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.  

Vietnamese Annam black tea, Autumn 2024

 

I'm trying a Vietnamese black tea, shared by Huyen and Seth on their last visit, which I've written plenty about.  They said a bit about it, which doesn't add up to a Maps link of that village, but the rest is quite interesting, and covers the main parts.

It's from a small village area not known for tea production.  I'll copy some of what Seth said about it here:

This tea is a sundried tea from central Vietnam, which was made by a couple who have been making tea for over fifty years. The man who owns the tea farm says that the trees were planted back in the 1960s and that they are using tea making techniques that were introduced to Vietnam by the French, who started massive tea plantations in central Vietnam in the early 20th century, but completely abandoned the plantations a few decades later. 

We're not sure if the cultivars being used are from the original French cultivars brought in from Java and Sri Lanka, or if it's a different varietal from somewhere else, but all the trees are seed-grown. The harvesting and all other steps except for rolling are all done by hand.

We actually tracked down this tea area using maps from an old tea book written in 1935.  I think it's either Assamica or some kind of hybrid.  The gardens are only about 100 meters above sea level.

This was Huyen's input:

- Annam name: the French name to call the middle part of Vietnam (you can search the old map). This area used to be the biggest tea area in French colonial time. You can read more information in the Hatvala book [Geoff Hopkins just published a book on Vietnamese tea]. 

Nowadays, tea is not famous in this area because local replaced tea trees to grown another trees. But there are still some tea plantations for getting fresh tea leaves to drink or sell in wet market for locals.

That term "wet market" may be familiar from the Covid starting point, that one market in Wuhan.  My understanding is that it means the old-style markets that are "wet" because they aren't based on use of refrigeration, they use stalls and steel tables, and ice buckets or bins to keep some food cold.  It's a common theme in Bangkok.  The smell can be terrible in them, until you adjust to that seeming normal.

that's near our house (so not where that tea is, just a market example)

We covered more, but that's a good start, the basic background.  This is a tea version you just couldn't find, unless you happen to live in that village, and then you could.  It doesn't work to place it in relation to types or areas other people already know about in Vietnam; it's something different.  

Huyen just wrote about something even more novel, an old style of tea made locally that essentially no longer exists, that her extended family made during their new year's celebration (that someone could search out here, on her Instagram posts).  She and Seth are really looking into deeper aspects of Vietnamese teas.  And her family is the best, just wonderful people.

Review:

First infusion:  that's really nice.  I already knew that, because you can tell by the dry tea scent, but it adds more of the experience to brew it.  It's clean, rich, and well-balanced, with a decent range of complex and pleasant flavors.  Feel is quite thick, especially for this being a first round.  The effect is that it's quite refined; this seems to be well-made tea.  

An early take on a flavor list would include some toffee or caramel warmth and sweetness, a main part, and other aromatic range that I'm having more trouble breaking down.  It could be rich, warm floral range, or maybe that and fruit.  This first round isn't brewed all that lightly, as I often do, but it should still gain more intensity and range on the second round.

Second infusion:  it's relatively similar.  This is interesting, in part because it's good, but also the style is novel.  The color is lighter than black (/ red) tea usually is, and the flavor range includes less of the sharper oxidation output effect, even as mild black tea versions go.  The flavor range is warm but not on to the malty / cacao / heavier and warmer flavor range.  So it seems to be lightly oxidized black tea, that works out well for final character.  That's novel.

This brings up the theme of Shai Hong, Yunnan style black tea, that's often oxidized less than is typical, often said to enable further aging transition, picking up more depth over a few years.  I'm not sure if this is even Assamica, the main plant type used to make that.  These are fairly sizeable leaves but harvest timing and plucking standard also affect that.  Then in trying a Yunnan-style Thai version not long ago, with Huyen, she made a comment about how that general type, and that version in particular, tend to taste sour to her.  I wasn't placing it that way, for that tea or that type, but I could see what she meant, and later it stands out more when you expect to frame it that way.  It's not sour like oolong that has went off due to humid storage, or goishicha, Japanese fermented tea, but still maybe a little.  This doesn't seem like that.

It's hard to do more of a flavor list; the intensity of the flavors is subtle, even though the overall effect is that it is complex, with good depth.  It's not complex in terms of expressing a range of identifiable flavors, but rich feel and sweetness add in to make up that impression.  Of course I'll brew it a little longer to draw out more flavor intensity, but I don't think that's going to change much.  This seems to just be the character for this tea, that it has a good bit to offer, but it doesn't span the normal black tea range in a typical way.

Third infusion:  it's the same.  This brewed for well over 30 seconds, for a timing I didn't track, so it's intense, but not in terms of flavor list.  Again that character is interesting, well off a typical black tea form, but pleasant.  In a limited sense I do miss that sharper edge but this is nice.  In one sense it's better for being novel, since it all kind of works together.

Fourth infusion:  it's strange I'm not doing flavor lists for this.  Beyond the toffee / caramel, and light but rich floral range, there is bit of a spice note.  It's warm and rich, and subtle, like chrysanthemum, or mild root spice, like sassafras.   All that is why it doesn't come across as thin or flavorless, even though a list of aspects doesn't jump out.  It has depth.  

I'm using a pretty high proportion, but it's probably backed off a bit from what I more typically use, maybe only 6 grams instead of 8, in a 100 ml gaiwan.  The leaves are long and twisted; it's easy to lose track.  They're still connected to some stem material; that would drop intensity, since stem can still contribute positive flavor but not very much. 

Conclusions:

Seth mentioned they had tried different versions, and that a summer produced version might have been best (this is from the Autumn), and that it might have gained depth and intensity over time.  That's back to that Shai Hong aging theme I'd mentioned.  It's odd thinking that this might be better in another year, but it could work out like that.

He also mentioned interpreting some of the main flavor as grain-like, even including a little bitterness.  I didn't get the bitterness part (maybe since it's not on that scale for sheng drinker), but that interpretation of main flavor makes sense.  I was guessing mild tisane range like chrysanthemum might be a match, or mild root spice could be, but different grain range has a similar flavor, buckwheat or barley tea.  Even raising this as a discussion point helps explain why I struggled to explain how it didn't express pronounced flavors that I might have expected, but it seemed to have depth, and to not really lack flavor.  The range is unusual, especially in relation to most conventional black tea, even mild and diverse Chinese forms of it.

So it was interesting and pleasant.  People tend to accept what they already like most best, although they can still value other experiences, so I suppose in terms of match to preference I still do like the Dian Hong / Yunnan flavor set better, cacao and roasted yam or sweet potato, and so on.

It's interesting the producer would say that summer versions are better than spring teas.  The seasons don't really match up as well as people in temperate climates might expect, but some of that framing is still meaningful in the tropics.  

I was minding the gardening at our house for some months when my mother-in-law was in the states with the kids, and pondered this theme a lot.  Different fruits base season timing on their own cycles, and plants grow or flower whenever they happen to.  There is winter here, of sorts, just a warmer version than parts of the Northern US summer.  Then a really hot period, then it's rainy, inverting the typical US winter / spring  / summer / fall cycle.  I still think of March and April as spring, but it's sort of not, here, as seasons go.  None of that connects back to this being an autumn tea; it's just a tangent.

Thanks to Seth and Huyen for providing this interesting tea experience.

Huyen and Seth checking out the tea scene in Bangkok (left and second from left)

Vivek Lochan on status of Indian tea industry

Doke tea images provided by Vivek

After talking with Vivek Lochan recently about how social media group discussion goes, mostly on Facebook, I asked if he could fill in some background on the Indian tea industry in a Q & A form.  These are the kinds of ideas that should come up in online discussion, but it's hard to get starting points to develop to that.  

Most vendors and producers are posting online related to marketing, and tea enthusiasts might just show what they're drinking.  Marketing is fine, and it's interesting hearing about different tea types, or preferences, but it tends to not extend to a deeper level.  

This partly relates to me being the only moderator for a large Facebook tea group, International Tea Talk.  There had been interesting discussions there about a range of themes in the past, but it has shifted to occurring more in other places now, as tends to happen.  Reddit and Discord are active, for example.

For introduction Vivek is from a well-known tea producer family that owns and runs the Doke tea plantation.  His father, a main founder, is Rajiv Lochan, who has been very familiar in specialty tea circles for quite awhile.

This is their Doke website; there is more background there, and it lists some related social media channel contacts.  This blog post works as an intro to that background story.  This is a review in this blog about their Black Fusion flagship product, or one version of it, from back in 2021.

There is always a chance that different people could see different aspects or shifts in local tea industries differently, but to me it's quite interesting to consider thoughts from someone with more local area exposure than almost any of us will ever have, even given that kind of interpretation concern.  

I've discussed local tea industry themes in India quite a bit over the years, most in relation to discussions with Suzana Syiem, a close friend.  We even talked to Rajiv once about related themes, back in 2021 when Covid disruptions made talking to people online seem like a helpful outlet.  Most of this matches and extends what I'd heard before.

Vivek's input on tea industry status in India

How is specialty tea uptake going in India?  Do you see differences in how preferences are changing in other places?

Specialty tea is slowing increasing in demand and interest with customer across the country. People are willing to experiment more and with better buying power, they can easily afford to try more than once. The increase in availability of teas with flavours – natural like fruits and herbs or like mocktails kind of stuff – also helps attracting a newer audience of tea lovers who can’t necessarily be called tea lovers.

Specialty tea quality development often seems to relate to two different factors, to small, private producers developing a more artisan approach to making tea, and to experimentation and development by larger producers.  Is one of these inputs having the most impact, or others?

I think the abundance of small, private producers is having more impact. The larger producer is usually under economic pressure to produce more and sell more. The smaller producer usually doesn’t have as much pressure and is more open to experimentation to set himself apart from the crowd. 

These small growers sometimes mimic styles from other countries / areas but that is only apparent to a person who is well versed with teas from foreign nations. Most people are appreciative of efforts to partially ‘copy’ production styles while keeping the end result unique. Something like our Black Fusion from Doke seems to be well appreciated. 

Black Fusion, from that earlier review

In different places different approaches to promote awareness seem to work, eg. public tastings, or media articles.  What seems to make a difference there, and what doesn’t work?

Media articles, semi private tasting sessions, food pairings and free sample distributions seems to be working quite well. We are trying to get more hotels involved with setting up tea tasting and food pairing sessions so we can attract more people to the tea world. Larger public tastings don’t seem to work because then it can be difficult to engage with people. Engagement is important to have both the drinker and the brewer understand what each other are looking for - kind of like wine tasting sessions. 

Are cultivars in use continually evolving?  Can you add a bit about that?

The TRA is always working to introduce new cultivars or better the current crop of cultivars available [the Tea Research Association, a government run institution under the Tea Board of India]. They have certainly come a very long way in the past decade or so in making the tea crops more pest / insect resistant and sturdier against drought. Constant evolvement of the cultivars is very important.

I seem to recall mention of a specially designed sprinkler system doubling as irrigation and offsetting high temperature impact on tea plants at Doke.  Is that accurate?  Can you describe this more?

Yes – we have a new government sponsored irrigation system at Doke which has been working wonders for us for the past couple of years. Upkeep has been a little bit expensive at the beginning with sprinklers failing and pipes bursting but overall, it has been a great addition. The new sprinkler system has all its piping underground, so they are permanently placed unlike the old system which needed everything moved as and when required. Set up time and wastage is almost nil now. 

The older sprinklers had a larger coverage area per sprinkler with a stronger throw while the new system relies on smaller sprinklers creating an almost mist like situation. This results in better absorption of water in the leaves and in the ground. The sprinklers are situated according to a design generated by a computer program that takes into account terrain features like trees and elevation changes.

Are changes related to climate change impacting tea production?

Climate change has very severely impacted tea production throughout the country this year. A dry winter coupled with a very hot and dry summer had decreased growth very sharply up till May. The situation started getting better end May onwards with some rain showers. June and July has been much better with constant rain and some sunshine in between. The tea bushes are still under stress due to almost 6 months of rain deficiency, but the situation seems to be improving. 

How many flushes or harvest periods can you harvest from tea plants?

In North India, the tea season usually starts in March and ends in November end. Old hands like to say that it starts with the Holi Festival and ends with the Diwali Festival. This is true as both festivals are based on the lunar calendar. When either festival goes up or down in the date range, the tea harvest season seems to follow. Of course it is not an exact science but has been pretty accurate.

Can you add some description of background on major plantations in Darjeeling transferring from family ownership to corporate ownership?  Is this a concern for continuity of Darjeeling tea production?

Almost all the tea gardens in Darjeeling today are corporate owned with a head office in Siliguri or Kolkata and a managerial team at the garden itself. The only family owned and family run tea garden in Darjeeling today is Giddapahar. Both brothers look after all the aspects of the tea estate directly without employing any manager level employees. They make it seem easy to sustain a tea garden in the current economic situation but I know that it is anything but!

What factors are changing the local tea industry there most, among new themes like sustainability, fair trade, and safety (related to pesticide use and testing)?

The Food Safety Authority of India has recently highlighted the pesticide use but that is a very difficult situation to tackle. The Tea Board regulates what pesticides can be used in tea gardens and the dosage as well. A blanket ban is not possible as some pesticides banned by the Tea Board are allowed in other fields. Pesticide use also cannot be checked regularly at the field level. Soil testing takes time and labs are not very common. Made tea testing can be expensive and not every lot can be tested. People are becoming more aware about these things.

Are public sales platforms like Amazon—different variations of that—changing the tea sales landscape in India?

Amazon and other online platforms are certainly extremely helpful to market teas and find retail customers. We are seeing more and more of our customers moving online even if it is just to have an online presence. People are willing to purchase online and can find a wider range online compared to physical stores. 

What potential changes or developments could best improve the lives of tea plantation workers?

The biggest change would be to increase the wages of the workers, but the producer is barely able to make ends meet at the moment anyway. The consumer, the middleman, the wholesale buyer is certainly not interested at all in increasing their prices or reducing their margins. The tea gardens already provide subsidized rations, medical facilities and housing facilities but those can be a bit basic sometimes. The government could do more to help –  most of their programs don’t seem to be able to reach the right people.

Great Mississippi Tea Company black and oolong

 

I've written an interview themed post about the Great Mississippi Tea Company teas, talking to Jason McDonald, and we met both Jason and Timmy in an online meetup not so long ago.  It was great trying some of those teas (which they provided; many thanks!), the first of a larger set.  Beyond them expanding tea options made in the US, which would be enough, they also specialize in making novel tea blends, flavored with other natural ingredients, with those and other products described here.  Those might be even more interesting, but it made sense to start with the plain teas.

I think they sent some of these too

These are the first teas I've ever tried from the US.  That's strange, since I've lived in Hawaii, but I was only into tisanes then.  A local "uncle" has sent tisanes from Hawaii a few times, so in the broadest sense I have tried tea from there, but in general I only use the concept in the narrower sense.

Let's check in on their descriptions of these, starting with the black tea:

Black tea is the most popular type of tea among Americans. This particular black tea is lightly oxidized to allow for its more delicate flavors to come to the forefront of the tea... This has flavor notes of sweet potatoes, molasses, malt, and stone fruit. 

I did say a lot about the low oxidation level but didn't duplicate any of those descriptions.  Alternate interpretations of the same flavors is a normal theme in vendor description, review, and online discussion.  Using a different brewing approach changes a lot, and even changing the version of water used can shift aspects.  I didn't brew this Western style; that will cause essentially the same flavors to come across much differently.  If I get around to it I'll mention how that works after trying it later. 

There is no description of this newer Empress Oolong version on that sales website, but they do describe it in a Facebook post introducing the type:

This tea is a lightly oxidized oolong using older leaves to give it a rich mouth feel and a floral aroma. It is similar to Taiwanese High Elevation Oolongs...  This tea has flavor notes of floral (jasmine and lilac), sweet green (watercress or green beans), and mineral with a buttery after taste.

I'm not great with identifying floral flavors, even jasmine, which is quite common here, but the rest matches what I describe following.

Review:

Black Magnolia:  interesting, quite pleasant.  It seems a bit atypical for black tea range in general, which is usually a bad thing, but this aspects set seems to really work out.  One might move right to a guess that oxidation level is a bit low, even just based on color, and that's one main variable, but it seems like a few inputs cause this to seem different.  

Since the first infusion is light (my typical approach) it's too early for a developed flavor list, which never is going to do it justice later either.  There's an unusual depth to this, and smoothness, and flavor range across a mild root spice range.  The normal astringency, sweetness, and higher end flavor notes are fairly mild.  It swaps out warm depth for those edgy, sweeter, and sharper tones, which per an early take is going to be pleasant and reasonably well balanced.  One wood tone range aspect (or maybe spice) seems a little odd at this stage, which may turn out to be a flaw, but it's also not unusual for some early aspects to drop out over the first infusion or two, so it might be a non-issue.

Empress Oolong:  it's odd how the one characteristic note in Taiwanese oolong is actually the first and main thing you notice in this.  I'm not saying that it's completely type-typical in relation to those, but it shares some of the main aspect range, which is a part that's quite positive.  That main flavor aspect is hard to specify; creaminess and underlying mineral compliment and probably help define it, but they aren't it.  It's closest to floral range but really not that.  

I suppose for it being hard to describe floral kind of works.  It's that but a little towards a new car smell, not like plastic, but aromatic and distinctive in a similar way.  From there one would next evaluate the whole flavor profile, overall balance, how an extra warm tone factors in, and if there are any flaws or limitations.  I'll get to all that.

Black Magnolia, second infusion:  oxidation level definitely was a part of it; this isn't relatively fully oxidized black tea.  That's fine, of course, that level normally varies in black teas.  This is at a lower edge for being in the category but that's fine too.  

I'm not noticing any flaws in this related to flavor aspects; it did clean up.  The depth is really nice, smoothness, richness, and flavor complexity.  One could easily miss the edge usually present in black teas, a bit more astringency, higher sweetness level, sharper or more pronounced higher end flavors, but it's good as it is.  Warm wood and spice tones give it a good complexity, and it balances.  Sweetness level is fine, it just comes across differently, that milder form, which integrates with richness.  Feel thickness and aftertaste are fine, not limitations.

From there developing a clearer flavor list would fill in description.  But that's the part that no two people would ever identify in exactly the same terms.  For someone else root spice could be wrong, and this could clearly be mainly almond flavored instead.  Or listing both would make sense.  A rich flavor out towards sweet potato or yam is hard to identify, integrated with the rest.  I'll give it a slightly longer steep and try a clearer list next time.  I think I'm noticing a touch of cinnamon; I'll see if that develops.

Empress oolong:  it's funny experiencing that Taiwanese oolong flavor in this.  If I were judging this as a high altitude Taiwanese oolong I would say that underlying mineral should be a little more pronounced, creaminess and fullness should be slightly higher, and that floral range flavor edge should pop just a little more, with more intensity.  That it's really in the range to be criticized exactly as a Taiwanese oolong is cool.  Some of the variations could relate to a balance that's not diminished, to an aspects set that overlaps but works in a slightly different way, so let's look at it through that lens instead.

This adds a smooth wood-tone layer to all that, which diminishes those specific notes' intensity.  Whenever I mention wood it seems like an insult to the tea, but wood really covers a lot of range, of types, bark versus aged or fresh wood, sweet versus warm and rich, clean or else musty, like aged sawdust (which would be a flaw), and so on.  Someone could easily "see" that same aspect as herbal in nature, more like chamomile, or similar to a root spice or nut (Brazil nut, versus almond in the first black tea version).  The floral range here is really covering a lot of scope.  One part more similar to Taiwanese tea is brighter, sweeter, and a little more forward, with a part overlapping with this range more like chrysanthemum, much deeper and more neutral.  Complex floral and clean root spice / nut / light wood tone is nice.

Black magnolia, third infusion:  this keeps improving, adding intensity and range.  Some of that could relate to variations in infusion time but I think it's also transitioning nicely.  That cinnamon spice note did increase again.  One could easily interpret part of the range of this as cocoa, I just wouldn't tend to, since I'm accustomed to some versions of black teas really including a cacao / chocolate blast, and this is subtle.  There's more I'm just not placing.

This is really a lot like I expected the oolong to be, to be honest.  From there other range is what I'd already mentioned, mild tones that could be interpreted differently, as almond, root vegetable, or even root spice, a warmer tisane range (not very descriptive, that part; maybe like chamomile), or even wood.  Just a touch more astringency and that sweeter and sharper black tea edge might help this a lot, but it's nice as it is.

Empress oolong:  not varying.  If anything this shifted closer to standard Taiwanese light oolong range.   There is actually a range related to those, with factors like growing elevation, plant type, and degree of oxidation making a big difference.  It would be cool if I could pin that down, for example saying this tastes like Qing Xin from a certain area and elevation, with a light but notable oxidation input.  Someone more focused on Taiwanese oolongs really could; I drank more of that range 5 years ago.  I just never really moved on to become a sub-type expert, gaining enough exposure to a high quality range and repetition to learn patterns.  I suppose that I have drank more oolong versions from Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia than most, but that doesn't clarify simple cause and effect sequences at all.

Fourth infusion, black tea:  cinnamon is getting even more pronounced in this black tea version; I bet it will be better and better as it's stretched for more rounds, brewed a bit longer.  this isn't necessarily even beyond a halfway point yet, but I'll stop making notes in order to go do things, the weekend routine.  Usually the stronger astringency edge that comes out from that isn't positive, but in this case it has been so mild I think it will be.  This being more subtle than black teas typically are could come across as a lack of intensity, but it does have a depth to it.  Probably adjusting brewing process and infusion strength would help it come across even better.

oolong:  more of the same, not really evolving, which is fine.  A trace more green wood edge might be picking up.  Floral range probably is shifting slightly round to round, but this description of that has been so vague it doesn't do it justice.  I'm noticing more rose petal range than I think it had before.

Conclusions:

Both are good tea, both distinctive and pleasant.  I really expected more flaws; maybe I was being pessimistic.  I suppose someone could experience all of this black tea character as a flaw if they don't love the range and balance, but really it's not that, just how it is.  For it being uncharacteristically low in astringency level I thought it worked.  It's really not my place to judge style choices or make suggestions but just a bit more of that--astringency edge, and related sharper flavor intensity--might have been good.

It was surprising that the black tea wasn't really in the range of a true black tea, probably most related to the low oxidation level, but the oolong had matched the main flavor aspect in Taiwanese oolong, which would seem to be a lot more challenging.  Both were good, the main thing.  

All in all quite pleasant and a great start.  It will be interesting trying others.

a school cooking assignment

Keo and the cats

Indonesian grower profile with Galung Atri; on Indonesian teas

I've been reviewing some great teas from Indonesia recently, a black tea and an oolong from Toba Wangi plantation, and these are really only the beginning (maybe with even more updates on their Facebook page).  Since the uniqueness of regional teas and the status of their industry and tea demand are of interest to me I've been discussing this with the owner, Galung Atri, and I've extended this into a grower profile interview, following.

If you aren't familiar with Indonesian teas, these teas I'm trying really aren't typical, although I can't say there aren't other equally interesting and great teas out there, since I'm just getting started on this origin myself.  I visited Indonesia in December (two words--active volcanoes!) and didn't find anything like these on two different islands (the Eastern part of Java and Bali), in spite of visiting a tea plantation on that trip, so I doubt Indonesian teas on this level would be easy to turn up anywhere.

1.  Could you share a little background about yourself, what led you to be interested in tea, is the plantation from an older family business growing tea?


My tea business was started by my father.  We`ve been in this business since 1972 (Local Indonesian Green Tea).  There are three major roles in the tea business:

1. Tea Plantation / Tea Farmers as a tea producers.
2. Trader as a collector from tea farmers and act as a first layer quality control. 
3. Retailer as a packer.

Our company started as a trader and we are still doing this business.  My father and I planned to build a tea plantation since 2009 to produce a special tea (planning about use of clones / tea plants, place, etc.), and started planting in 2010, 40 hectares for Sinensis Si Ji Cun (around 26 hectares planted), and 70 hectares for Assamica Gambung (around 40 hectares planted).


Editorial aside:  Si Ji Chun is a common plant type in Taiwan, also referred to as Four Seasons.  Here is a recent blog post about the type, and an earlier post with more cultivar types background, a subject that keeps coming up in this blog.  Note that table shown in the second post lists cultivar / plant types by region and final tea product type in Taiwan.


This division is fully handled by me, with my father of course still acting as a mentor.  So for  the time being, I've continued studying in China for three years, and in Japan for one year, learning about tea as much as possible.

After four years, my plantation started producing tea leaves, importing a machine from China for processing.  I asked my master from China to teach me how to produce Chinese teas, then I began producing tea on my own.

I loved to drink tea since I was a child, but my interest on this business began after my graduation.  And for now at 27 years old I’m the youngest tea master in Indonesia (tea master as a tea maker, which they call a tea master).

2.  To what extent has the specialty or higher quality tea industry in Indonesia changed in the last decade, according to your understanding (on the side of what is produced)?


The specialty tea industry in Indonesia is still like a baby, with just a few companies making these types of teas, and it`s mainly for the export market, not for local consumption.  It just started around ten years ago or so, so I can say it's just beginning as an emerging market.


3.  In what way has awareness and demand for higher quality Indonesian teas changed in the last decade?


It has changed over the past six to eight years, but not much, as most people aren't really aware of better teas, or how to get those teas.  I am a part of the Indonesia Tea Lovers Community, a group that educates peoples about tea.  It helps to market our tea as well, since we need to sell tea to continue what we do.




4.  Related to discussing tea plants, different types in use, ages of some plants, can you say a little about what types of tea plants you grow (var. Assamica versus Sinensis, Taiwanese hybrids, local plant types).  What are the oldest plants that you grow on your plantation, and the youngest?  What changes do you plan in the future related to use of new tea plant types?



We have two plantations as I mentioned before, both growing a single clone tea plant type, sijicun for sinensis, and gambung 7 for Assamica (best for white tea).  The oldest tree just around 5.5 years old, and the youngest one just one years old.  We are expanding the tea planting every year, until its full planted.  And we have created our own nursery, so its 100%  pure single origin clone.

5.  Can you describe more specifics about tea processing techniques you carry over from China?  Where did you train to process tea, and what types of existing processing techniques do you use or have revised?

their Wu Mei oolong

I have more background with the Wuyi style techniques for tea processing, and I learned in study with my master that I prefer the Wuyi styles the most.  I tend to modify processing a bit for my technique.  I learned the basics, and improvised myself from there, because producing this Chinese style tea is more like an art.  It depends on climate, weather, plucking time, condition etc., and China and Indonesia are really different in terms of growing conditions.  It cannot always have the same result, but the basic characteristics can’t be changed.



6.  Is there a tradition of local Indonesian tea processing and related techniques, and tea products, that you draw on that make some teas more regionally unique, beyond just influences from being grown in Indonesia?


My Green Tea processing combines Chinese and Indonesia styles.  I do an outdoor withering which I take it from Chinese green tea style processing technique, so it has a unique characteristic that cannot be found in any other green tea.


7.  Related to one particular processing technique, why are your teas more tightly twisted than one typically experiences from other tea types?  Does this help give them their unique character?


Tightly twisted tea is just a shape, part of my tea processing style.  I mean it's more like my tea identity, so peoples know my tea from its shape.  The black tea is a bit of a different case because the shape plays a role in the oxidation process for that type.

it really is sort of black and white in real life

8.  Can you say a little about the unique white tea type you produce (White Beauty), what style it falls closest to, or what input lead to that development?



My White Beauty is like an Oriental Beauty  or bai mu dan style, with a similar processing technique. But the clone is different, as I mentioned, based on the Gambung 7 clone, which is really good for White Tea.  The first leaves are still silver in color.  I showed it to couple of tea specialists in China and they were amazed.




9.  Is there any particular limitation to growing tea in a tropical environment?  Is heat an issue, or the lack of a cool season, or the lack of a change in sunlight trigger that informs the plants of changes in seasonal times?

that White Beauty again, closer up

The main limitation of tropical environment relates to a tendency towards astringency in the tea.  No matter how I try to limit or get rid of the predominant astringency it is still there.  That is from the typical tropical climate and soil.  I have discussed this topic with fellow tea masters and they have  similar understanding.  On the other hand, we can produce tea throughout the year.  The Dry and Rainy seasons are really good for plantations though.

Another aside:  based on having tried a black tea, oolong, and now that White Beauty (with that post only in notes stage) none of his teas are particularly astringent, all smooth bodied, balanced teas.  Per Galung this is a result of processing choices that offset natural tendency for less balanced astringency.


10.  Is there a particular issue related to Indonesian people's tea awareness you would like to mention?  In Thailand an example people just aren't aware of loose tea brewing in general, so that even relatively common types of Thai oolong are not widely consumed, and awareness of more rare and higher quality teas is very limited.


In this case, Thailand has the same problem as Indonesia, people just drink tea when they are thirsty instead of appreciating the uniqueness of it.  In Indonesia, along with related economic growth, now people start looking for better teas, and start to spend more money for specialty food products.  Thus I could say the market is emerging.  I don't have any quantity left for export, as all we produce is consumed by the domestic market, but then my product quantity is still limited too.


11.  People in other places are using flavored teas and herb and fruit blends to bridge the gap between current tea preferences (RTD tea, flavored tea, bubble tea) and more traditional tea drinking.  Do you plan to take such steps, or to instead just create better awareness of more traditional teas?


I am not a fan of blending teas.  I love straight tea; I love to explore the tea character and tastes.  I do what I love, and as for now I wouldn’t start on blending teas.  I just learn some about that subject in order to sharpen my palate.  I do some blending just for Jasmine tea, since Jasmine tea is a traditional Indonesian tea, so this works well related to demand here. 

In conclusion

Amazing input, really not so much to add to that.  I love it that so much work has went into drawing on different resources and inputs and in the end it results in such a unique product range.  

Not long ago I talked with a tea cafe owner here (Bangkok) about emerging trends in tea preferences, maybe more a discussion of getting people into tea than about developed appreciation, and the perspective emerged that some people can see old-style tea preparation and learning as too formal, or too involved, or even boring.  It's great that the Toba Wangi teas are originating directly from those older traditions, without a narrow focus on creating what people already know about and demand, and more emphasis on producing the best teas that they can.  It shows in the teas.

As unique and exceptional as the black tea and oolong I already reviewed were that White Beauty really is a bit unusual; more to follow on that tea.