Online tea exploration: preparing for a trip to Tokyo and Seoul

One might read of well organized tea-theme group trips (if you haven't then read about this one, organized by Tealet, or there is a more obscure one in Korea this May), but you typically don't see so much about how to turn up tea leads on your own going places (in Asia, presumably, but of course tea is in lots of places).

I'm about to go to Japan and Korea (Tokyo and Seoul, to be specific), and while my wife plans for outings like Disneyland and Unesco World Heritage sights, or maybe to see sakura blooming (cherry blossoms), I'm looking into tea.  But how would one go about that?

I guess this will be worth a look too (this week, from FB friend)

I'm no travel expert but here are some thoughts, also related to this subject coming up before and in Vietnam and Cambodia last year (in Singapore it seems easier; go to Chinatown).

Tea contacts:

Having friends where you travel would make for a great lead, and a guide.  Even an online contact could help, a forum friend, or someone from a Facebook group (etc.).  I indirectly "know" a number of people in different places and this is still not so simple since you need the right person in the right place to help answer relatively specific questions.

But it could work.  If you come to Bangkok feel free to ask me.

Google:

Almost should be first in this list, right.  Google knows a good bit about lots of things, and combined with Google Maps it's possible to be very specific about locations, and even search by location.

One catch:  Google works much better searching in English in English speaking countries.  Even here in Thailand, where English use is much more common than in Japan or Korea (my take, but kind of an informed one) lots of blind spots turn up.  But the highest profile places Google will know about aren't always the best options.

Tea farms:

This gets into a different kind of trip than I typically take, more related to the Amazing Tea Race subject.  I go on family vacations where I try to stop by tea shops, or even tea districts if a city is set up for that (like Beijing).  I guess the same type of search could apply, just supported by a lot more effort and networking, and without relying on direct internet search quite so much.

A more indirect approach could still work, but there would have to be a way to find people that know people that are hard to contact, willing to act as leads and share contacts that are hard to come by.  That last part would probably be the catch.  Just finding your way to a tea growing region wouldn't be so difficult--no secret where the main ones are--and the subject would come up a lot there, along with lots of related shops and tour options.

Trip advising sites:

For example, the one called Trip Advisor, which posted this entry about the O'Sulloc Tea Shop in Seoul.  The Lonely Planet is another familiar reference, where you might find something like this entry for the Yetchajip Tea House in Insadong, Seoul, or this one for the Beautiful Tea Museum, not far from both others.

Sounds great, right, three places to buy tea.  Maybe, maybe not.  A cafe or museum theme might not be the best place to buy tea, even if both sell loose tea, and the main places tourists go might not match the selection and pricing available somewhere else.  Would be great to talk to a local that loves tea that's spent years working on all that instead, rather than other tourists using the same types of references.  How to do that; good question.

Blogs:

This should be obvious enough to a blogger, right; why couldn't there be someone else sitting at a keyboard in those cities typing out what they experience related to a tea obsession.  I did try that type of lead.

Here is a site dedicated to referencing expat authored blogs in different countries, which could help get around the issue of blogs being written in Japanese of Korean.  I focused more on Korean teas and blogs out of Seoul just because I'd been reading more about Korean teas lately.  I also think we'll have more free time in Seoul, and I'm hoping to have better luck due to everyone drinking tea in Japan.  Also references on Korean oxidized teas sound so interesting, like this one by the World of Tea.

You'd think I would be about to explain how this approach cracked it, but not really so.  Other than references to the three places Google mentioned others cited only tea cafes, which didn't seem promising as loose tea shops (like this one, about a tea cafe, with the cool blog name "cute in Korea.")  If anyone is going to Seoul in June you are absolutely set because there is a tea festival / expo then,  related to information in this blog post / reference site, but that doesn't help me.

Or there are Western oriented blogs that talk about Korean teas, like this one on tea types (Tea at Morning Crane Tea blog), or this blog that covers lots about such teas (Mattcha's blog).  The problem is that typical tea blog entries don't lead back to physical tea shops very often (certainly not if written by an online vendor), so these could more often help you order tea but usually not to find it walking around Seoul or Tokyo.  Of course there could be exceptions, but looking up and reading dozens of tea blog entries is problematic.

Forums, discussion sites:

I don't think Steepster or Teachat is going to help--although maybe, but I didn't try them--but there are countless other forums covering countless other topics.  Again as an expat I thought expats might be one way to get around language problems, so I looked in places like an online penpals site.

Get the impression I have too much free time yet?  Or maybe also that wasting it is sort of a hobby.  Of course that didn't work, but it is one of many ways to talk to strangers, if that sounds like a good thing.

Conclusion:

I went through all this not so long ago, actually, in Hanoi (not all of it; I've escalated the online research part, sort of my thing, trying new research directions out).  There I had the best luck in talking about it on a forum afterwards (the expat blog one I already mentioned), and someone told me about a great reference online, a shop in Ho Chi Minh City, Hatvala, which is not even where I was in Vietnam, or probably all that close to where most of the tea is grown.

I ran across some really nice teas in Hanoi by luck (see a few other blog posts in the last few months), and Google Maps pointed out some other shops (many I didn't get to; gotta go back to Hanoi at some point), so a relatively standard approach and some luck can work.  Time is a part of it; if I had a couple of days to dedicate only to the search for tea it would be easy, but different family members have different agendas, and I'm the only one inclined to focus on tea.


China was a similar story, but I was much less obsessed when we visited back then (a year and a half ago).  My first work trip there started me on tea and a later vacation helped push me over the edge.


I guess there is more to life than tea (really!) and places like World Heritage Sites and Disneyland deserve attention too.  It's nice the travel planning can extend so far into the online world as it does but in my experience the last steps are in real life, and not just related to actually drinking the teas, but often also to finding the best places to get them.  Or there are online shops; of course that works too.

I didn't get far in this particular search beyond identifying the shops I mentioned, which might work out.  A real-life friend will help me find tea shops in Seoul (good luck having one in that city).  The posts that follow about different teas, or lack of such posts, will tell the rest of the story.

Gopaldhara Gold Darjeeling, Autumn season tea, from Golden Tips

This is the second review of a tea provided by Golden Tips tea, with their information on it here.

Does it get old for me to say it was nice tea?

it really is beautiful tea

Review section

Nice tea!  Typical grape / raisin primary taste element.  Very limited astringency.  Good balanced character, in terms of complex flavors and feel of the tea.   Other taste elements include earthiness (leather, maybe wood), and the fruit sweetness extends towards orange.

How does this relate to conventional / other black teas?  Oxidation level seems less.  It has been oxidized so calling it a black tea seems right but apparently not to the degree that brings out the charred flavors.  Come to think of it this doesn't seem any more oxidized than the yancha oolongs I've been reviewing, but it's hard to compare due to type difference.


Character is clearly darjeeling,  which is different,  heavy on fruit, perhaps more subdued than some others, but without the astringency that can be a component.

Second infusion was exactly the same, no changes or diminishing.


After tasting and making notes I had the rest of the tea with french toast,  my breakfast.  A more neutral food might be a more intuitive match, some type of muffin, but it worked well.


It could sound like I'm accusing the tea of being an everday tea (implied that the grade is low), but I don't mean that,  the tea is worthy of drinking alone, it's just more commentary, somehow it works for me as a breakfast tea, and I think it would match well with a range of food.  Then again every single type of tea is nice for breakfast to me, if I feel like having it just then.

tamarind!  a strange fruit, but nice

While I'm digressing--sorry about that--I also had some tamarind with breakfast, and it occurred to me the flavor profile was a bit similar:  comparable to raisin (or maybe fig), earthy, sweet, complex, fruit flavor even hinting towards citrus.


Did the tea also taste like tamarind?  Maybe, sort of, but not really.  It reminds me of how tea descriptions really are more limited in scope and biased than they might seem (as discussed in this flavor wheel post).

The vendor's take

A bit unconventional for blogs, but I've also been experimenting with discussing against the vendor's description of their own tea lately (again, it's here):

A delicate yet rounded black tea with intricate flowery notes. The tea brings about a subtle and sweet profile with hints of fine muscatel and an slightly earthy roundness. The lingering aftertaste brings in sensations of dark bold chocolate and cocoa... definitely among our better autumn Darjeeling's.


I'd agree, although I could've missed something on the aftertaste review.

To be honest even though they essentially say it's a very nice tea--and I agree with that--I didn't feel as though my review or this description really captures why.  It has good flavors, good balance, a nice feel, very little astringency to worry about adjusting brewing for--but all this just says it's a nice example of the type.  It's not satisfying.

Maybe a little review of what that type should be might help.  I suspect it really won't, though, that one would need to delve more deeply into really knowing Darjeeling and then even if that didn't lead to giving voice to what is special about certain teas at least the intuitive reaction would seem more grounded.  Given that won't fit in a blog this is a good chance to scan through a bit more research about Darjeeling flushes.

About Darjeeling flushes (growing / harvest seasons)

To begin, this is a nice vendor-nuetral description of seasons / flushes, describing the timing of each and general character:

Darjeeling First Flush Tea - The colour of tea is light and clear with bright liquor. The leaves have floral scent, with a lively character.

Darjeeling Second Flush Tea - The tea has dark colour and strong flavour in contrast to first flush teas. The tea leaves have purplish bloom and has a fruity taste generally...  tea has amber hue and taste is mostly muscatel grape flavour 

Darjeeling Third Flush Tea - The tea colour is dark or coppery and texture is full bodied but it has a lighter flavour. Autumn Darjeeling has a delicate as well as a sparkling character.

Another general reference by Lochan tea goes into more detail, but the part about general character of the autumn flush is still a bit limited (the part about the actual taste of the tea):

..steeps up a full-bodied and naturally fruity flavored tea ... a nice round taste, quite suitable as a breakfast tea and stronger than the Second Flush.

Yet another reference again describes the flushes more in terms of how each compares to the first and second,:

Finally comes the Autumn Flush, from early October through early December. The taste is closer to the Second Flush, with a more floral aroma and a full body.

One might read these different sources as saying the first and second flushes are prized most for two somewhat different characters (brightness of the first and distinct fruit flavors of the second), and the autumn season tea can have a nice smoothness, full body, and pleasant fruit character.  

I guess that works.  It's still a bit non-specific related to the actual experience of Darjeeling teas, which is unique among other types of tea.  I suppose the words really don't do any of the other teas justice either, compared to drinking them.

Did the review I did at the beginning of the month of a Thurbo Moonlight Second Flush Darjeeling fit this profile?  Yes!  I mentioned "the taste seemed typical enough of the type to me:  a grape-iness (muscatel), hinting toward citrus tones, natural sweetness, earthy elements to give complexity, great freshness and body."  Given that I'm intrigued by these season differences I'll still get back to all that later, soon enough.

Talking crazy:  Darjeeing iced tea

Someone I respect a great deal in the tea industry once mentioned that making iced teas from Darjeeling might work out.  I was a bit thrown off.  Of course you could, but really, would you.  It seemed disrespectful to the tea.

Making another Darjeeling not so long ago I ran out of time and put the last infusion in the refrigerator, to drink later.  It was amazing, one of the best iced teas I've ever had.  Of course I don't drink iced tea, maybe except at a local Japanese restaurant, but that's not the same thing.  All this has triggered a little extra work for me in the morning in making one extra infusion of tea, especially when brewing a lightly oxidized oolong, teas that just never quit.

For me normal brewing process would be fine for this; "Western" style, a few infusions, depending on the tea (so breakfast can run long, but after awhile the timing becomes natural).  But I recently read an interesting alternative brewing method for Darjeeling iced tea in a LinkedIn discussion I'll share, with attribute included (mind you I've not tried this, and probably never will; I like hot tea better).  

I would not recommend using this reviewed tea for this (still disrespectful to that particular tea), but there are plenty of mid-range level Darjeeling teas it would work well with.  I would expect astringency wouldn't typically be an issue using cold brewing, especially when adding sugar.

shiVk saria  

I have been cold brewing Darjeeling black, oolongs and green teas separately since the last 12 years.  Formula:

1. Take 60 grams of good Darjeeling tea
2. Add 300 grams of ice to the tea
3. Add 300 grams of water to the above
4. Keep the utensil in a cool place
5. Strain the mixture after 6-8 hours of brewing, and if all the ice has melted, you will get 500 ml of tea concentrate.
6. Use 10-12 ml of this for a 200 ml hot tea drink but do not put the concentrate over a flame
7. Use 12-15 ml for an iced tea.
ENJOY

Comparison tasting Wuyi Yancha teas, Dahongpao and Rougui

A chance vendor contact (Cindy,  FB contact here) recently sent me some samples of different teas, yancha or "rock oolongs" from Wuyi, China, and since I've already been trying similar teas lately it seemed a good chance to try different types of tasting approaches.

I reviewed the Rou Gui (or rougui) in the standard format in the last post so this is about me reviewing one other Da Hong Pao (or dahongpao), and about trying combined tastings to sort out more details about the teas.  Part of that worked.

2011 Dahongpao

2012 Rougui (reviewed in an earlier post)

Dahongpao tea from Cindy (same provider as last Rou Gui): 

The Dahongpao from Cindy was a smooth and balanced tea with great flavors, feel, and complexity.  It had the typical distinct earthy,  mineral, complex dahongpao flavors.   Good sweetness, good earthy tone,  towards leather.  The tea had a nice feel to it, very rich.  Evenly balanced flavors combine but a cinnamon spice note stands out.  There is so much sweetness it almost seems like the earthy flavors correspond to a fruit element, something like dried apple, or maybe towards apricot.

As I tried these different teas it became clearer and clearer to me that a list of flavors or even feel or "body"--sense related attributes--don't really describe the teas well.  In some ways other reviewers that don't start towards trying to fully describe what individual teas are like, and instead just communicate a couple details and a general impression, might do the tea more justice for saying less.

The complexity in these types of tea is a different thing than the experience of a black or green tea, where that might work better, as a list of flavors and a little about feel.  Someone else might venture some analogy with pu'er, but what do I know of that; it's likely a bit more complicated yet.  Back to reviewing anyway.

On the second infusion flavors shift towards the earth elements, leather and wood, with  the spice and sweetness diminishing.  Still plenty of sweetness but less, a more normal level.

Third infusion:  still good tea, just less complex and sweet, earthier yet.  In some cases dahongpao can shift to some more unusual musty flavors an infusion or two in but this tea didn’t.

Other Dahongpao from the Buddhist temple (see separate post):

Not bad in comparison,  but quite different.   A rich toffee and coffee flavor element stands out, which I'd essentially missed in the first tasting.  It was much easier to pick up in comparison.  The tea seems sweeter and less musty than I remember,  possibly due to variance in brewing.

this dahongpao

The coffee / roasted flavor element is a bit towards charcoal, which could relate to an effect of aging the grower and vendor mentioned, that a smoky or charcoal effect will diminish over time.  The next question is if this relates to any use of smoke, which seems unlikely,  or to the effect of the oxidation process,  the roasting process, which seems more likely.  It was a nice element that complimented the tea but I'd need to remember the taste and try again in two years to really see the difference.


This tea could be slightly more oxidized than the other dahongpao, but difficult for me to determine given both are relatively oxidized in the oolong range, towards a black tea but not that much.  The question is related to the typical dahongpao range, a finer distinction than I usually try to make or really could make.  With the right kind of training and experience it should be easy enough to factor out other flavor influences and estimate a percentage accurately enough; I'm just not there yet.

Combined tea type tasting notes:

I tried tasting the two teas from Cindy at the same time, the dahongpao and the rougui.  It sort of didn’t work.  When tasting the two dahongpao together it made it easier to appreciate the differences between the teas, separating individual taste components, and to some extent even what was common to both, the shared context, the nature of the dahongpao tea type.

In tasting two different types together instead of specific flavor elements becoming clearer it was just too much.  I could appreciate both were nice teas in different ways, and shared some common elements, but in general both were quite different.  Instead of it becoming easier, for example being able to compare the earth or fruit elements, my palate just got overwhelmed and confused.

tea apprentice palate-training with an oreo

I never really did get any closer to pinning down that one taste component in the rougui tea.  It tasted like perfume smells, quite sweet and aromatic, except it seems like perfume would probably taste terrible.  It wasn’t exactly floral, or spice, or something I could specify, although then again it seems possible it was really floral or spice (or a mix of both).  It doesn't help that I'm not that great with knowing the smell of lots of different flowers.


There was some sweetness, earthiness, good feel to the rougui tea, flavors that inclined toward fruit or floral components, but it came across as one continuous flavor range, and really nothing new from comparison tasting.



In the past I’ve had the experience of learning how to taste a specific unfamiliar component by trying the tea a few times, and then it would just hit me what it was, even though it was always right there in front of me.  Part of that relates to a number of different flavor and other elements coming together in the tasting.  Also sorting them out takes practice, so even something that should be obvious like malt or cocoa can seem to blend in at first.  This might be a different case though; not sure.

Conclusion

Nice teas; I liked all of them.  It's probably as well to not get too swept up in descriptions, interpreting feel, concerns about aging and grading, and so on, and just enjoy the tea.  Which I did, along with a good bit of that other stuff.