Hong Tai Chang 1988 Thai sheng

This tea version was shared by the owner of Tea Side, which is much appreciated.  I've tried very little relatively old sheng like this, so I'll keep this intro short and move onto a description.  It will be a good opportunity to let the vendor offer his opinion in more complete citation:


1988 Yuen Neun Hong Tai Chang Aged Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake


The original old sheng from the famous brand Hong Tai Chang. Delivered directly from the warehouse of the factory, where it was produced and stored since 1988. It’s already more than 30-year-old pu-erh tea.

This sheng is made from old Thai trees of Chiang Rai province in northern Thailand. The pu-erh was made exactly at the factory from which the brand Hong Tai Chang had started to walk around the world.

We are well aware of the Thai Pu-erh "kitchen" from the inside and are convinced that the traditions of Hong Tai Chang (and of course the original material from old trees) are owned by different pu-erh factories in Thailand...


There's more there related to the issue of diversity of sources and authenticity, including the remark "Hong Tai Chang is one of the most frequently forged tea brands." 

I'm reminded of writing about the Xiaguan "Love Forever" cake recently, created in 2013 from older material, so very recently in comparison, about how there were two relatively identical versions produced (differing greatly in character, reportedly) that were only wrapped in a different tong wrapper, one paper and one bamboo.  In that case varying storage condition issues seemed to diversify experienced outcomes a lot as well. 

On to that Tea Side description of this tea character:

The taste is distinct and clear with the richest palette of hues of the wood-nut spectrum and the noble aroma of old age Chen Xiang (陈 香, Chén Xiāng). Infusion is smooth and easy to drink. Cha Qi is dense but delicate. The power of the material, amazing stamina, softness and density of the liquor gain endless respect for these samples of the classic puer tradition of Hong Tai Chang...


That listing includes a link to a video review by the guys at TeaDB (which I've not seen yet), and a positive comment by Emmett Guzman, a name that might be familiar to some.  Good signs, but personal experience is a better yardstick, even for someone with more limited related prior exposure. 

It's interesting how the two product reviews there that include flavor-aspect evaluation vary so much, and don't necessarily match my own.  The general character described is very common between the three; that's how it goes with such interpretations.

Review:

I tasted the rinse to see where this is coming from and a bit of char or related milder carbon was present; the tea has seemingly aged to quite well fermented.  I'll probably go a little longer on the first two infusions than I normally would to clear past that, not so much over 5 seconds, but stopping short of using very fast infusion times.

First infusion:  hard to say if this is clearer, but it's pleasant as it is.  A very "dark" range aged tree bark is closest to that carbon-like range, which again I expect to clear off relatively quickly.  Beyond that aged furniture flavor and other range typical to aged sheng joins that, well roasted chestnut leaning towards dried fruit.


Second infusion:  it's transitioning well, and quickly.  The roasted chestnut range is much clearer.  Next the obvious difference in people drinking and describing teas comes up, that there is a standard expected pattern of drinking tea for taste, then for mouth-feel and aftertaste aspects, then later for effect of the tea more, the cha qi theme.  Feel of this is soft; all of the compounds giving young sheng that aggressive feel have transitioned.  It has a rich fullness to it, and that flavor trails over, but that effect will change a lot as this opens up.

Maybe it's just my imagination but I think that I can feel this already, not even finished with the second cup.  The dry leaf amount was in between what I would normally drink and not quite to double that so I used all of it, a judgement that usually goes the other way (and maybe should have in this case).  I would hate to be stretching the infusions and preparing this in atypical form, but in short timeframe retrospect drinking a dozen rounds is probably going to be way too much, and I'll probably really be feeling it halfway to that point.  I have some time off, since it's a Thai holiday, but my wife will be starting in about going to a shop somewhere for some errand, always.  We'll see how it goes.

Third infusion:  part of the sweetness resembles marshmallow; that's cool.  Flavor may not be the main thing a lot of "advanced" sheng drinkers would be focused on but that part is pleasant, complex and unique.  I probably over-use "unique" as a description; this really is different.  The way this is so clean already, and combines that marshmallow with roasted chestnut and hints toward dark dried fruit is very nice.


Fourth infusion:    I think next round it might be more where it's going to, which is probably going to be a long transition path.  I am using relatively fast infusion times for this, around 5 seconds.  For using a relatively high proportion of tea even that's a bit long, a bit on the intense side.  This would be great as flash infusions; maybe I'll try one after the next round.

Not so different; again that marshmallow touch is nice, a great addition to the rest.  The roasted chestnut is picking up sweetness, adding more in the toffee range.  One aspect I can't really identify is how I'd imagine betel nut to be, an odd mix two different Chinese herbs people chew together that results in a dark spit that you don't swallow, if I'm remembering that right.  It's something unfamiliar, at any rate.


Fifth infusion:  with the pour this might have brewed five seconds; still not on the light side.  I'm definitely feeling this.  It's a heady buzz but also with a lot of body feel.  It's probably a good thing I had breakfast before this, or I might be tapping out right about now.

As happens with every tea the flavor range shifts, the aspects balance, for going slightly faster, but it's not so different.  I've not been doing justice to the role dark wood plays in this.  It's like a mix of how mahogany and driftwood comes across, heavy in rich flavor (or aroma) and also mineral undertone.  Then the rest I keep repeating.  The higher end note that is in marshmallow range is picking up a hint of citrus as well; that's different.  I could relate to a description that's just a list of dried fruits instead; dried tamarind and dried dark cherry would make sense.  There's a lot going on for flavor layered in together, and expectations would naturally lead someone to identify the parts they were already expecting.


Sixth infusion:  more of the same really; maybe as well to take a round off describing this.


Seventh:  this really has settled into where it will be in these middle infusions, it seems.  It's pleasant, interesting in flavor and other character, clean and complex, definitely intense.  The hint of citrus is probably changing character and level a bit, more clearly an orange zest at this stage, more distinct.

This is not a tea to drink in a hurry.  I'm not supposed to be in a hurry, but of course my wife not only has something she wants to do, there's a driving need to get on with it.  The effect works much better for relaxing and appreciating the cool feel to the day (maybe 25 C / 75 F now, so room temperature, but cool for me), and the colors and sounds outdoors.  I'm doing that, I just don't have long to go in keeping it up.


Eighth:  I'll try the first longer brewed infusion for staring around at things outside so much, brewed much longer, well over 20 seconds.  That effect is cool too, the blast of mellow intensity.  All of those flavors I'd listed had taken turns to be dominant but none really dropped out, beyond the range cleaning up over the first 2 to 3 rounds.  It's complex.  I'd expect that hint of citrus to get pushed out of the way by the heavier, earthier range (when brewed for so long) but it ramps up in the same proportion.


Ninth:  maybe that citrus hung in there brewed strong because it was still ramping up.  This is definitely a dried version of orange zest; that drying process drops off the brightness but leaves behind plenty of related flavor.

It's interesting comparing this fermentation effect to that of shu.  I can see why it's not a completely different thing, for a version that is completely fermented like this.  It's just as unrelated as it is the same though.  Lighter, subtle versions of shu can be closer to this than most, which taste like peat and the like.  One part is earthy, for sure, but range in between earth and mineral is closer to root spices of some sort, not far off how ginseng comes across, that's just not exactly it.  This is really clean, even though the descriptions I keep using probably don't sound it (well roasted chestnut, dark wood, etc.).

The feel from the tea is changing, less of a head buzz but still well centered in both my head and body.  It's lightening a little, while still intensifying at the same time.  I'm not really into "cha qi" feels like that but it is notable.  As with thinking that bitter and sweet sheng is very pleasant it leads me to consider whether it would have to be interpreted as positive or not.  I'm mostly against any and all drug use, pulling my own bias in that direction, away from embracing anything related.  It's not exactly like being stoned (on weed), but also not completely dis-similar.  Of course there is weed for that, or tranquilizers, stimulants, etc.


Tenth:  it's nice how the root spice and citrus keep ramping up, with a hint of dried fruit around the range of dried tamarind, making this much less earthy at this stage.  It's not losing intensity, more changing in form.  In a sense the taste was stronger before, so that doubling timing to 20 seconds or so would maintain that level, if desired.  This works well light though, not really all that light for brewing for just over 5 seconds.

11:  I brewed this for around 10 seconds; that might be where I like it best at this stage.  I don't think I'll get to try another half dozen infusions to "see this through;" I'm a few warnings in that it's time to go.  Apparently we're off to see a "Lego museum," whatever that is.  This hasn't changed enough to warrant repeating the round 10 description anyway, and probably will brew a few more similar rounds prior to later cycle transition and extending timing changing things a little.

I think I'll drop the notes and just drink the tea.  What to add as a conclusion?  It's an interesting experience, pleasant and novel.  This is definitely not a breakfast tea; rushing through a dozen rounds would make no sense at all, and I've been at the edge for rushing things a little taking over an hour to drink part of it.

Conclusions:

Thinking back on that it seems likely that the extent to which you "feel" a tea might relate a lot to what you expect.  One could probably mindfully, with a lot of pre-conceptions, drink a strong mug of Lipton and seem to have a lot of whatever experience they expect as a result; calming, a real lift, whatever it is.  Maybe caffeine and theanine always really combine to support both.  Spending an hour just drinking tea and relaxing outside on a cool morning should feel energizing and relaxing, maybe even without the tea.

A second point, not so closely tied but not completely unrelated:  no matter what someone experiences related to tea, or prefers, or expects, it seems that someone else would comment that to them that experience isn't valid, or in line with what they understand related to that particular tea (or subject theme, etc.).  This was highlighted in a discussion about tea and cults in a Facebook group recently, a subject I wrote about not long ago. 

Half the people responding seemed completely against mixing tea experience and religion / formal ceremony, or wearing flowing, naturally dyed robes as a shared group aesthetic choice.  The other half (roughly speaking) were for all of that.  That's an oversimplification that people inclined towards either side (bias) could object to, with good reason, but still at the core that seems to be what was happening.  Specific types of liberal and conservative biases seemed to be the main perspective foundation, not the specific details being discussed.  A couple of comments made that explicit:  people said they didn't even need to hear the details, or click a link, to know where they stood, that a few short phrases of description already painted enough picture for them.

And what?, one might ask.  It's just an observation, and one that ties back to the "cha qi" theme clearly enough that it seems unnecessary to flesh that out.  Plenty of pu'er enthusiasts would be open to cha qi experience as valid without embracing ceremonial aspects of tea drinking.  But without actually trying this particular tea it seems impossible to critique what experience should have resulted, if any one description is well-grounded or based partly in imagination.  It gets a bit far into philosophy but I'd interpret all our life experience as based partly in preconceptions, which isn't far from a claim that our own ideas (/ framing) are a main experiential input along with external "raw data."

At any rate it was cool trying an older sheng version.  I haven't tried many 30 year old sheng versions at all (maybe only one?) so I'm really not the right person to place it, related to any of the experience aspect range.  I found it interesting and quite pleasant.

slightly creepy science museum display

on a green screen effect background (with Kalani representing Penn State that day)

Legos did come up

2019 Bao Shan Ye Sheng Hongcha (Dian Hong)

A bit atypical, I'll start with the vendor's take on a tea I bought with a recent order:  Chawang Shop description:


Baoshan is one of largest wild tree (ye sheng cha) area in Yunnan. Growing wild and naturally in the forest. 

This material come from April harvest, processed as red tea in small batches. 

The taste is rich, full, sweet, no astringency. Complex and rich aroma. 

This tea can be keep for long time in dry place and larger quantity (500g or more)

Harvest Area : Baoshan

Production date : April 2019


There really should be more rambling on about what the category or location relates to, or my feelings about this. 

Maybe as well to skip that once in awhile, especially since I get around to plenty of that in the review sections.

Review:

This tea has an amazing dry leaf smell, very warm, sweet, and fruity, heavy on peach.  It could pass for a Mi Lan Xiang Dan Cong, although the tone is probably a bit warm for that.


First infusion:  a bit light; that can happen, not attempting to compensate for the tea needing to open up with use of a longer infusion time.  It's possible to rinse black teas to speed that up but I don't; that relates to throwing away part of the first infusion, seen one way.  This is rich and fruity, but I'll leave off writing out a list until the second round.  And I'll let this brew for 15 to 20 seconds, even though the proportion is higher than I'd usually go that long for, to let it really open up.

Second infusion:  this isn't what I expected, much more savory in range than seemed likely.  It's quite pleasant, just unusual in that regard.  It includes sweetness, and some fruit in that peach range, but also a lot of warm mineral depth, which extends towards a mineral effect close enough to table salt.  The fruit comes across as dried fruit.  I guess potentially as dried peach, matching the dry leaf scent, but warmer, more like dried tamarind (or both; it's complex).

A part of the profile seems to be missing, and I'm wondering if my own sense of taste isn't related to that.  I first got a cold 8 days ago, and was pretty much over it 4 or 5 days back, but this cold weather seems to be affecting me.  It's only around 25 C out now (77 F), which really isn't that cold, but getting down to a nightly low of 18 C (64 F) makes for an unusual experience.  We've finally stopped using air conditioning at night, because that's below where we typically set it, so I'm getting some feel for that as an inside temperature.  Anyway, my sinuses could be clearer.

This isn't a tea sample; I bought 100 grams of this along with re-ordering some favorites from that earlier order from Chawang Shop.  Those were all relatively inexpensive sheng versions that had a lot of promise related to aging potential, so not teas I'll get to anytime soon, with other cake or tuocha versions (in one case) already started from an earlier order that I'll try from time to time.  Given how Dian Hong usually goes this probably didn't cost a lot, but it was a good buy regardless of whether it did or not.  It's complex, interesting, and pleasant; no need to see how infusions continue to judge that.

Third infusion:   I went with a faster infusion, just going by instinct, brewing this for just short of 15 seconds.  The fruit has evolved to include a nice hint of citrus, in the form of orange zest.  The interesting thing about this tea is how complex and balanced it is while being unconventional and missing part of what I'd expect.  There's no cocoa in this, no roasted yam, no cinnamon, no mild malt.  It isn't that far off roasted sweet potato; I could relate to someone interpreting this as that, listing it as a primary flavor.  Maybe it's closer to those Japanese sweet potatoes, even lighter in flavor than the version I was familiar with back in the US.

There is a bit of spice that's not so far off cinnamon; it's interesting how per a differing read this could just be roasted sweet potato with cinnamon, while I'm saying it's something else altogether.  Dried tamarind stands out as closest to a main flavor aspect to me, along with warm mineral trailing slightly into salt range, and then some roasted root vegetable probably is next (sweet potato, or something else). 

Thickness is pleasant; feel is a nice supporting aspect.  It's smooth though, there is no astringency to it whatsoever, no dryness or roughness.  The flavors come across as clean, and intense, with enough intensity it carries over to an aftertaste effect as well.  I've not done justice to describing what is missing, and putting it that way doesn't completely work.  It's not so far off Dan Cong in character; this is light as black teas go, rich and complex, but just not in that "darker" warmer range, into mild malt and cocoa, etc.  To me that's not negative or positive, beyond being really interesting, which is positive.  It will be interesting to read what the vendor makes of this.  Probably next to nothing [that was it, not one taste description, other than "sweet"]; if teas aren't easy to describe vendors tend to just use less concepts, while I go the other way.

I'll let the next round run for 20 seconds and see what it's like a little stronger.  It doesn't need that, and it would work really well to drink every infusion on the light side instead for this tea.

Fourth infusion:  it's pleasant this way; both ways, really.  That warm mineral base really stands out more brewed a little stronger.  A limited range citrus note still really pops.  It's just a fragment of the overall experience but it carries more subjective weight for being novel and interesting, and for complementing the rest well.  It's funny how fruit in the range of peach does make up part of this experience but not to the extent the dry tea smell implied.  Dried tamarind still seems stronger.

To me it would be a waste to let this sit and drink it as an aged tea because those high notes really add a lot to the experience, and they would fade (I think; it's a long transition from passing on informed guesses to likelihoods, and I'm still in the middle).  It's already warm, rich, and complex, with plenty of depth, so there is no need to develop that further.  There is a chance this was a sun-dried tea version and the part I'm describing as missing (or not describing, really) is the way those come out just a little flat in terms of character, which they pick back up within 2 to 3 years of aging.  This might be even better in 2 years, more intense instead of less.  I had meant more that it doesn't need 5 to 7 years to change to be something else (slightly; it won't change much as sheng transition goes).

Per the theory if this is an oven dried black tea this is as intense as this will ever be, and if it's sun-dried it will gain depth and ramp up intensity over that 2 year time span.  It's odd that a Laos black tea I just tried is more in mainstream character and aspect range than this, for Dian Hong style, but then those naturally vary, and being more like more other versions isn't meaningful.  This seems a bit more refined, with more depth, probably slightly better tea.  Personal preference is sort of the main yardstick for that, so it remains a judgement call.

Fifth infusion:  the flavors list isn't conveying how pleasant this comes across.  An initial impression, even five rounds in, is "man, this is good."  It's hard to say why that is.  That flavor could be more intense, the range is really interesting but it could be more complex, thickness is quite pleasant but not overly remarkable.  It all just really works together. 

I'm sure it has a couple of additional rounds to go without losing any pleasantness, and I'll stretch it until it won't make any more.  Even in the next round the hint of citrus isn't fading, or losing ground to the rest.  If anything that trace of spice may be picking up.  Feel isn't thick or structured but the moderate feel range it does express is novel and positive, a bit velvety.  Whoever made this knew what they were doing.

More naturally grown teas typically do have interesting, complex flavors and are milder in character, just as this is.  That mineral depth can relate to a plant source being a bit older.


On the whole I love it.  It's basic in one sense and very distinctive and unique in another, and that balance of character and aspects works really well per my preference.

I bet if I went back through and tasted this a couple of more times I'd use different descriptions in the write-up.  I never did pin down that sweetness as much as I might have, and probably would list out toffee or something such as an aspect.  Shifting parameters a little would give different results; the actual aspects experienced could change, along with interpretation.  This version exemplifies why I love black teas in this style.

2019 Taiwan "Oriental Beauty" Dong Fang Mei Ren

It's cold here, out of the 60s now (around 24 C / 75 F) at 10 AM, since I helped Keoni make breakfast and started a chicken roasting this morning.  Ordinarily we would go to a swimming class now but 75 F is too cold here to swim; funny how things work out in the tropics.

it doesn't look cold, or different

It's so cold the local pets even need to bundle up a bit:

I picked a tea that sort of matches cool weather, to me, and one I don't want to compare to anything since I'm not feeling like doing all that.  I have an interesting looking Oriental Beauty from King Tea Mall (a sample, provided by them) I've not tried yet.  It's interesting related to that type being a personal favorite; I have no idea how good it is, or how type-typical.  I hope it's above average so I can use this post, since I tend to just not write about teas that I don't like.  There's less of a story to those, although in some cases flaws in teas can be interesting.


This ties to a theme I mentioned in the last post, about why personal preference shifts over time as it does.  For example, why so many people experience sheng pu'er as close to the taste of taking an aspirin (or tasting like kerosene, I've heard), then still go on to keep trying versions until they like it.  I've been through that.  One read is that people try better versions later, so they're liking different things.  I think it's more that sheng is an acquired taste, like coffee, or beer, or lots of things.  My grandfather would eat smoked fish or cheese, and raw green onions, and all sorts of crazy foods and he had probably went through similar transitions.

In contrast a tea version like this would tend to appeal to everyone when they first try it; these are mild, sweet, complex in flavor, and lack significant astringency and any bitterness at all.  I can't place why so many people seem to like Oriental Beauty (per the comments that are made), and why it rarely ever comes up in discussion, and isn't really a main tea type.  There's the parts about bugs biting the leaves, and there only being so much of it, and good versions being expensive.  Somehow the general hype just never focused on it. 

Dan Cong gets good buzz, even though it's expensive, but sheng is a bit "hotter" as a tea type to like now.  Wuyi Yancha seemed more in that role in the past, between 5 and 10 years ago.  I'm not clear on how any of those levels work out, about preference transition, or public awareness and shared interest landing in different places.  Probably none of this will factor in much in a review description, so I'll just move on to that, starting with considering the King Tea Mall description:

Tea Name: Oriental Beauty (Dong Fang Mei Ren )
Harvesting Season: 2019 Year Summer
Production Area: Taiwan.
Level: Special Quality

The tea liquid has clear and clean amber like color.
Natural and elegant tea flavor which lasts long in whole mouth. After taste is honey like sweetness.


That's not very specific.  This tea type tends to be flavorful and pleasant and then vary across limited dimensions (flavor range, feel, level of sweetness, etc.), so detailed background matters less, as I see it.  There would be a more standard plant type and narrower source area but it's the final aspects that matter most.  As to pricing this costs $9 per 50 grams when purchased in the 100 gram amount; definitely on the low side for versions presented as above average in quality.

Review:

First infusion:  just awesome, perfectly type-typical, in the best sense.  Versions of this tea span a bit of range, covering different flavors, and this is well within the norm.  Those include heavy citrus, towards muscatel, or warm spice range, along the lines of cinnamon.  This particular version covers both:  there is pleasant orange zest citrus, and warm spice tones, not missing cinnamon but extending well beyond that.  Sweetness is great, mouthfeel is rich and full, soft and round (although that is all relative; there is probably a lot room for increase in that range).  Even a child would love this tea.

The heavy fruit tones aren't limited to citrus.  One part tastes a lot like apple cider, that warm, rich sweetness.  There's none of the sourness that cider can express (which balances well in the sweetness and flavor range, in even decent versions of that), but that warm, sweet, slightly fermented apple flavor is one of the main parts of the experience.  It leans a little towards raisin, I just don't think that would be the most natural interpretation.  After a minor shift in flavors across infusions, or caused by using slightly different brewing parameters, and it could be mainly raisin.

Why wouldn't people drink this?  Why don't I, related to seeking it out and buying it?  I've been exploring sheng for about 2 years now, and where for this type of tea you can appreciate it the very first time you drink it, in much the same way you might years later, that takes some doing.  It's not just about tolerating bitterness, or learning to like that; either that one part comes naturally or the whole venture would be a non-starter.  There's a lot of other range to consider, and lots of variations to explore.  Maybe it's as simple as that; after trying a dozen good versions of Oriental Beauty you'd be repeating the same experience, to some limited extent.  That wouldn't get you far for exploring the basic range of sheng, never mind sorting out aging and storage environment concerns.

Second infusion:  kind of similar, not shifting a lot.  The balance of those earlier aspects probably changed a little, but not in a significant enough form to make it worth the trouble describing that (spice gained a little ground on fruit, for example).  It's great; just what this should be.

Tied back to the idea of preference, one might wonder, why not just buy apple cider and throw a cinnamon stick, and a bit of orange zest in that, then simmer it?  That would be pleasant too, and that should happen.  The flavors would be in a similar range, but the overall balance and effect would be completely different.  This also "tastes like tea;" there's underlying mineral and a warm malt range that marks this as good tea (for lack of a better concept; it's not what most people associate with malt as found in Assam, which is dryer and as close to forms of mineral as fermented grain).  It's subtle, and well balanced. 

It's a similar answer for why this tea version is nothing like a Christmas blend featuring black tea, cinnamon spice, citrus, and some apple flavor.  You simply can't mix natural and artificial flavor inputs to get to this end point.  It would be nice if you could; then flavored tea blends found on grocery store shelves would be completely worth drinking.

It's not easy to say why it can't be replicated.  I just cooked a pumpkin pie from scratch, roasting a Thai version of a pumpkin (closer to Japanese pumpkin, or a bit more like squash), adding spices, making a crust, all of that.  In theory a version from canned pumpkin or one from a grocery store could be identical, or close enough, but they're just not the same thing.  Subtle differences add up.

Third infusion:  a mild vegetal range is picking up and the spice and fruit are dropping back.  I wouldn't say this has lost a lot of it's charm but it's not quite as good.  It's still very pleasant, just not great on the same level. 

It's interesting seeing an unusual level and type of oxidation on this, with a good bit of green showing through, and with other leaves or edges very darkened at the edges.  That probably means more to well-informed others than to me.  Related to final results I can't say that they "did it wrong" related to making this tea version; this is how this should be, in a positive case. 

The effect of a high level of sweetness is hard to place, and a rich feel that's almost an oiliness that covers your tongue and mouth, versus other kinds of structure in other teas.  Even though it has dropped back a little combining that much cinnamon, citrus, and slightly fermented apple is what makes this a unique experience.  If only two thirds of that was present this would still be a really pleasant tea.

Fourth infusion:  only faded slightly from where it was on the last round.  Often black teas and more oxidized oolongs tend to expend their flavor faster, to transition away from the most exceptional character over a much shorter brewing cycle, and that's going on with this.  Not all do; depending on type some black teas last a really long time, for a high infusion count, and keep transitioning in interesting and positive ways.

It's quite pleasant this round but two more infusions fading at the same rate will cost it a lot of what makes it exceptional.  It seems the more oxidized parts really did get a fast start, so now the parts of the leaves not as well oxidized are providing more input.  It will draw out how much tea this will produce but it might seem more like an ordinary, good oolong by the half-dozen infusion mark.  Since I've ventured into guessing about rounds transitions I'll have to keep going with the notes through a couple more.

Some of noting all this probably relates to being so focused on sheng for so long.  Young sheng tends to only "open up" and move past an initial edginess over the first two infusions, and stay consistent for the next half a dozen, maybe with some character transition but definitely no tapering off.  Older, more aged sheng (15 years old or older, to put a rough range to that) loses some intensity but it doesn't brew a lower count of positive rounds.


Fifth infusion:  still exceptional.  Some of the issue here is that I'm comparing these rounds against the benchmark of the earlier rounds, which were much more intense.  Lower quality Oriental Beauty tend to come across just as this one is on this fifth infusion, in the same general range but a good bit flatter.  Citrus seems to be ramping up in the balance again for some reason.  Even moderate shifts in infusion strength would cause that effect, switching which part seems stronger.  Lower quality Oriental Beauty (or moderate quality, really; what you would tend to buy from standard resale vendors) could include a slight mustiness or woodiness, not related to the tea being off or flawed, just as a part of the standard character for that version.  This doesn't include that.

A bit on infusion strength and brewing time is relevant.  This tea type you can prepare in lots of different ways; there is no astringency limiting that choice, no negative aspects to "brew around" at all.  It would work well wispy thin, how I tend to like lots of other tea types.  A relatively intense version of sheng pu'er can't be "wispy thin" in the most typical sense, even flash-brewed at moderate proportions.  The point here is that lighter often works better for appreciating some of the aspect range for some teas.  That's completely a matter of preference.  If someone values an intense feel aspect they may like teas prepared towards the other extreme. 

To me this works really well brewed in the middle, definitely not light, but also not so strong that it ramps up aspect intensity to well over what I consider normal.  Put in terms of timing, brewed for 10-15 seconds, closer to 15, across all these rounds, at a proportion that has the gaiwan just over 3/4ths filled with wet leaves (so most of what would fit).

That changes the transition cycle too, of course.  This same tea brewed for in between 5 and 10 seconds would be that much slower to change across rounds as this has.  The only way to really optimize that experience is to brew the tea exactly as you like it best, and not be concerned about how it plays out for a count.  It would make more sense to me to drink this really light than to brew it so strong that astringency, or at least stronger feel, really does ramp up, parting ways with experiencing those flavors as well-balanced, but that's just a statement about preference.  As transitions go it seems that people newer to better tea tend to like it prepared stronger, then lighter as they adjust to experiencing aspects at a different intensity level.


Sixth infusion:  still great, but still fading.  It wouldn't be nearly as good if that bright citrus wasn't hanging in there, but it is.  A lot of the other complexity has dropped out, narrowing the range of the experience, but the sweetness and positive balance remains.  The feel still has a nice thickness to it.  Pronounced aftertaste never was one of the positives of this experience, in relation to how some other tea types go.  It did prepare a few more infusions but those were light in intensity even brewed longer.

Conclusion

Pretty good Oriental Beauty, very nice.  It's been awhile since I've even tried one so I'm probably not the best judge of those (although I did try an aged version earlier in the year; that's different).  Earlier in my tea exploration these seemed to just come up more frequently, probably with a half dozen versions reviewed in this blog, maybe not even counting hybrid theme versions from other countries.  It helped passing through Taiwan on a trip once to gain exposure, but in other contexts too, buying samples, or teas from shops locally, or related to vendors sending tea to try.

Per my judgement this version was quite pleasant.  Related to placing it on a scale of the highest quality types I'm just not on this page enough.  I suspect someone much more familiar with this range could spot limitations or flaws better than I have here.  I tend to not see brewing a limited number of infusions as a flaw, as much as seeing the opposite as a strength, but that could relate to room for improvement.  Overall this seemed a well above average example of this tea type, probably more so for emphasizing flavor as the primary consideration.

at skating class, with a new haircut

experiencing snow in a form closer to shaved ice, by making it

limited Christmas decor at the rink