Wuyi Origin Shui Jin Gui (golden water turtle oolong)

Cindy of Wuyi Origin sent some teas to try awhile back and I'm just getting to the last, a Shui Jin Gui (Golden Water Turtle).  It's not really familiar, so I'm not sure what to expect, but I will cite her description before posting this (here):

Location: Zhong gu yan (钟鼓岩)
Harvest time: 2019.05.3th
Roasting level: 3 Times Roasted, Medium baking
Feature: Growing naturally and never been clipped for several years, the age of the tea bushes are about 40 years. Roasting three times gives this tea quite a fruity taste.


Fruity, that reduces to.  I didn't notice all that much fruit in this, more almond, toffee, and butter cookie, with a touch of ginseng range spice transitioning to include cinnamon too later on (with all that in more detail to follow).  The type isn't all that familiar, so I looked up the general background, starting with Wikipedia's take:


Shui Jin Gui is a Wuyi oolong tea from Mount Wuyi, Fujian, China. Its name literally means 'golden water turtle'.[1] The tea produces a bright green color when steeped and is much greener than most other Wuyi oolong teas. It is one of the Si Da Ming Cong, the four famous teas of Wuyi.[2]


Since that doesn't add much about a typical flavor profile ("green" seems to relate to oxidation level, even though brewed oolongs are between yellow, pale gold, gold, and darker or towards copper and gold).  Looking through other vendor descriptions of their versions it's odd how they all say completely different things.  Read a couple and it does sound like this version is supposed to be fruity, but then others oppose that, with some clearly oxidized more to shift the profile.  Here's an example, a Yunnan Sourcing sold version (right, wrong province, sort of):


The taste of Shui Jin Gui is complex, sweet potato, caramel, grass and spice all mixed into one delicious feeling! 


That actually isn't too far off my take on this other version I'm reviewing.  Since I was paging around I noticed that Steepster interpretations of what looks to be the same Yunnan Sourcing version included a lot of range:


Apricot, Black Pepper, Caramel, Char, Coffee, Dark Wood, Earth, Floral, Hops, Licorice, Maple, Medicinal, Metallic, Mineral, Peat, petrichor, Sage, Sap, Smoke, Spicy, Stonefruits, Sweet, Toffee, Wet Rocks, Fruity, Peach, Roasted, Almond, Butter, Butterscotch, Camphor, Cinnamon, Clove, Dark Chocolate, Eucalyptus, Ginger, Grass, Hay, Leather, Nutmeg, Plums, Popcorn, Sugar, Tobacco, Vanilla, Wood, Peanut


So it's complex.

I glanced back through old posts here and found a review of a version from the main local Chinatown cafe, Double Dogs, from 4 1/2 years ago.  I did cite general descriptions of the tea type in that post but my own take on it probably wasn't all that informative even in relation to what I had experienced.  This blog was a year and a half old then and it took about two more years for review descriptions to become more reliable, and they'll probably be even more so a couple more years after now.

Review:

First infusion:  very nice.  This seems closer to almond range than the floral or fruit that tends to come up.  It could be interpreted in different ways but straight roasted almond makes sense to me.  Roast level is really well balanced, normal for their teas.  This level might be slightly higher than for some others but it works well to balance that particular flavor range.  It's quite far from the char effect that comes up in others, nothing like that.  That almond trails over into a medicinal / old furniture range that's quite pleasant, a bit towards root spice like ginseng.

Second infusion:  more of the same, just picking up even more depth.  It's reaching back a bit for a clear recollection but as I remember this reminds me of a Ban Tian Yao from the one local shop I always visit and talk about, Jip Eu (also from 4 years ago; I seemed to be struggling to place the effect of the level of roast in that, not that I name that as a factor). 

I'm off to meet someone visiting from Belgium there at that local shop in two hours; I'll have to keep this moving.  Almond is still present but the rest of the range ramps up more.  Ginseng-like root spice might be the strongest flavor aspect, with the almond shifting towards roasted chestnut. 

A mineral base input increases, in a form that's not as familiar as some other similar range.  It's like that dry vegetal-mineral range in old driftwood, but with plenty of rock too.  Sweetness is moderate, enough to give this balance, but it's not an especially sweet version in comparison with the fruit and cinnamon in their Rou Gui versions.  It's intense; I'm brewing this fast just to get it in a normal range, just a few seconds.

Their fruitier tea versions are my personal favorite, or floral intensive Dan Congs, but this works.  It's nice experiencing something different, and the good balance and quality level are apparent.


Third infusion:  the roast effect seemed to change the most.  That one rich, sweet, complex roast related range again reminds me of roasted almonds.  Some of that root spice aspect, which is still primary, is giving way to that almond, and it leans a little towards cinnamon.  It's interesting how so much mineral integrates with the rest, landing on a consistent, balanced, complementary broad flavor range.

Thickness of feel is notable, although it could be a little richer or more intense.  Aftertaste effect is nice, the way that roasted almond and trace of other roast effect trails over.  Sweetness may have picked up a bit.  It's in the range of light toffee, which works well with the rest.


Fourth infusion:  if anything this is still improving, and it was very pleasant before.  Richness of feel is developing, still ramping up.  It picked up a butteriness that covers flavor as well as feel.  Interpreted one way that nut and toffee flavor moved into more of an almond butter cookie range.  This probably tastes about as much like an almond butter cookie as any tea ever would.  It's interesting how it's like that without sweetness level being quite as high as fruit or floral range oolongs.  That could be interpreted as a slight savory quality but it just seems like that underlying mineral, richness of roasted almond and butter, with a now lighter root spice combined and well-integrated, with none of that range actually "savory."

This tea has good intensity, but with the feel this clean and flavors this moderate and balanced it should be prepared using hot water and short infusion times.  That kind of goes without saying for oolongs of this type and quality level; making the point here relates to talking to a mixed audience.  Those recommendations to brew oolongs at 85 C in brewing tables may be fine for lower quality oolongs brewed Western style, but even for those I'd use a Gongfu approach and higher temperature, moderating infusion strength and character aspects by adjusting timing.


Fifth infusion:  not transitioned so much; a touch of wood vegetal range might be joining the rest.  I'm noticing cinnamon slightly more than I had last round too.  Shifting infusion time by a few seconds or water temperature by a few degrees (C) might change this tea character, more than for most; it lands on a fine balance of a lot going on.


Sixth infusion:  this tea won't be finished but I'll probably leave off notes here; my wife added a couple of chores to help out with before getting ready and going to that shop.  I went slightly longer on this round, out towards 10 seconds, and depending on preference someone might elect to use 15 instead.

Going that little bit longer, not so many seconds, drew out more of the roast effect.  It still comes across more how roasted almonds do than as a "char" effect that can be present in roasted oolongs.  This tea definitely doesn't need any aging but it would be interesting to see how it changes with a year of rest.  Probably not for the better, per my preference, but it might be just as good but slightly different.  I say that because char effect diminishes over a year or so of time (again not that this is over-roasted).

Even for being six infusions in the thickness and richness of feel is more notable than for the first 2 or 3 infusions.  All the prior flavor descriptions still apply, it's just not worth the trouble describing how that balance of those keeps shifting slightly round to round.  The flavor profile is balanced and complex; none of it really stands out a lot more than the rest, it comes across as a uniform, well-integrated range.  It even seems simple, as a general impression goes, but there's a lot going on once you try to notice what is involved.

Seventh infusion:  why not see this through that little bit more.  What I said in the last round still applies though; roast comes across as incrementally more intense, but it's still well-balanced with the rest.  That effect seems to draw the nutty flavor from roasted almond a little towards roasted chestnut.  For this style of oolong this is as good as this could seem to be; I end up saying that a lot related to their teas.  It's very complex, in a sense, and refined, but it still ends up coming across as quite simple.  It's good tea.

This seems to have been made using a slightly lighter oxidation level, with a bit higher roast, not unlike how one style of Tie Guan Yin comes across.  I've never had any Tie Guan Yin that expressed this complexity or refinement though. 

To be clear it's not heavily roasted compared to what turns up here in Chinatown; those are completely scorched in comparison.  It's on the higher end Wuyi Origin teas tend to go, which means it stops way short of tasting like char.  Per my understanding they will roast some oolong versions just a little longer, if that processing suits the tea character, but in such cases those teas are "designed" to be sold after a year or two of rest, which causes the main flavor from that input to settle.

Versions made this way retain a lot of the greener vegetal nature (as oolongs of these sorts go), warming, deeping, and adding complexity through a roast process.  It's completely different than when oxidation or a balanced mix of oxidation and roast achieves a related result; that adds sweetness and a good bit more warmth, pulling flavor towards cinnamon, cocoa or something such, more commonly as toffee or leather / rich wood tone in oolongs from this area, while these slightly-more-roasted and less-oxidized oolong stay more vegetal but pick up an effect like roasted chestnut instead. 

It's possible for similar Tie Guan Yin versions to be closer to this balanced but more common for those to be a bit too green and then a bit too roasted.   Kittichai, the owner of that shop I keep mentioning, Jip Eu, passed on a TGY version that he said either won or placed well in an Anxi (Fujian) competition this year that works as an example.  That tea was nice but there's a level of refinement to these Wuyi Origin teas that's hard to find.  They know what they're doing, and they seem to start with really good leaf material to work with.

Double Dogs tea room visit (Shui Jin Gui reviewed)

 

As far as tea cafes go in Bangkok Double Dogs tea room gets mentioned most, aside from references to "high tea," the British version of a mid-afternoon meal that's more about different kinds of snacks.  I finally visited there, with the shop located in the center of the main street of the Bangkok Chinatown, Yaowarat road.

 

a little dark for taking pictures

I'd heard a mix of good and bad things about this place, that the tea was great, or also that it was normal tea and overpriced.  It seemed likely this was similar to the mixed reviews that three star hotels get here; based more on expectations than what the hotels are like.

 

The shop is in plain site on the main central road but still somehow hard to find.  Google Maps is close on where it is but not exactly right, so based on that you'd need to walk down the block a bit.  My first impression walking in was that the shop is dark, and small, just a few tables.  it looked like they had more private space in back, maybe a separate room, but the front wouldn't seat many.

 

 

 

 

I selected a Shui Jin Gui from the menu, without much to go on for description about the different teas listed.  First impression:  nice tea.  The first infusion the waitress poured for me was not brewed for long, hard to taste much, essentially just a long rinse. Later typical Wuyi Yancha flavors emerged, wood, leather, floral tones, cocoa and sweetness but seemingly related to aromatic sweetness in the smell of leather, not similar to the sweetness of fruit.

 

As can happen the complexity isn't well described by a list of flavors.  Perhaps a trace of slate or such mineral underlied the other primary flavors.  The tea was good, maybe only disappointing for being so familiar, due to drinking a lot of comparable teas recently.
 

 

I noted there was very little char flavor element to the tea, and later research indicated it was supposed to be roasted more lightly than other Wuyi Yancha, so that made sense.  Some references even said the tea should brew to a yellowish or greenish color instead of the more typical reddish brown, but it looked a lot like any other typical version of the other Wuyi Yancha types.

 

It brewed a number of small pots consistently, good for the tea type.  I probably would have had more luck picking up subtle changes over the infusions except for having a slight cold at the time.

After four or five infusions the tea body (feel) was thinning but a woody taste and floral sweetness remained.  The char might have picked up a little, having been diminished by shorter infusion times earlier on, showing up a little more as I lengthened timing to compensate.

 

Chinese cakes were nice, maybe not ideal pairing for tasting due to being a bit sweet, but a good snack with tea.  At cost of 260 baht ($9) the value was ok, given that this is a rare tea type and some of that relates to drinking tea in a cafe. 



Related to the issue of value it was the smallest tea-pot I've ever seen, so it maybe held 3 or 4 grams of dry tea, and the cup it brewed each time couldn't have been more than an ounce.  Of course I'm familiar with the gongfu-cha approach, and it was no problem spending 20 minutes brewing and drinking 6 ounces of tea, but with different expectations it could seem a little odd.  The staff didn't mention anything about brewing at all, but there was really only timing to get right or screw up.

 

Before I left I checked the take-out tea list (pictured here; no way to take it in that dark room without a flash though).  There were a lot of interesting sounding teas on it, most between 500 and 1000 baht per 50 grams ($15 and $30), a price range for which decent teas are to be expected.  Since quality is such a factor in that range it's hard to judge value. 


It would be the high point for some to take a break in a nice quiet café in the middle of a noisy Chinatown, but for me it wasn't worth it to buy a tiny pot of tea (and 3 or 4 grams of leaves) for over 200 baht versus 670 baht for 50 grams take-away and a dozen times as much tea at home.

 

I suppose I'd probably buy and drink some teas that I'd tried given that range but didn't buy any then.  The staff there didn't seem up to talking about tea, even after I was taking pictures of menus and such.  To be fair here in Thailand that can relate to English language competency as much as not having "service mind."

Bangkok Chinatown

Research section:

Reading around a bit about the general tea type I found an interesting description of the same type of tea sold by the same shop, so perhaps the exact same tea, but not necessarily so:

 

This tea makes you feel like immersing down in the deep sea of mind, exploring the marks of dignity and pain that imprinted  upon your life’s journey. Its characteristics is akin to that of a man in the late 50 years old. Deep and judicious, a frisky and wise old uncle. He is a bit of a rowdy, but a this is the roughness that accentuate the trace of his scars in life. He exhibits a dried passion, dry but peppery.

 

Are we still talking about tea?  A bit over the top but I like it, even though I have no idea what that means.  Actually another part of the same post mentioned more typical flavor elements, including cocoa, orange peel, nutmeg, and charcoal.  If it was the same tea it seemed to me there was an interesting earthiness to it that different people might describe in different ways.

 

It's normal for vendor content to crowd other types of references (reference sites, blogs, forum discussions), but in this case it was almost all just sales content many pages into a Google search.
 

This site is an unfamiliar general reference, www.oolongteainfo.com/shui-jin-gui/:
 

Shui Jin Gui, also called Golden Turtle in English, is a member of Si Da Ming Cong (the four famous Wuyi Oolong tea bushes). The other three members of the family are: Tie Luo Han, Bai Ji Guan, and Da Hong Bao. Shui Jin Gui comes from the Wuyi Mountain in the Northern Fujian province of China.

 

Of course that's what other vendors say too, although in rare cases there are five names listed.  The tea legend behind this one is something about a turtle god turning into a tea plant (ok...), and their description:

 

The tea has flowery sweet aroma with a pleasantly sweet aftertaste. Compared with other oolong teas, its taste is more subtle as it process with a lighter fire finish.

 

Another vendor site (Seven Cups) says a bit more about the typical taste, or at least of their product:

 

The dry tea leaves have a wonderful charcoal aroma, but after you infuse you can find the lightly floral aroma with plum blossom sweetness.

 

It was interesting they mentioned an alternate version of the "turtle" name origin (not so unusual for there to be more than one):

 

A torrential storm washed a few of these cliff-dwelling bushes down onto another farmer’s land. The bushes carried water and clay down the slopes with the tea bush on top, resembling an algae covered longevity turtle swimming in the water, thus the name “Water Turtle” was given to these bushes.

 

Maybe that happened; it really doesn't matter if it did or didn't.  I also mentioned this vendor description because there is a Tea Chat forum discussion of their teas, related to an earlier version of the same tea, or at least the discussion is from 2012.

 

The input is quite interesting, and everyone sounds very well informed and authoritative, even without anyone saying much about what the tea tasted like.  It's as well since impressions and descriptions vary, and brewing approach differences changes things quite a bit, and results already shift over different infusions, and so on.  Just mentioning a general impression works.

 

Other descriptions are essentially the same, and of course pricing for any versions of this tea aren't on the value-oriented end of the spectrum.  It's probably the case that lower end or knock-off versions of Wuyi Yancha tea would be sold as Da Hong Pao instead since it's more familiar, but that's still no guarantee that teas sold as this type would be genuine, actually what they were sold as.


One more description (Verdant's) ventured to the detailed extreme:


The burnt caramel depth transformed in the aftertaste to a lingering dark elderberry and earthy hazelnut profile.... The mineral notes gave way to sweet cinnamon and the warmth of ginger without the spiciness. Towards the very end, the aftertaste transformed into an almost vegetal creamy green bean flavor with a lingering honeydew melon sweet orchid finish.


Sounds nice.