my past experience with defense systems manufacturing the people who actually build things want to hear as little as possible from design and "assembly methods" engineers, and get on with the work, with QC review making sure they did follow the right parameters to get to exactly the right outcome.

Review:

In order described, L to R; the first a good bit redder

Vi Xuyen Green (from Somnuc):  I actually found three different samples of green tea from Somnuc; there's a chance this tea is from an earlier set, which would make it a year and a half old.  Another labeled as "Xin Green" may be an early version of the unlabeled tea Somnuc described as making himself (the next one).  This is from the far north, as Wikipedia describes:

Vị Xuyên is a rural district of Hà Giang Province in the Northeast region of Vietnam. As of 2003 the district had a population of 87,164.[1] The district covers an area of 1,452 km². The district capital lies at Vị Xuyên.

I say it might be an old sample in part from noticing that this tea is oxidized; the color indicates that.  Green tea can darken after being produced, it just oxidizes quickly via a slightly different process when leaves are fresh.  In processing related oxidation enzymes in fresh leaves contact air, although without a bruising step the teas can still oxidize.  These enzymes are deactivated by a heating step, or can be partially deactivated by drying, as occurs for white tea processing.  It'll be interesting even if it is slightly aged green tea, which is a subject that doesn't come up much.  Green, white, and sheng styles can mix a bit in rural Vietnam processing; teas can vary (which I'll stop short of saying more about, since this is already a tangent within a tangent).

It's quite nice; so much for not liking green tea.  It's soft, rich, sweet, and floral.  Really floral; at a guess that's close to lotus flower character, quite sweet, but not intensely sweet like jasmine (but towards that, just a bit richer).  It's the grassiness that I dislike in green teas, or tasting like green beans and bell pepper, or spinach, and this is nothing like that.  The feel is even a bit rich; this really works.  At a guess they did let this oxidize a little, and that part added in during processing, not after.  It could relate to just not heating it fast, or it being hot out when they harvested it, or to pickers bruising some of the leaves as the pluck them; producers say different things about how all that goes, how it's complicated.


Vietnamese tea Somnuc produced, from Yen Bai province:  Somnuc did pass on the origin for this tea, but it's not as if you could go out and find this tea version again, even if you happened to live there.  For all I know this could be a very standard local type, and it would be as easy to find as visiting the local market, or maybe this version range varies by individual location, plant type, growing conditions, and processing steps so much that you just couldn't.

That's really vegetal, with a pronounced astringency edge.  It looks a lot lighter for being yellow instead of slightly reddish but it's stronger.  The liquid isn't completely clear; not cloudy enough that I'm worried about it but that's not a great sign.  For someone who loves green tea character this would be ok.  It tastes like a mix of vegetables, with more green bell pepper than anything, but a bit of mix beyond that.  Some floral range and warm mineral range give it a decent balance (odd how that's not an obvious match for the rest; lighter mineral would typically pair with that).  This feel is a bit thick as green teas go too, and sweetness level works.

It's not as if I hate green tea tasting like vegetables, I'd just prefer the floral range, or whatever else.  It's actually pretty good though, for being in that type and style.  It could be slightly cleaner in effect--related to a plant-stem type of astringency--but it's much better than inexpensive, random commercial green teas tend to ever be.


Oiirabot Assam Green Orthodox Tea with Silver Tips:  cool this tea has a producer, type, and brand name.  Ralph, that other friend who met Jaba, who has recently started his own tea blog (here), agreed that the dried tea smell is amazing (so much rich fruit, covering grape, raisin, and citrus), but just couldn't get brewed version results out of it on that level.  This is slightly cloudy too; what's up with these teas not being clearer?  It's the least intense of the three, especially after trying the last one, which packed a punch.

meeting Jaba and Ralph at that same Bangkok Chinatown shop, Jip Eu

It's not bad; that fruit does come across.  It's not great either; the promise in the dry scent doesn't translate over.  It's nice that there is some light grape, raisin, and citrus, that some of it does, but typical vegetal range joins that, and it's all on the subtle side, mixed together.  A bit of astringency joins that, closer to tree branch bud than flower stem, but it's at a level that works.  It's not bad, just not as exceptional as the first version.  All of these might change a little over the next two rounds though; it's a little early for final verdicts.

Second infusion:

still a little light, still a touch cloudy for 2 and 3

Vi Xuyen Ha Giang Vietnamese green:  dang this is good green tea.  It surely wouldn't work for everyone to let green tea oxidize a little to improve it, but whatever led to this character worked.  It's sweet and creamy, with really pronounced floral tone shifting a little towards fruit.  Given that softness and creaminess it's a bit towards creamsicle, even the flavor.  The texture is great, the balance is good, even an aftertaste experience adds depth.  There's no astringency edge, no green wood, plant stem, tree bud tip, none of all that.  I suppose if someone liked that sort of edge in a green tea that could potentially be seen as a flaw, but to me this is great.  A touch of warm mineral gives it more depth, complexity, and balance.  This is one of the best green teas I've ever tried, per my preference (probably not an ideal reference context, since I'd like unconventional green teas better).


Yen Bai version (Vietnamese tea Somnuc made):  still a little cloudy, :( .  The flavor and other character isn't as bad as the appearance would indicate.  It's vegetal, with some astringency, and the mineral undertone is a little rough, a heavy limestone / granite theme.  It's not bad, in a relatively typical range for more local (or rustic) forms of green tea.  Even as commercial forms go this isn't below average, or maybe slightly better than that.  Floral tone probably picked up a little; it's probably better than it was in the first round.


Oiirabot Assam green:  it's better; the flavor is picking up depth.  That fruit from the scent is present; that's nice.  It's just the most subtle of the three; this could've brewed a little longer.  I've been brewing these around 20 seconds, a long time for most types I brew Gongfu style, but then backing off proportion just a little makes that appropriate.

For being about as fruity as any green tea I've ever tried it's quite pleasant.  It also includes a bit of green wood character, or that along with a faint trace of bell pepper.  Floral range is also notable, and sweetness is positive, so it all works.  It doesn't have quite the thickness, richness, and positive balance of the first version (the Ha Giang / Vi Xuyen Vietnamese version) but it's pleasant in similar ways, just less pleasant.  Without trying this alongside one of the best green teas I've yet to try it would seem a lot better.  The subtlety part could be offset by shifting parameters just a little.

Third infusion:

probably a little lighter than optimum, but varying that is interesting

Vi Xuyen:  this is a little lighter; I've probably backed off infusion time a little.  It still works this way, but there isn't much to describe.  I might do a longer round next for contrast.


Yen Bai, Somnuc's tea:  this is in the best balance it's been in.  Color cleared up and the flavors did too, and it's softer and well-balanced for being brewed lighter.  Floral tone is stronger than vegetal range, and it comes across as sweeter.  There's a bit more green bean than green bell pepper to it this round, but floral is stronger.  The feel works better.  I think mineral undertone is more pronounced in this than the other two.  Thai Nguyen green teas exhibit that, the region that produces the best known Vietnamese green teas.  To me it works well in those, and in this; it gives them a nice complexity and depth.


Assam green:  a cooked vegetable aspect picked up in this; odd.  It's not so far off a steamed zucchini, leaning a little towards seaweed.  That underlying fruit is still there, and floral tone, and very light astringency paired with green wood tone.  I really thought this would just be lighter since the other two were, but it shifted some instead, and it's as intense as it has been, in a decent, moderate range.  It's still pretty good, just not improved.  It would be nice if there was a way to concentrate that fruit aspect without ramping up all the rest.  I wouldn't necessarily expect this to be better brewed stronger, given the turn it has taken, but it's worth checking that out.

Fourth infusion:

all quite clear, still completely different colors

This will probably be enough; these will transition further over at least two more rounds but the main story will have been told.

Vi Xuyen:  even though this was brewed closer to 30 seconds it's fading just a little.  It's possible to crank up temperature to get more out of it, or just go longer, and for this tea being soft, sweet, and approachable any of those steps would still give positive results.  Flavor range is contracting a little; fruit is less pronounced, with floral a little heavier in the balance.  Warm tones don't necessarily pull back, so they make up a higher proportion now.


Somnuc's tea:  it's fine, a similar mix of floral tones, vegetal range, underlying mineral, and green wood related taste and astringency.  All pretty standard stuff for Vietnamese green tea.  It doesn't seem to be "brewing out" yet, shifting aspect proportion in a way that indicates that it's fading.  Even minimal oxidation would probably cause a tea version to give up some range related to brewing count and intensity in later rounds, in the case of the first.  A sweet aftertaste is pleasant in this, almost like the "hui gan" effect in sheng pu'er, but without the bitterness preceding it.  That was probably present in about the same form before, and only stands out more now in comparison with the first version, which is thinning.  The astringency is in a better balance than in the first two rounds, and the flavor proportion is better, backing off the vegetal range.


Oirabot Assam green:  more cooked vegetable in this, not unlike the last round.  It would seem likely this wouldn't be nearly as good brewed Western style since those earlier, more positive infusions would be getting combined with this range.  It's odd that it transitioned as much as it did, that the flavor completely changed.  There is still some fruit and floral range present but not much at all compared to vegetable range.  As with the last version sweetness is redeeming, and aftertaste is pleasant, a sweetness that lingers, just not as pronounced as in the second version.

The second tea is by far the best in this round; interesting how that worked out, given it was my least favorite the first two rounds.  I'm not sure which would be best if these brewed for 4 minutes, but I can't imagine that combining those aspect ranges would be better than experiencing them as I did, in stages.  Green tea usually doesn't transition that much, at least per my past experience.  At a guess the first version would've been best prepared that way since it was most consistent over rounds.  It was just odd chance that led the second version to improving as it did, and the third becoming less positive.

The Vi Xuyen noticeably darker, the one Somnuc made the lightest

Conclusions:

Three very different green teas; that would be expected with them being from two different countries.  The first reminded me that green tea can be interesting, novel, a bit complex, and positive (perhaps cheating a little for not being a typical green style, a slightly oxidized green tea).  The second and third were both pleasant in the infusions / rounds they came across best in.  I'd still probably drink sheng pu'er (young or aged), black tea, oolong, or maybe even shu over any of these; personal preference for character, aspects, and types is like that.

They were good though.  And all of these could've potentially been slightly more positive if drinking them more fresh, back closer to their production time in the Spring.  I don't accept that green teas degrade as much as people let on but there's a fresh edge to them, a brightness and intensity, that really does help the character shine.  Some months after production that could fade, especially being stored in a hot environment like Bangkok.  It would be odd if the one I liked best ran completely counter to that rule, and I liked it the best for changing over a year and a half (if it was in fact a 2018 production, which I don't know).

That could lead back to the production process and style themes I didn't develop early on, that backing off the heating step just a little during the kill-green process would leave some enzymes active enough to change in a different way, related to how sheng pu'er is processed and does.  I'm not claiming that happened in this case though.  If anything that character was pulled a little towards black tea range instead, and oxidation and aging transition fermentation are completely different things (relatively completely; age-fermenting sheng do also oxidize, but per my understanding that's not identical in chemical form or aspects output).

It was interesting how much ground that comparison and the three types covered.  There's usually not that much fruit aspect present in green tea, and feel and aftertaste don't cover the range some did in different rounds.  Green tea versions usually don't transition as much as two of those did.  It all made for a pleasant tasting experience.

Oiirabot Assam hand made black tea

Tippier version left (per description), but they look similar

I've written about this general theme before, about protecting small farmers by arranging growing and processing co-ops to produce higher quality, organically grown, orthodox tea, and preserve farmers' way of life by selling better tea more directly, to increase created value and the proportion returned to them.  One might wonder, how is this different?

It sounds a bit like the case of Assamica Agro, or Assam Teahaus, the venture by Maddhurjya Gogoi, the tea producer / coordinator I met here in Bangkok awhile back.  I'd be guessing to venture how this initiative it is different, but I will do that.

I just met one of the main people developing this visiting Bangkok, Jaba Borgohain.  I didn't see any web page references for the producer these are labeled under, Oiirabot, but Jaba's profile page did reference the Organic Assam Campaign.

Jaba is visiting the local university my family has the closest ties to, Chulalongkorn, my wife's former school, for an education conference event not related to the subject of tea.  The approach here is going to be for me to guess how these different ventures differ, and shed more light on hers, and then let her correct that by passing on more feedback in a later post.  The potential for adding some error is present, since I did just meet her for a few hours and talked some about this, after discussing it by message for a week or so.   But passing on an initial rough take is completely valid, as I see it.


To be clear these different ventures all are doing similar things in similar ways; I don't want to take away from that, or reject it.  The same is true of discussing this issue with Narendra Kumar Gurung related to Nepal, or that contact in the North of Thailand, Aphiwat Kokhue, or related to what Anna and William are supporting in Laos, through NGO development projects (covered lots of place in this blog, but last mentioned here, with links to follow).  This isn't about saying this project is somehow better or more important than those.  It seems unique, but only to a limited extent.  To me the general approach is great, and all of these initiatives sound uniquely promising.

Jaba is also trying to reconstruct past tea history, researching what was produced and how over the past, so that the end point isn't to produce Chinese style or fusion themed teas related to current market demand.  It's to produce the best possible tea using traditional sources and methodology, making some adjustments for optimizing results along the way.  She's not trying to import as much foreign processing approach or equipment as possible, or to change over types of teas being grown (again, all this is my understanding; maybe some retraction and clarification will follow).

These development themes always vary a little related to those sorts of focuses.  The work Anna and William are doing in Laos is more or less trying to bring Laos tea up to Chinese standards, for better versions from there, which would involve adjusting processing in relation to a foreign standard and type.  That's not such a bad thing, since those two tea traditions there are continuous, in an old form.  Probably processing has shifted to some extent over the last half a century in China (or improved over the last 20 years, as likely), but the style of tea hasn't changed as much as refinements have made best versions more universal.  Or at least that's my understanding.

Maddhurjya is trying to import Taiwanese tea production equipment (not just trying; he's done it); and probably is borrowing from foreign tea production styles.  That's also not such a bad thing.  A vendor in Indonesia related how they were going for a complete fusion of tea plant sources, processing steps, equipment use, and final styles outcome (Toba Wangi, with a vendor profile here; those teas I tried from them were great).  I can relate to why some people would appreciate the native-approach theme a lot more, but it's not as if it's the only valid starting point or input.

The tea itself will tell some of the story about how results go so far.  And Jaba can correct what I've said that's a bit of a miss, or fill in more details.  I'll let the package description add more background, to clarify that I'm not just re-interpreting discussion points as ran across them:

Handmade Tales is a specialty tea brand of Oiirabot, a tea enterprise based in tea city, Dibrugarh, Assam (India).  Oiirabot specializes in handcrafted chemical-free premium teas, cultivated in remote regions of Assam.

Oiirabot works in close colaboration with the small tea growers of Assam to create premium quality tea varieties and promote chemical-free tea farming among the tea growers of Assam.  Other range of premium tea products under Handmade Tales:

White Tea
Blue Tea [so oolong?]
Bamboo Smoked Tea [she passed on some falap / phalap, which I've never yet tried]
Green Tea with Silver Tips
Black Tea with Golden Tips
Assamese Traditional Smoked Dheki Tea


I didn't emphasize that organic theme, even though she and I talked a lot about the pros and cons of certifications.  In short I had told her that doesn't seem to be a primary selling point in the US, even though it is definitely a practical concern people are very aware of.

Review:

I'll prepare these Gongfu style, even though the package lists Western brewing suggestions.  It's my understanding that relates to that approach being much more familiar, and more relevant to a broader audience.  People already using a Gongfu approach for black teas would have an idea of how to go about that.

I did brew these for much longer than I typically would sheng pu'er or most twisted oolong styles, for around 20 seconds.  It would work well to limit that to 10-15 seconds, but the stronger form would be closer to the results from brewing the tea Western style.  It will help with moving through the initial saturation phase, going slightly longer, and I can adjust timing based on results from each round based on results from the last (all standard stuff, really).

version with more golden tips left

Assam Black Orthodox Tea with Golden Tips:  that's really interesting.  You would expect malt to stand out most in any Assam, and it never really drops out for any version, but in this it's only one part of a broader profile, not dominant at all.  If anything a flavor range similar to sun-dried tomato stands out more, a rich, almost fruity sweetness that includes a bit of umami.  Nothing like that aspect framed in a seaweed or "greener" context in Japanese green teas, but I'm interpreting it as related. 

This isn't so close to any other tea style I've ever tried that I can use that as a clear starting point, not even other orthodox Assam.  One part reminds me more of Jin Jun Mei, that warm, honey-way sweet and rich range.  There's malt too, so that's different from those, but barely present in relation to the typical role that plays in Assam versions.  Cocoa joins those; that's more common with other Chinese black tea range.

It's nice, just a bit shocking to experience so much complexity at first, so removed from any expectations.  There's almost no astringency; it doesn't even have a dry or rough feel, just fullness of body.


Assam Black Orthodox Tea:  presumably this is similar to the other but based on less tippy material, but that may not work to assume that.  It could be from a slightly different local area, made from different plant type sources, and processed differently; I just don't have that information.  Inputs are one thing and experienced results another anyway; in the end the tea speaks for itself.

This does overlap a good bit with the other version, only quite different for all the same aspects balancing differently.  Malt plays a similar but different role in this, or maybe it just comes across differently.  To back up and frame that, when you drink CTC Assam, or even better versions of orthodox Assam, it's typical for a blast of malt--in a very specific form--to define the experience.  Even when it balances well with the rest it still usually stands out as the single dominant aspect.  Not in these.  Related to good versions of Chinese black teas tasting a little malty these are comparable; it's still present.

It's as sweet as the other version, possibly slightly sweeter.  An aspect like sun-dried tomato is also present, that rich, warm, complex range, it's just not as dominant.  Cocoa and bees-wax (which I referenced as common with Jin Jun Mei) is also present, but again not as much.  Since it's just as intense as the other version it's hard to clarify what is filling in for the difference.  An underlying mineral structure may stand out just a little more, or a sweet version of dried wood tone, approaching that of bark spice, but leaving off where dried sticks tend to smell.  Or that could be tied to a version of tree bark, but only a very specific type, not the full, thick bark of mature hardwood, or the lighter, mineral intensive nature of peel-bark trees (aspen or birch), but instead a thin, dark bark common to other ranges of tree types.  Maybe "like sticks" is clearer than all that.

Related to feel this has a different kind of structure, a hint of dryness, but it's not astringent.  Malt in Assam usually seems somehow connected to a dry, structured feel, but these are a good bit softer and fuller than that, or "rounder" if a more vague, graphic comparison helps.

Right out of the gate these are on par with or possibly even better than any other Assam I've ever tried, and I've explored that range a bit.  Usually newer producers go through a "dialing-in" phase while they work out removing obvious flaws, but they're onto the next step already, optimizing results.  I was surprised that Narendra seemed to jump over that step in making Nepalese teas too. 

I think both may have been successful for a common reason; they're really not new to it, at all.  Both sets of producers (farmers, who also produce tea) were probably making pretty good tea before, and did go through some adjustment phase I wasn't in on testing, but were able to rush that process for starting out further ahead.  External input could also be a factor, as in William and Anna's case, drawing on one or more good reference sources.  Anyway, the teas are nice.

Second infusion:

I went fast on this second infusion, around 10 seconds.  That will soften mouth-feel even further, which wasn't necessary, but I'm curious about how the flavors and other aspects work at a light infusion level, around how I prepare a lot of Chinese teas.

Golden tips black (leaves and tips, the tippier version):  more of the same, only slightly lighter; it's not really developing to change.  That sun-dried tomato range umami effect is interesting; that just doesn't come up much in any black teas.  It's pleasant, just really novel.  An optimum infusion level (intensity) for this would be brewed for longer, as I expected.  It's interesting that the tea has reasonable thickness of feel, even brewed lightly; even some aftertaste effect occurs.  That mix of sun-dried tomato rich sweetness, bees wax, and cocoa is quite pleasant, with hardly any malt filling in for balance between an earthy and mineral range, but just a touch.

Someone looking for a blast of malt in this tea would be disappointed; for being more on a Chinese-black style range it works really well.  It's odd saying it but this probably wouldn't be ideal for making masala chai.  It's one of the better Indian black teas I've tried, so that's not really a natural connection anyone would make anyway, considering how simmering this with spices would work out.


Orthodox black (just less tippy):  this does transition, or maybe it's that it comes across much different at a lower infusion intensity, while the other just seemed lighter but with identical aspects.  I get a sense there's something I'm missing in this description, some way of portraying what it's like in a clearer way I've not considered.  It also contains a faint bees-wax aspect, and limited amount of cocoa, and a faint trace of malt, maybe just a little more.  Then there's a wood tone that's different, closer to tree bark or bark spice than fresh or cured hardwood or pine, nothing like those ranges.  It's not like forest-floor either, nothing like autumn leaves, or wetter earthier range.  Maybe leather, that sweet, rich smell from a bomber jacket, leather bound book, or baseball glove.  Framed within the rest of the complex flavors I'm not sure which it's closest to.

The feel has a hint more structure and dryness to it.  You can't really pick it up within the flavor range but it seems like maybe a touch more mineral (warm-toned mineral) is supporting that other mix, and that's why it comes across as complex in a different way, and why the feel character is different.  Or it could just be the malt-tone is different, but it's light enough in these that it's hard to break down.  A stronger infusion will help with identifying that difference.

It's a little known fact that Assamica plant types produce more caffeine than variety Sinensis, one of very few uniform inputs that identify a difference.  The other is that younger leaves and buds contain more caffeine as well; beyond that it just varies by case.  These teas really hitting me reminded me of all that.  For being two infusions in I'm feeling that caffeine.  Maybe some of what people write off as "tea drunk" in young sheng just is that.  Only some; I get it that people are having semi-mystical experiences of different types, not just caffeine buzzed.

Third infusion:

These I brewed for 20 seconds this round, twice as long as the last time.  I'd expect the teas to only produce a half dozen or so infusions using these longer times, or maybe 7 or 8 with stretching out long-brewed late rounds.  They will probably require longer infusion times by round 5 or so to keep up intensity, and will transition in aspects quite a bit by that or the next infusion.  All just guesses; interesting trying to see how teas match my expectations, or don't.

Tippier black:  intensity is back up but only in a normal range; these may be fading just a little already.  It doesn't help using up a lot of time between rounds to write, because in effect I'm letting the tea leaves cool, which cools the water I pour onto them.  Again that sun-dried tomato umami stands out, with the rest of the list as I had described.  It may be edging towards slightly earthier and slightly less sweet.  The cocoa and bees wax may be on the way out, with a mild dark wood tone picking up, closer to the form of the other, but not really the same.


Orthodox black:  the feel of this is quite different; astringency really did ramp up.  It's nowhere near the level of a CTC tea, or maybe even a more standard orthodox black range, but compared to both in the first two rounds it's considerable.  If anything the other tea lightened in character and feel, the opposite.  That stronger edge draws out more of the bees-wax impression, with malt tone picking up quite a bit; now it really is a main aspect, just not yet a dominant one.

The slightly dry feel that is common to Assam tea is more present, the structured feel / body that comes across that way, versus Chinese teas being softer (or often Darjeeling too, for that matter, but those vary a lot, covering many pleasant forms and aspect combinations).  This is probably the only infusion of the six I've tried that would be familiar to people drinking "more bold" and more typical forms of black tea.  Boldness seems to imply some degree of value judgement, and "briskness" overlaps with that a little, relating more exclusively to feel instead of also flavor.  I tend to not use those terms because to me they're not descriptive enough, and try to describe actual flavors and feel aspects instead.  But they could definitely be meaningful; it's a matter of preference of terms and convention.

Fourth infusion:

This might be a good place to leave off given that 8 small cups of tea prepared like this is a lot.  I'd expect that the story of round 5 is about how these transition towards the finish, with how durable they are to produce lots of consistent infusions more relevant than how that final transition sequence plays out.  It is nice when some Dian Hong (Yunnan black, my overall favorite black tea type, or range, as it works out) are still very positive in later round forms, so that stretching out 2 or 3 late rounds is still nice to experience.  You get more experience out of your tea that way.  It's more common for all black tea types to stay positive for a shorter run, to fade to become woody or something such.

Orthodox with golden tips:  this is thinning a little further.  The richness, round feel, thickness, and overall pleasantness is still present but it's fading.  A longer infusion time would bump that next round.  I'd expect that's not how the other version goes, that it's just changing form more, not intensity level so much, based on the last round.


Orthodox black:  it might be fading a little, but not like the other version.  It still has that astringency edge, although this is brewed too lightly for it to feel rough, it just has structure.  The balance isn't quite as positive as it had been, the level of flavor in relation to that feel aspect, and related mineral / malt flavor tones (seemingly related; maybe they have nothing to do with each other, and I'm adding the association).

This is much closer to other forms of orthodox Assam I've tried, as it comes across this round, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.  Those usually break into two sets of character types, as very intense and malt-heavy, and much thinner and softer and more subtle.  At a guess harvest season timing may have caused that as much as any other input, spring teas (the more intense versions) versus those harvested and produced at other times.  Of course that's just a guess.  Darjeeling second flush is just as intense as first, just different in character, related to picked leaf characteristics and processing differences.  I'm really not familiar enough with Assam "flushes" or harvest seasons to speculate, just mentioning the obvious, as I see it.

It seems like one more slightly stretched timing round would tell a more complete story, and since I'm just buzzed versus blasted on caffeine I might as well go there.

Fifth infusion:

These brewed around a minute, plenty of time to draw out more infusion strength, just maybe a bit much for the second.

Black with more golden tips:  the aspects are a bit more subdued but in the same range as earlier, just leveled off a bit.  It's still very positive, not picking up astringency, heavy mineral tone, or any woody flavors, still just as sweet, mellow, complex, and balanced.  Given how subtle this has become it might only work to run two even longer infusions, since it's staying so positive, with that seventh one pushing it a bit.  I never compared the flavor to honey, but I guess it went without saying that saying it tasted a bit like bees wax overlapped some with that.  This is more like honey than that bees wax now, which is also very pleasant, just subtle.  The sun-dried tomato flavor range dropped out (earlier in the rounds, really), leaving other warm, soft tones, closer to cocoa, but not branching into being woody.

I never did mention that although these two look kind of similar the character of this version is much closer to that of golden tips or buds-heavy tea versions.  That content difference must be right; both the label and corresponding character match can't be wrong.


Orthodox black:  the tapering off of intensity is in a positive place for this version too, with aspect balance a lot closer to the other than I'd have expected.  This has more astringency now, and malt is more pronounced, but the honey sweetness and soft, rich tones aren't as different as they had been.  The feel in this has more structure, at this point, but the other isn't thin, even for becoming lighter, it's just not as thick as it had been.

Conclusions:

This already covered what I thought of the teas; they were really good.  It's tempting to say that they are better than the other two sets of versions of orthodox Assam produced by small co-op producers (Assamica Agro and Assam Teahaus).  It might be the case that I'm just trying a later, more-tweaked version of these teas, that from 2 to 3 years ago when I tried those others the ones made by this same producer wouldn't have been quite as refined.  And those other two producers may have made quality gains since then, and adjusted to make new types; in fact, I'd be surprised if they hadn't.

It's a little odd that all three seem to be on such closely related time-tables.  I don't think any of them were doing anything remotely like this 4 years ago (or maybe it's 5 instead, but I think it's not), and they've covered a lot of similar ground fast.  I like this individual theme, the idea of going back to earlier, traditional forms of tea, versus fusing other production methods along with what was already done.  Optimization of both may follow similar patterns; the outcomes may be more similar than one would expect.

This is only the beginning of this description.  I have one more green tea to try, and I want Jaba to help adjust what I've said to make it more detailed and accurate.  She has also been researching the history of tea in Assam, which can confidently be re-written from the present form based on citing clear and reliable text references.  I'll leave that part as a teaser, and won't share what I've already heard about that.

Jaba is here on a academic conference visit, related to a subject other than tea.  That's interesting to me, how people can bridge experience and strengths from other backgrounds and discipline to inform tea investigation or development.  Of course the tradition she is a part of, was born into, also related quite a bit to agricultural themes, and traditional tea production.  Academic research does open the door to exploring history in a different way, though.  Probably not in any way that made this tea as good as it is, but it's still an interesting sub-theme.

More will follow across those different scopes.

meeting Jaba at Jip Eu, my favorite shop, along with Ralph, from Germany

visiting Wat Pho, a main Bangkok temple

the main ceremony hall Buddha statue there