Wuyi Origin Ya Shi / "duck shit" Dan Cong oolong

 

This will probably be exactly what I expect, since their teas tend to always be great.  Great is all relative; I mean crowded towards the high quality end of the scale, for both Dan Cong and Wuyi Yancha.  A very exceptional Dian Hong (Yunnan black), Darjeeling, or Nepal white tea can be very good, but the quality, intensity, flavor range, complex feel, sophisticated form, and even the simplicity, in one sense, can all be on another level for teas like those oolongs.  In comparison other very good teas bang on a few positive notes, while better versions of these types really come together.

So no need for much build-up or further description.  Cindy, one owner, and part of two different tea making families, sent these teas for me to try, more so than to review.  Reviewing will repeat how great I thought every Ya Shi version I ever tried from them was, but maybe something slightly different will turn up, an interesting way the roast really integrates, or a particular intensity or subtlety.  

The teas do vary year to year, I'm just not dialed in enough to pick up very minor differences on that level.  There is always a case for another tea out there being better, so I'm not claiming that this is the peak for this type, but these teas would be better than most of what is sold as "a high quality level that never makes it out of China."  Don't take my word for that; type Wuyi Origin into a Facebook tea group search bar and see what others say.

I was recommending their teas in an online comment not so long ago and mentioned this might be a rare case of a tea being too good.  You don't want to start there, experiencing teas that close to as good as versions ever get.  It wouldn't be possible to fully appreciate the experience without some exposure, and it would limit exploration of higher quality range to follow.  That doesn't come up often, adding a conditional warning that in some cases teas may be too good to experience, under some circumstances.  If you start on more basic versions you can try progressively better teas for a few years, improving brewing technique as you go as well.  It would be madness to brew this tea Western style, for example.  It would still be good but that's crazy, deciding that you don't need to optimize results for this tea.

I'll add their website description (after review), and get right to making notes for now.  That product description (with the actual tea description at the end, after the type background):

Feature : In Fenghuang, the name of Dancong  tea varieties is dazzling, which makes everyone very puzzled.

There is also an interesting story about the origin of the name Yashixiang (duckshit)

The mother tree of "Duck Shit Fragrance" grows in Xiaping Kengtou Village, Fengxi District,  Chaozhou, at an altitude of 900 meters. Its age is 78 years. It belongs to Wei Chunshi, a tea farmer. Now it is managed by his eldest son.

According to the tea growers:

This famous Bush is ancestral. The original Bush was introduced from Wu Dong Mountain. It was planted in the "duck shit soil" (actually yellow loam soil, but containing mineral chalk) tea garden. 

People in the countryside commented on the tea's strong aroma and good flavor, and asked what was the name of the cultivar and what type of fragrance.

Tea growers are afraid of being stolen, so they call it "duck Shit fragrance".

However, some people have managed to obtain tea spikes for cutting and marrying.

As a result, the name "Duck Shit Xiang" was passed on, and tea seedlings were expanded in Fenghuang area.

The aroma of this tea is very special and impressive.

This tea shape is strong, compact, dark green, moist, fragrant after brewing, high-rise, soup green with yellow, mellow and strong taste, slightly sweet and bitter, lasting aftertaste, resistant to brewing.

The bottom of the leaf is dark green and thick. 

The taste of the tea thick and round, with long -lasting feedback. 

To me this tea is an absolute steal for selling for $38 per 100 gram.  There are surely plenty of $1 / gram versions of this type being sold that aren't even close to this quality level, and in a brick and mortar shop in a high rent area this tea would probably sell for $1.50-2 per gram.  To me the quality of this tea makes the average $80 sheng cake (357 grams, typically) seem like grocery store tea.  Like a cheap loose TGY tin version, I mean, not like Lipton or Twinings; that would be hyperbole.

Review:

First infusion:  fantastic, of course.  There is a characteristic flavor to Ya Shi that's a little hard to pin down.  To me it's just a complex floral flavor set, that comes across as simple, and probably supported by limited warm fruit range.  Breaking that down is the problem; specific flowers don't come to mind.  I tend to guess at floral range flavors sometimes but I'm really pointing towards a range, more than making direct associations.  I can't identify 20 or 30 specific floral tones by smell and tasting, and that's what it would take to do that mapping.  I don't know what flowers this tastes like.

The apparent simplicity and apparent complexity, at the same time, set up a cool contradiction.  It's floral, for sure, but then some sweetness and richness could be from fruit range, like a citrus-intensive dried mango, which are warmer in effect for the dried presentation.  I'll keep going with guesses and interpretation across infusions.

Second infusion:  warmth picks up a little.  Honey-like sweetness is present, a warm version of honey.  Mineral tone is limited.  Further roasting would draw out even more warmth, and caramel or toffee sweetness, but this balance seems quite positive, left unchanged in relation to the upper-medium roast level effect.  It's moderate in this, letting the natural positive nature of the tea shine through.

To look for flaws, this could be a little thicker in feel, or I suppose aftertaste could be longer.  I'm brewing it at moderate infusion strength, and bumping that just a little would ramp up both.  There is no astringency or any other negative range to brew around, so it's just a matter of preference related to optimum form of experience.  

Related to flavor a claim that this shares ground with peach wouldn't be wrong, I don't think, it's just not the most natural interpretation, to me.  The brightness, refined nature, and intensity are all really pleasant in this.  

I could imagine someone expecting a different style related to that level of roast, so a criticism would be most natural related to that, a style interpretation, related to other specific expectations.  For being in this type range it's quite pleasant.  Even though the feel could be a little thicker it has a creamy effect that's quite nice.  Even though the aftertaste could linger longer, or be stronger, that complex set of flavors is great, and the way a bit of floral, towards-lemon citrus, and subdued mineral tone trail off is great.

Third infusion:  I did let this brew a little longer, towards 20 seconds, and it is a lot more intense for that.  I finally ended up not pushing the dry leaf amount to what would fill up the gaiwan when wetted.  That's not completely an accident when I drink more than 9 out of every 10 teas proportioned in exactly that same way.  It's what I'm accustomed to, probably more so than what works best.

Mineral plays a larger role brewed slightly stronger, a bit of rock flavor.  Feel is cool like this; it's still smooth and creamy, but a trace of dryness along your tongue adds complexity to that part.  You seem to taste the mineral with the sides and back of your tongue, in a strange sense.  

To me the "characteristic astringency" people connect with Dan Cong is related more to lower quality Dan Cong.  I can see a bit of connection with that feel range and that type of effect but it's just not a part of the best versions in the same way.  Just breaking up these leaves a good bit would probably add to that effect; people might often be drinking the poorer quality sorted parts of batches, with more whole leaf going to other sales channels.  I suppose that could be part of the "quality level that never makes it out of China" effect.  Per my limited background knowledge take people are also buying Dan Cong from lower elevation sources, from younger conventional monoculture-grown plants, with output boosted through chemical use, and the teas just aren't processed as skillfully.

Fourth infusion:  a perfume-like effect picks up.  Better Wuyi Yancha often exhibits this too, a heavy floral tone that is reminiscent of perfume, with an aromatic part that also seems to match the solvent a bit too.  I don't mean this tastes something like acetone smells, nothing like that, but instead that it's an effect that often reminds me of cognac.  

Feel is actually transitioning round-to-round too; that's different.  It had been creamy but light, then brewing a round stronger drew out more structure, and this round is absolutely velvety, where two rounds ago it was more thick in feel like cream.  The flavors are just as complex but maybe more tightly integrated now, coming across as that one dominant flavor tone, which again is really a set.  I can't imagine anyone trying this tea and saying that they don't like Dan Cong.  My imagination has limits; maybe it could still happen.

Fifth infusion:  not so different than last time, but a lemony citrus supporting tone seems a little stronger.  For a tea this complex and subtle minor shifts in brewing time would shift the proportion of what you experience.  I think the next two or three rounds would be more about that story, both about later round transitions and how changing brewing approach changes things.

Sixth infusion:  not so different than last time.  I'm going to skip the part about highlighting subtle shifts from here on out, or checking if this makes a dozen strong infusions, or fades at 9 or so, with stretching out intensity changing character.  You already get the idea.  Per my past experience the two steps that change character, higher oxidation level and additional roasting, tend to extract that flavor change at a cost of limiting durability, number of positive rounds, so this should be fine into a late count, for using moderate degrees of those inputs to change the character.

Beyond that I'm off to swimming class, the usual Sunday routine.  I could write a thousand word post about how much playing my kids have done in the last ten days, during a school break, but this step is just the normal routine.

she said it was cold.  it is the cold season, but it was close to 30 C / over 80 F.

with a cousin a week ago; they love doing poses

Moychay Wenshan bamboo sheng pu'er

 

Kind of a new kind for me, from a large set of teas sent by Moychay for review.  I've tried falap before, an Assam, Indian version of what I take to be the same thing, but it may not be identical.  The same processing, of course I mean; being from a different region even if processing and plant genetics were quite similar the tea leaves might still be different.

Moychay has no description of this on their sales site page; odd.  It lists for $16.95 but doesn't include a tea amount, which probably varies slightly.  A similar pressed black tea claims there is an average of 180 grams per stick / tube, so maybe comparable?  That description means very little in relation to this different version, but it is interesting to hear what they thought of it, since it's all there is to go on, beyond customer comments:

Red tea rammed into a segment of a bamboo stem. Made in 2020 in Wenshan County, Yunnan Province. Tea in bamboo is a traditional way of storing tea among small peoples of the province.

The average weight of one bamboo stalk is 180 g. Inside the stalk: tightly pressed, brown tea buds and leaves. The aroma is restrained, fruity. The infusion is transparent, with a yellow hue.

The bouquet of the ready-made tea is vivid, fruity-and-woody, with biscuit, mint and honey notes. The aroma is deep and warm, fruity with a woody accent. The taste is rich and sweet, a bit tart, with berry sourness and minty nuances in the aftertaste.

It's that "traditional processing and storage" part I'd like to hear more about.  Yunnan Sourcing sells a related tea that can help fill that in, even if it really could vary:

Meng Song Bamboo Roasted Raw Pu-erh Tea

The Dai people in Xishuangbanna have been making bamboo roasted tea for centuries!  Our offering was made from 2019 Spring harvested Meng Song village tea that was processed first into sun-dried mao cha, steamed to soften it and then tamped into sections of a unique varietal of aromatic bamboo (that is found only in Menghai county of Xishuangbanna) and then roasted in a fire pit!

The blackened outer part of the bamboo is cut away and then lightly sanded so that it's not sooty, and the open end of the bamboo section is closed off with paper and piece of string for storage and aging!

This is a lovely aromatic tea with a fruity thick character and an incredibly unique aroma that is imparted to the tea from the bamboo during the roasting process.  The result is something very tasty and rich in flavor, which is certainly more than just a novelty!

Each bamboo section holds roughly 200 grams of tea (+/- 25 grams).

This review post of a version of Indian falap cites a passage from this Tea Leaf Theory vendor page (selling a similar tea) about that background, related to that tea type:

The Singphos, a tribal community residing in parts of Northeast India, Myanmar, and China, are believed to be among India’s first tea drinkers. To this day, they continue to process tea by first heating the leaves in a metal pan until they brown, and then sun-drying them for a few days. To make the more flavourful, smoked tea, the sun-dried leaves are tightly packed in bamboo tubes and smoked over a fire. After a week of storing these bamboos, the processed tea hardens to take the shape of the tube. 

It can then be preserved for up to 10 years, with small portions sliced off with a knife to brew a fresh cup of tea. Like wine, the smoked flavour of the tea matures more with time and we choose to pick up the ones which were aged for 4 years. When processed and brewed correctly, a cup of Singpho tea, which is had without milk or sugar, is a lovely golden-orange colour. 

Review:

First infusion:  interesting!  It tastes a little like how one would expect bamboo to taste.  I've last eaten cooked bamboo within the last week (the softer center part); it comes up here.  But this is different, a roasted version of the outer wood part, not the softer center that can be cooked and eaten.

bamboo is in the center on the left

That one flavor is a bit woody, but in a sweet and fragrant sense, not unlike how a wicker basket might smell (which could be woven from all sorts of different palm materials here).  This isn't as harsh, bitter, or astringent as I would expect, without any trace of smoke.  The roasting step would have changed the character, but how I could only guess at how.  Maybe it destroyed a lot of the normal form of aging potential, or maybe this would keep changing over time in different but positive ways.  It doesn't need to transition away from being astringent and bitter anyway, aspects which I'll say more about in the following rounds.

Second infusion:  similar, maybe a little more complex, drawing out more flavor as it infuses more completely.  That woody, towards-nutty range is interesting.  It's odd how the rest is so mild and pleasant.  It tastes a little like sheng but that would never be this mild and approachable, even in modern "oolong pu'er" style versions, processed to be pleasant when very young but not to age as well.

There's a little bitterness and dryness to it, just not much, enough to round out the feel and experience.  In general it's soft and rich, with that bamboo-wood tone standing out, and some other range beyond it, but nothing too complex or refined.  It comes across as a mix of a range of faint inputs, with some hard to pin down floral tone included, and a light lemon aspect, with deeper fruit flavor along the line of dried apricot (so not that deep and rich, more light and sweet).  

All fairly subtle, mind you; the bamboo flavor stands out more.  It's all probably closer to dried persimmon, if that's familiar, and if it's not you might want to snag a few the next time you are in a Chinatown.  It's kind of in between dried apricot and fig in flavor range.  

dried persimmons; the color can vary

I don't get the impression that this is going to transition a lot, given how it comes across as a bit simple in character, but that touch of bitterness, wood-tone, and other range might shift in relative balance.  I hadn't mentioned that I'm not brewing this light, letting it infuse for around 15 seconds, or maybe just over that, so it's not approachable related to being brewed light.

Third infusion:  I let that brew around 20 seconds, to see what it's like slightly stronger.  It's probably a little over optimum; bitterness comes out more that way.  That does help identify potential flaws in the character though, and sort out feel and aftertaste better.  I'm not sure about all that though; it's just not as good when more bitter and dry (astringent).  A roasted flavor stands out more; that probably was playing into the overall balance more than I had described, pulling the flavor towards warmer and sweeter tones.  It still tastes like bamboo but the fruit and other range is much harder to pick up brewed strong.

Fourth infusion:  much more pleasant again; brewed just under 10 seconds this round.  That balance did shift, of the aspects present earlier, but not in a way that will be easy to describe, the relative levels are just different.  That is an odd seemingly vegetal range, roasted bamboo as a primary flavor.  It's a bit like toasted rice; I'd imagine that people who love genmaicha might really like this.  It's slightly more bitter but the vegetal range more common to green tea, grassiness or seaweed, umami and such, isn't present.  Or maybe a trace of umami is adding to the complexity; if you think of sun-dried tomato while drinking and interpreting it that could be a partial match.  

I think dryness and bitterness picked up more this round than the other fruit, floral, and roasted tone range.  Some of that would relate to progression through infusions, and some from brewing it at different intensities.  Completely different flavor balance would come across at different infusion strengths.  Not the flavor aspects themselves, that would be consistent, but the relative levels.

Fifth infusion:  slightly better in terms of richness of feel; something shifted.  But the light range I was describing as close enough to lemon, floral tone, and dried apricot is heavier now, more centered on the dried persimmon range, without the lemon and floral parts.  Warm mineral tones seem to pick up; that increase in feel is seemingly paired with a shift in flavor as well.  Roasted bamboo is still present as a main flavor aspect but no longer dominant, now more integrated in other range.

To be clear I don't think this is refined and complex enough that someone who loves really good sheng would see it as comparable, or as good.  It comes across as simpler, and less refined.  Feel is fine, and there is some aftertaste experience, but it's just not comparable to how that goes in well above average quality sheng.  I don't mean factory tea; those tend to take a dozen years to be drinkable, and only become approachable with a lot of age transition.  I mean good sheng versions that are quite pleasant with just 2 to 4 years of age exposure, softening and deepening a bit, but not requiring a more complete fermentation cycle to be enjoyable.  

I'd meant to leave off taking notes at this point but having said all that I should check one more round to see where it's headed first.

Sixth infusion:  not so different.  I really like it; that last part about it not stacking up against good sheng was about meeting limited aspect range expectations, and also just being a different tea type.  After a couple more infusions the flavor effect shifted more towards pine, but otherwise just thinned, with astringency picking up a little due to stretching the timing.  All in all not bad; pleasant, approachable, and interesting.

Further conclusions:

I liked the tea, and won't add much to the description here.  It was different.

I also wanted to mention that some review comments were negative on that sales page, that one version seemed too roasted, and there were storage issues for others.  Ordinarily I wouldn't bring that up, but I was talking to a friend who reported having negative experiences with different versions of bamboo sheng, so it seems relevant to include more on that.  

Of course Moychay would probably sort out resolution if problems came up with any tea, beyond someone just not liking that tea version, so this is about background for why this tea type may be more inconsistent or problematic than others.  There's always a chance for a problematic grey area to come up, for a tea to not be destroyed by mold or whatever else but to have lost positive flavor character, which could set up aspect interpretation and resolution coordination problems between any vendor and customer.  It might not be practical for tea vendors to refund every case of someone not liking a tea type, but resolving issues related to something being wrong is different.

Although I'm mostly guessing myself, it seems obvious enough:  this adds a cooking step, and for versions that are aged storage concerns come into play, both of which add risk of something not being right.  If the tea was too roasted that would negatively affect flavor, and not roasting it enough could leave extra moisture present, which would really be even worse.  Over-roasted tea might just taste like an oolong with extra char, but any mold on a tea would render it undrinkable.  I'm not warning people to not try this type of tea, since I'm two for two for experiencing good results with similar versions, but it does seem like a relevant part of the story.

It's important to take sales-page comments for what they are worth, too.  Any comments relating to a similar but different version are completely irrelevant, and anyone expecting the type to be different than how it tends to be is an expectation problem, not a problem with the tea.  It probably doesn't help that there is no description on that sales page; the tea just is what the heading says it is.  If there are more than 2 or 3 comments on any given product then that works as a survey of input, but if there are few then people tending to report negative impressions more than positive ones would probably skew feedback range.  I've mentioned an impression of Moychay teas on sales pages before but tend never to, for spending so much time on these write-ups; I should probably add some of that.

I can't really place this tea any better, related to saying what it reminded me of, or being clearer on quality level or style than I was in the notes.  It's probably quite similar to that one falap I tried, maybe with a bit more bamboo flavor, for whatever reason.  For novelty I would recommend this tea at that price range, but then I love trying teas of different types, and this stands separate from everything but that one falap version for being different.  That falap reminded me more of a sheng with some hei cha-range mellowness, and this seems more between mild sheng and approachable light rolled oolong, with bamboo taste input present in both.

Some completely unrelated photos follow; just sharing Bangkok family life images.

a birthday event photo; my kids and I all had birthdays this month

at a local mall, decorated for Christmas

a second play area in three days; making the most of the last of a school break

it's a little odd how the pandemic isn't present here, but we still wear masks

Small batch shu processing

 

First published in two parts in TChing, here and here.

Oddly the tea that reminded me to write about this may or may not have actually been post-fermented as a small sized lot.  I just reviewed the first Russian-origin shu "pu'er-like tea" version that I've tried, which was pretty good.  Since it was a test batch it probably was fermented as smaller amount, but I'm not sure of that production quantity.  It wasn't exactly the same character as the most standard Yunnan shu, but since those vary it could still overlap.  It was lighter, with an odd mineral / stone taste that probably would fade over another year of rest-time, probably from processing transition (wòduī processing effect).  But it was sweet and complex, reasonably well-balanced, with a good bit of dark rye bread and cocoa flavor.

that Moychay experimental version

That's a good lead-in for talking about non-standard shu types, since that essentially had to be a variety Sinensis based shu, with a completely different terroir background than Yunnan.  But I want to cover more on specific processing approach differences instead.

A Thai producer, Tea Side, first brought this subject to my attention awhile back:

As they say, Chinese technology doesn’t assume producing ripe pu-erh out of less than 3 tons of material. Allegedly, a smaller amount of material will not heat up to the desired temperature and, in general, the fermentation process will go wrong...

That time, I thought the vertical pressure of the big mass is important. But then on photos, I saw the tea spread out over a large area in an only one-meter thick layer. To make a one-meter high heap, 3 tons are not required. Moreover, as you know, Liu Bao cha has been done for hundreds of years and its taste is very close to ripe pu-erh. To make it Chinese use just 20-30 kilos of raw materials, but fermentation takes at least one and a half years.

That is how the idea to make ripe pu-erh tea in a basket was born...

photo credit the Tea Side blog article

I've heard of two other independent sources making basket-approach shu, Moychay (that first reference), and one discussed by So Han Fan, of the Tea House Ghost Youtube channel and Guan Yin Austin-based shop fame (which was replaced with a West China Teahouse business).  At a guess this practice didn't evolve within the last decade.  I'm not disputing that the Tea Side vendor didn't sort out processing independently, only clarifying that the idea was not a unique discovery, since at least one of those other sources pre-dated it.  His results are good (reviewed here), and that article is worth a read.

In looking for a reference to So Han's process and outcome I just noticed that the Steep Stories blog reviewed a few versions only a few months ago; interesting.  So Han posts in TChing, with an overview of sheng and shu background here, but I wanted to cite that basket fermentation theme instead.

I'll keep this general, as a summary of hearsay input, because long and detailed citations don't work in short posts.  Per my recollection they were selling very small batch processed shu, created in such a way that it wasn't even turned (mixed), allowed to ferment with varying degrees of air contact across small piles.  This allowed different parts of the mix to have different characters.  The marketing spin took an unusual turn in that case, with different parts of the piles named separately (the part I didn't find a reference to).

The Moychay owner, Sergey Shevelev, has described an experimentation process essentially identical to that covered in that Tea Side blog, about making batches of shu in baskets.  The "secret" is trial and error; keep making different batches until it works, then adjust for further improvement.  It would be almost impossible to do that without exploring the original larger scale processing first, to work without those details as a starting point (as referenced in this video).  Just trying a broad range of unique versions could be helpful, as are sold on that Moychay site.  It wouldn't help that shu often tends to need a year or so of rest to really be at its best, with some versions clearing up a bit in character over the next year or two.

Since so many variables can be open to exploration (using different tea plant type inputs, adjusting fermentation level, and time, temperature based on controlling the process, amount of water used, etc.) a very broad range of potential outcomes would be emerge.  Matching the standard-types and producers results would be hard enough, and surpassing it very problematic, but to some extent "different" results could be seen as better, across a broad range.

Cha Tou, or clumps of tea that form during shu processing, which are also referred to as "tea heads," are a different but related theme.  Here's an interesting description of that, part of a Chawang Shop product description:

Classify sun-dried leaves by grades, put into pile by wet treatment to made it complete the late fermenting course quickly, the leaves producing a great deal of dissoluble sugar and pectin during the fermentation process, therefore, some tender leaves stick together and form small nuggets at the bottom of the fermentation pile. These nuggets are called "Cha Tou."

small batch loose shu and a cha tou / tea nugget from Tea Side

The idea here is that even within conventional, large-batch processing there can be some variation in results and effect (with Sergey showing that outcome in the Moychay video I also mentioned).

All this never does justice to how unique and varied small-batch produced shu (ripe) pu'er can be.  But then that's a main point here, that you can't really capture that well in a limited set of examples.  If you try a number of good versions you can get a feel for the effect and variation range, but there would be no way to fully explore the full potential.  Different material could keep being explored from different places, with different specific steps working best with that starting point.  In one discussion the subject of shu / ripe processed Tie Guan Yin material came up, something that I haven't tried.  Maybe that's just amazing, or maybe it's a bad idea; no small set of results samples would be clear indicator (of the second case; any given sample could definitely pin down one particular positive outcome).

getting off subject, fermentation level seems to vary in loose versions (from the Moychay site)

One twist is that lower fermentation level may support potential for positive long-term aging results.  Sampling what was made over the last few years couldn't tell that story.  This Teas We Like product description hints at how that could work:

90s Kunming 7581 Brick

...In fact, the original wodui process for the 7581, which continued until 1999 and includes the cake sold here, only involves about half the level of fermentation of typical modern ripe puerh. The fermented tea would be moderately heated for drying, pressed into bricks... and then sent for traditional wet storage for a number of years. After this, the tea would be rested in dry storage, often for several years, and finally sold.

As usual storage is another main input, further complicating assessing results.  There's no need to overthink it all though; trying novel teas can be quite pleasant, without zeroing in on the best possible long-term results, or sorting out all of what might be out there.