Moychay Pu’er Fields Menghai Shu Pu’er

their labels are great; this isn't even an above average example

some bud content, usually adding a sweeter flavor, towards cocoa

I’m reviewing another tea from Moychay, from a large set that they sent for review.  This is a shu, from Menghai; familiar ground, but not a tea type I drink so often.  At first I thought this might be a Myanmar version, and I considered trying it along with another from there, from Kokang, but since it’s a Menghai (Yunnan) tea it'll be nice to do a single tea tasting.

Here is their description:

Shu puer "Fields" from Menghai tea region, 2018 harvest.

357-gram cake of medium density consists of pressed brown and reddish tips. The aroma is restrained, woody with nutty hints. The infusion is dark, reddish-chestnut.

The bouquet of the ready-made tea is mature, nutty, with hints of herbs, exotic resins, autumn leaves and dried fruits. The aroma is rich and warm, nutty. The taste is full-bodied, velvety and sweet, with nuances of spices and sourness of dry berries.

Brew tea with hot water (95 ° C) in a gaiwan or a teapot made of porous clay... 

Since I only ever add those descriptions during editing I already know how that compares to my impression, but it'll be clear enough in the review part.  

At first I read that last sentence and wondered why they would recommend brewing it in a gaiwan made of porous clay, since those do come up but tend to be uncommon, but that was probably intended to refer to the teapot.  I brewed it using a porcelain gaiwan, which is ideal for tasting, and about as good an approach for keeping tea simple and getting good results as any.  

If people like to experience teaware for aesthetic purposes, or choose to explore how clay pots might improve their results, then there's lots of range related to that out there.  Moychay has been producing their own lately; I mentioned them sending a few pieces last time.  I get why that could add an interesting and pleasant extra dimension to tea experience, and I'm also quite clear on why avoiding that could make perfect sense.  It seems like a budget issue tips the balance; if someone has extra funds to keep going past tea expenses why not explore that range, and if it seems like a lot to just cover a lot of the tea part then why go there.  Next you might be buying special natural-fiber earth-tone clothes to drink tea in, and who knows what after that.

it is something though, isn't it, artwork to drink tea out of?

Review:

First infusion:  a good bit of dark rye bread / pumpernickel effect; I like it.  For people not so into dark bread this might not be as good.  That flavor is clean in the same sense that pumpernickel bread is, sweet, towards a rich grain, not musty or heavy on mineral or petroleum or the like.  One part could remind someone of a dried fruit, but it would have to be a really “dark” version of a dried fruit, definitely not dried mango and the like.  I always imagine that the betel nut flavor people talk about is a lot like this, but never get around to tasting it.

I went a little heavy on proportion (the usual for me), and the infusion time, at 20 seconds or so, and it really doesn’t need that long.  It pushes the earthy flavor out towards roasted coffee; strong.  Now that I think of it this tastes about as much like an upper-medium level roasted coffee as any tea ever does.  It just doesn’t have that coffee edge, the additional bitterness, and sharper feel, some astringency.  I’ll go lighter on the next round to see what that changes.

slight color variation in the leaf is unusual but not meaningful to me

Second infusion:   I brewed this for about 5 seconds but it’s far from light, based on appearance alone.  Maxing out the proportion means that this just won’t be brewing lightly.  It’s good that I like shu on the strong side.

Again towards dark bread, although an interpretation of this being like a mild form of coffee would make sense to me.  Even brewed light the mineral seems to play a slightly stronger role, adding a touch of char, matching up with that roasted coffee range.  I guess this is a lot like having a piece of strong black bread with coffee for breakfast then.  I’d definitely eat that, probably for weeks straight before getting tired of it.  I’d probably add a good bit of butter to the bread, shifting it off this flavor profile a little.  I don't put in the legwork that's required to eat interesting types of bread in an Asian country, so the last time I had decent dark bread was on a visit to Russia, 2 1/2 years ago now, in Murmansk of all places.

I took no pictures of that bread, but this tea break there was nice

just before that break, riding a reindeer sleigh

I get a vague sense of some fruit but it doesn’t really come across as significant, compared to the other flavor levels.  It’s like a hint of blackberry jam.  I really could be imagining that part, but there does seem to be more depth there.  The char I’ve described could easily be described as peat or even a hint of tar instead.  It’s earthy.  I would imagine most shu drinkers would like this, but someone into the much milder, lighter range in shu might not.  It’s not edgy in the sense that some lower quality shu can taste like a cement block smells (or Liu Bao, shu’s cousin), but it’s not exactly smooth and light either, compared to the most subtle examples of the range, which aren't really my favorite.  The way that tippy shu (gong ting) versions have a main cocoa effect comes across in this, but it’s integrated with the rest.

It’s interesting how I’ve just described quite a flavor list--black bread, coffee, warm mineral, trace of berry preserve, peat, pronounced cocoa--but the tea comes across as simple in character.  All of those are close to each other (except the berry); the end effect integrates to a profile that doesn’t span as much range as I’m making it sound.  

I just met a Russian guy here, Alex Panganovich, who would probably like this; he’s into shu, and checking out different teas.  I feel way too lazy to get out today though, for keeping really busy for a few weekends in a row.  I might brew a couple more rounds and drop making review notes on account of that.

visiting with Alex in my favorite local Bangkok shop, Jip Eu

Third infusion:  this really looks tar-like; I wasn’t rushing the infusion enough and the time crept closer to 10 seconds.  This tea would work just as well brewed at two thirds this proportion, probably, so that the times could draw out a bit longer.  I really like sheng pushed for infusion proportion then brewed fast but shu varies less related to how you make it.  This would be fine brewed Western style, or grandpa style, or thermos brewed, as long as you back off the proportion enough for each.

The same balance repeats, just shifted in order of proportion of flavor aspects.  It moves towards spice range some though, a heavy, woody, bark spice.  Or just fermented tree bark; that could be it.  Or wet forest floor, people might describe the same range as.  I could easily imagine people loving or hating this tea, depending on preference.  It would be odd for someone more on the oolong page to also love this, since it’s the opposite of lighter, refined, fruity or liqueur-like profile, but for a hei cha drinker this should seem great.  Or if someone loves the rough edges of a low cost, well roasted Da Hong Pao that’s not so far off.  I’ve drank so many tea types over so long that I can appreciate most of it, just green range less than the rest.  I do like slightly rough Da Hong Pao, tea versions that are probably a mix of whatever oolongs had came through the shop recently, blended to balance as well as possible for being less refined teas.

Fourth infusion:  I finally brewed this fast enough to be average infusion strength.  It loses something made that way; it seems thin.  I think this tea could be most appealing brewed on the strong side, to provide that earthy blast, within a narrow but complex range of flavor.  It still works like this but the flavor profile seems much thinner.  

Feel isn’t bad; it has some thickness to it.  That’s all relative; it’s just a bit of creaminess, not really a full feel as shu can potentially possess.  Aftertaste range is limited, not even that pronounced when drinking it stronger.  I kind of am of the “shu is shu” perspective anyway, that someone would be drinking it because it’s simpler, more approachable, and has that heavy earth range punch.

Fifth infusion:  this will be enough of the story for me, even though the infusions related to stretching the tea a bit are yet to go, probably a good number of them.

This tastes more like grain now, off the pumpernickel range, onto a more malted grain range.  To me it’s still pleasant, just losing some of the intensity, and flavor complexity.

Conclusion:

A nice, basic, earthy shu; how those should be.  I think having more rough edges might indicate this has more aging potential; as this stands it should just smooth out a bit from here on.  To me there are no negative aspects to fade, no fermentation range that needs to drop out, so it’s fine to drink like this.  I drank another five infusions during editing, or in between, and it's just thinning a bit, holding up ok.

I don’t always mention price but there’s a story to be told related to that; this is listed for $17.15.  To me it’s a great value for that price; anyone who like shu who is already buying teas from Moychay would be crazy to not add this to their cart.  It would be even crazier to buy a smaller amount of it than a full cake.  A few teas like this would more than justify placing an order, never mind whether something more unusual or refined turned up or not.

One nice part about Moychay’s selection is that pricing usually reflects quality level, so that you can tell what you are getting from that indicator.  As teas push upwards towards 50 cents to $1 a gram they really are that much better.  Not so much a clear indicator in this case; this would be a good tea selling for twice that, and it’s probably comparable to what a lot of vendors are selling for slightly more than that.  Based on trying a number of their teas I could probably make a list of some of the absolute steals in their listings, for teas that punch way above their weight.  I won't though; I'll just mention one.  Along this character line a compressed Da Hong Pao bar worked as another good example; that was way better than it should’ve been for moderate pricing.

I get it why not everyone is searching for exceptions like this, why people with a looser tea budget are seeking out the higher end range, at fair market values or even relatively higher cost, paying whatever they have to pay for getting unusual versions.  Even for someone in that position I’d think having “basics” like this tea around for when you feel like one would still make sense.  

The idea of very high quality shu tends to make less sense to me, although a German tea friend I've mentioned many times, Ralph, has passed on that a Myanmar version from Moychay struck him that way, as unusually good.  I just tried a Myanmar "wild gushu" sheng pu'er version that Alex passed on, which I'll probably get around to reviewing.  I think the plant types there that are on the bitter side probably provide a good leaf compound base for fermenting into a really intense and pleasant shu.  Or that's a guess for why some versions have stood out, at least.

Today the power went out, making for a good reason to do a tasting session outside.  It's the Thai rainy season but the weather held up for that long, to taste tea in the usual spot.

it's so green out there during the rainy season

Wuyi Origin Wild Lapsang Souchong

I'm reviewing the 2020 version of Wuyi Origin's Wild Lapsang Souchong, one of several samples Cindy sent, really to share tea, not so much for review.  Looking back this will be the fourth year in a row I've tried this tea (with others here).

It goes without saying that the highest quality versions of Lapsang Souchong are not smoked, but I’ll still say it.  That's not a knock on smoked versions, they're just not made from teas like this.  The traditional story is that this was the first black tea type in China, "discovering" the processing approach, with leaves left in the middle of processing when a hostile group passed through.  Then the partly finished leaves were later dried over pine smoke to salvage the harvest, already oxidized, and the effect turned out to be desirable.  This is a fairly common theme in Chinese tea myths, that of accidental discovery.  It’s missing the input of a local deity or statue come to life, the other most common theme.  

It’s hard to imagine that with tea being consumed for centuries (or millennia, really) and oxidation occurring relatively naturally that it wasn’t long-since apparent that more oxidized versions of black or white tea could be produced.  Black tea differs by adding a rolling or kneading step to bruise the leaves, then air contact, with a heating step used at the end to fix the oxidation at a certain level (or sun-drying, depending).  Cindy mentioned that their Lapsang Souchong is also roasted, which I don't remember being typical for any black teas.

Before too much more rambling on I'll also mention Wuyi Origin's description of the tea:

This wild lapsang souchong  , We call it as  wild tea, because it does not have a fixed tea garden, just in a hill, and the tea trees are scattered around every corner. Before harvest picking every year, we have to go up the mountain several times to see the growth of the germinated tea tree. Our tea pickers always look for leaves in the weeds when picking this tea garden. I think there should be 2-4 different varieties in this tea. The spring of 2020 is relatively dry, and the germination of tea is also uneven. This year, the output of my wild lapsang souchong  is 20% less than last year.

Black tea is picked and sorted  by hand, so in terms of appearance, the tea strips are relatively uniform. 

It was specially selected to pick the tea leaves in the sunny day , and after 12 hours of withering, half an hour of rolling  and then 6 hours of oxidation  The tea has a very obvious natural citrus and creamy aroma, slightly milky feel. Tea soup is as sweet as honey water.

That description works.  There's a pronounced mineral base flavor input too, but the citrus, sweetness, and creamy feel really stand out.  There's more on the different types and processing steps in this blog post by Cindy.

I wanted to mention how bias works out for me with vendor sources.  Of course I’m biased towards vendors I’ve had a long and positive history with, as is the case with Cindy, who I consider a friend.  To some extent I see my own reviews as objective, as not relating to bias as an input, but of course that probably comes into play.  We tend to experience some of what we expect to.  At times that can relate to a contrast from what is expected, adding the opposing type of input, potentially shifting a perspective to be even more negative if very positive results were expected, or vice-versa.  

That extends all the way to the experience of individual tea aspects in tasting; if you expect to pick up citrus in a tea then if anything remotely like citrus is present then you’ll identify it as that, when a neutral, blank-slate take wouldn’t include noticing that.  I wrote these notes before reading that description, to be clear; all the going on about citrus may have related to remembering it from last year, but it couldn't have tied to reading the vendor description that I only added here during editing.  

That effect can relate to sequences of themes emerging across multiple reviews.  Another tea blogger once mentioned getting into a cycle where he noticed cherry in every black tea review.  He said that he had to go back and pull that back out of notes in cases where it wasn’t most pronounced, because his own expectation was adding it as an interpretation, along with the flavor aspects actually present.  I tasted apple in this tea, similar to cider, and probably wouldn’t have noticed that if it hadn’t been present in a much stronger form in a black tea version that I reviewed yesterday.

Bias aside, Cindy’s teas, Wuyi Origin’s, are some of the consistently best teas that I ever have a chance to try.  I tend to not buy teas on this quality level, because with significant awareness and demand paired with that quality--as would be the case for any main tea category type, as for these--the market price is higher than my budget tends to support.  As an aside this tea sells for $34 for 100 grams, an absolute steal given that almost no tea I've tried selling for around $1 / gram is ever this good.  General and specific type also affects demand, and pricing, but I don't think another version that's much like this would turn up on the Western tea market, anywhere, at any price.   

In rare cases I’ll buy something that's not on the inexpensive side anyway, but that tends to apply more to impulse or special-case buying in person, when a tea that I’m seeing in front of me is priced beyond what I would normally spend.  Shopping online the entire internet is the competitive environment, the marketplace.  It’s easy to compare how $100, or whatever sum, would spend out in different places.

I wouldn’t even recommend people new to tea try versions at this quality level.  It’s not that someone couldn’t appreciate the experience, and how the aspects come together, but instead that to me it makes more sense to explore a broader range and get personal preferences and brewing practice sorted out first.  For example, it’s only a judgement call and not an objective truth, but to me brewing this particular black tea Western style would be a waste.  That said if someone was committed to that approach and wanted to explore better tea range it would definitely work, and results wouldn’t be that different.  They would be slightly, marginally more positive if you could control the brewing results more carefully, but the tea would be fine either way.  

Someone could pick up a gaiwan and experiment on that with this tea, but it would seem more reasonable to explore other teas first, then get to this one once some of those themes are in order.  To some extent I’m talking about getting the most value from it, so tied to cost, but really as I approach teas price is a factor but I’m talking more about what is appropriate for each tea.  If you could happen to find an amazing Nepalese black version that is somehow on this general quality level for cheap, at the same cost as an upper-medium quality level Assam (which can happen; source types vary, and demand per region can be inconsistent), then that brewing advice would apply to it too.  No tea of any type I've tried from Nepal is quite this good, but I mean in the general range, and Nepalese teas can be quite pleasant and refined, and distinctive.

Sometimes supporting a specific vendor can be of interest, even for reasons that fall outside tea quality concerns, or trust in relation to products being as-described.  To me that range applies quite directly to supporting Cindy’s family, a true case of a tea producer selling products directly, so they are what they are said to be.  It’s hard to imagine wanting any producer or reseller to fail in their business, but it’s also harder to feel a connection to supporting larger corporate operations, or tea vending based on multiple steps in a resale chain.  

This also connects with a very pragmatic concern; once a tea has been bought and sold a couple of times--how that often works--the true history of what it is would most likely be lost.  If this wasn’t a real example of wild Lapsang Souchong, or grown where it was said to be, or if pesticides were used in making it, then the harm in the difference would probably be limited (as long as your pesticide contact remained moderate), but the final experience wouldn’t be the same.

Review:

It's odd trying these teas out of the two different cups (per the last review Moychay sent me three devices along with some teas to try, two cups and a gaiwan).  It seems it comes across as earthier, for using more earthen forms of cups.  Then of course it's brewed a little light, as the first round almost always is as I brew teas.

It's great tea; that part never changes.  The sweetness and refined flavors are amazing, the fruit hit, over a very positive other deeper toned flavor structure.  Fruit includes a great balance of warm and sweet citrus, trailing into ripe peach.  That earthier undertone is hard to describe.  It's like molasses or dried fruit gives the rest depth.  Mineral plays a role, but that part is harder to pick up in this round, at this light infusion strength.  Of course there is nothing remotely resembling a flaw present, no sourness, no mustiness, or rough edged aspect.

Second infusion:   intensity picks up. That fruit tone balance is just perfect.  It's not fair comparing this to any other version of tea I've ever tried, so I won't.  Saying things like citrus, peach, or honey doesn't make a start on describing the actual experience.  A rich fruit tone with more depth reminds me of apple cider, probably in part carried over from experiencing a tea more like that yesterday, with more actual tartness and sourness.  One part of what is going on in this tea could be described as tart, but not in the same sense those Russian and Yunnan black teas were.  It's so moderate that it would be odd to make such a reference.  Achieving this degree of balance, of flavor complexity, may have depended on including a little of that range, that is so well integrated and faint that it doesn't come across as tartness at all.

The feel seems to merge with the rich taste, as a smooth fullness that coats your mouth, a creamy feel.  Then that carries over to an aftertaste range that still includes some of that creamy feel, along with the rich, sweet, intense fruit flavor carrying over.  This is an exceptional tea.  It may even be better than prior versions of it, although I can't judge across years like that, and temporary subjective impression varies for different reasons (mood, what I've been drinking, how much sleep I got).

Third infusion:  this tea is just fantastic; it insults it in trying to break that experience into parts to describe it.  Mineral is really picking up, adding depth.  A rich range of mineral adds a nice base, with part of that coming across a bit like salt.  The fruit tone moves off the sweetest, brightest range, but isn't less pleasant for transitioning to slightly deeper tones.  A bit more fruit like dried mango is coming out.  It gets repetitive saying that a tea version is among the best I've ever tried but this is definitely there.  It's hard to imagine this particular style being any better.  

That citrus tone really makes it all work, as all the parts do, integrated together.   The citrus alone is complex, covering a higher end zest range, and deeper tones, some type of warm orange.  Then there's slightly warmer apple, the dried mango, a rich mineral base, and some other aromatic tones rounding out the rest.  It's a lot going on but it comes across as tightly integrated, and simple.

Fourth infusion:  I think that mineral is maxed out; it can't increase any more.  The rest hasn't changed so much since last round, so I'll leave it at that.  I won't be able to cover the remaining rounds, at least until later, for going to a swim practice, and I usually just leave off the review notes at that point then, not picking it back up.

It's interesting using different teaware.  I expected to not like using a different gaiwan but it's fine.  The rougher cup is interesting, the way it feels, and it pulls out so much heat that tasting it immediately is fine.  Being new to me I don't have a developed opinion on either cup.  The smoother version has a much more conventional feel; I really do like it.

Conclusions:

Just fantastic tea, one of the best versions of any tea that I've ever drank.  I think this was marginally better than earlier versions, which were also fantastic.  A few more rounds lost some range and intensity but the mineral really came out in later rounds, making those extra pleasant in a different way.  I suspect that dry weather limited leaf growth (tied to Cindy's comment about picking less) but increased flavor intensity.  But what do I know.

A bit of tragedy to round out this post:  my wife broke the more conventional looking cup, on the very first day that I drank out of it.  I'll go with the standard next thing to say and interpret that as a lesson in impermanence.  The sting that remains is a further lesson in attachment, about how I'm not above feeling regret that serves no purpose.  I loved that cup, just not for long.

Comparing Yunnan and Russian black and gaba teas

 

Yongde Ye Sheng lower left, Krasnodar black top, Krasnodar gaba lower left

Moychay sent a number of teas for review, which I'll be talking about for a number of weeks, for as slow as I tend to get through sets.  The first review placed a 2020 Jing Mai sheng pu'er in relation to one of my favorite provider's slightly older versions (a 2016 from Tea Mania), and they seemed comparable in quality, both quite good teas.  There's always other higher range, an aspect that might be a little different, but it was quite good, and a good value for the selling point.

These are black teas (which they call red, a not-uncommon reference to the literal Chinese translation of hong cha).  One is a gaba black, processed in a nitrogen environment, causing the compounds that form in transition from conventional-style forms to differ.  In a sense they're not "oxidized" teas then, because oxygen contact has been restricted during processing.  Probably that oxidation process started at picking time, prior to that other processing, so they would be a little bit oxidized, just mostly forming different compounds based on interaction with nitrogen instead of oxygen.  "Gaba" is one such resulting compound, with more on all that in this post (from 2013; I had a lot less experience to work with as a tasting baseline back then).

This won't go any further into what gaba tea is; maybe I'll get back to that more in a later post, since I have two more versions to get to.  Reviewing three teas at once is a lot of ground to cover.  I've reviewed plenty of gaba oolongs before here, but never a black tea.  Oddly one of the best gaba versions I've ever tried was a black tea, a Ruby / Red Jada gaba processed Taiwanese black tea version, shared in a tasting session by a friend, Sasha Abramovich.  Sasha is still around, just not in Bangkok, so I never cross paths with him.  

The gaba oolongs I tried earlier all seemed to include a distinctive sourness that I had trouble adjusting to like.  It tasted a little like an old cardboard box smells, when taken out of a damp form of storage.  One even tasted like asphalt; different.  The Taiwanese gaba black wasn't like either.

I've actually already tried this Yongde black version before, and based on the first try I didn't write any notes, thinking I wouldn't like it.  It was tart instead, not something I like in black teas, although that range does come up.  Then after just a few infusions that tartness faded, transitioning to other complex range, and the tea was quite pleasant.  I had probably judged too soon.

Lately I've been considering if my appreciation for teas isn't too narrow, in rejecting that flavor range like sourness or tartness can be pleasant.  It seems like one might normally run through experience of some standard versions, then sort out which of those might suit preference best, then escalate experience in quality range, and then explore more horizontally, if that last step even comes up.  Of course tea experiences and preference transitions would vary.

Sourness comes up a good bit in relation to "wild-grown" tea versions, presumably tied to different plant type sources.  It could also relate to a flaw in processing or storage, but one particular form of sourness is distinctive, related to what I've tried from Thai teas quite a bit.  I didn't review some Monsoon "wild-origin" teas because they were sour, and I had trouble relating to that.  I just re-tried a Liquid Proust tasting set example of a "wild-origin" Xiaguan sheng, presumably from China, what was quite similar.  Now I'm guessing that it's a variation from the source plant, causing those common effects.  

Kenneth, the owner of Monsoon, mentioned that tea enthusiasts in general seem put off by that sourness from that range of plant-source inputs, but that for whatever reasons some experienced chefs have liked them.  I suppose it does make sense that someone with broad food experience and training could appreciate a very broad range of flavors, without a bias towards a narrow range of styles, as most tea enthusiasts would tend to develop.

meeting Kenneth (waving) and Sasha (right).  sorry other guy; should've taken more snaps.

I'd mentioned one of my favorite sheng versions was from wild tree sources, produced by Kittichai of Jip Eu, a version that was sour (with a Moychay Nannuo sheng also making that list).  It was sour in a slightly different form, but it overlapped, and that tea changed a lot across a relatively short span of time in storage.  I bought a second cake of that tea, to see how I like it once it's fully aged, and so I can keep tasting it from time to time to witness the entire transition process.  It's from 2012 or 13, as I remember, so within another half dozen years (stored in hot and humid conditions in Bangkok) I should see that change.  

The point here is that I really liked that  Thai tea (sheng), in spite of it being sour, I think in part because I'd reached a critical mass of exposure to other forms.  And also because it has "other notes" to experience; it wasn't that it just stood out for only that one sour flavor.  As I've drank through most of 50 grams of a wild Thai black tea from Monsoon I'm more ok with that sourness.  I don't know that I like it, but it's not bad, I can appreciate it as something else to experience.

On with it then.  I'll copy down as much as I can about these teas and look up what I can of descriptions prior to the final edited write-up.

Yongde Ye Sheng, Hong Cha, 2020  (black tea from a relatively natural source,  I think that means).  Pulling up a random vendor description for that area:

https://camellia-sinensis.com/en/blog/new-discovery-pu-er-2019-yongde-da-shan

...After visiting Xishuangbanna, Jasmin traveled up north, towards the region of Pu Er, then to Lincang. In these regions, tea production is more modest and less famous (despite the presence of big names like Bingdao or Xigui). The traffic is much lower. Local buyers are rare here. Despite superb product quality, prices remain much lower than in Xishuangbanna. The Yongde region specifically is one of the few tea producing regions in Yunnan that still escapes the growing turmoil of the terroir and the high rise in prices we have seen in recent years... 

Moychay's description (from that link):

Red tea "Youngde Yesheng Hong Cha" made in 2020 in Youngde County, Yunnan province. The first spring shoots of wild tea trees were used as raw materials...

The bouquet of the ready-made tea is vivid, berry-and-woody with hints of barberry caramel, tropical flowers, aromatic wood resins, and exotic fruits. The fragrance is bright, berry-floral. The taste is rich and juicy, sweetish, with a fine woody tartness, spicy nuances, and the lingering finish.

That's about right.  The selling price seems a bit high compare to the Dian Hong (Yunnan black) I've tried or bought, but then this was a unique version, with market prices for materials shifting final selling prices, and different people could value the experience differently.  

Often Yunnan black teas are made from later harvested material, even sometimes from a middle harvest period between the spring and fall.  Sometimes that means that versions can lose a lot of intensity, but I think in some such cases it still tends to work out well, producing very pleasant versions that just need to be pushed a little harder and can brew out a bit fast.

Krasnodar Red Organic Tea, Spring 2020  I looked for a range of Russian teas in visiting Russia awhile back but only managed to find green tea from that country, and black teas from Georgia.

In appearance: large, reddish-brown, curved leaves with long cuttings and thin tips. The aroma is intensive, floral with a fruity accent. The liquor is transparent, with a shade of yellow amber.

The bouquet of ready-made tea is multifaceted and vivid, fruity-floral with notes of rye bread, spicy herbs and honey biscuit. The aroma is warm, fruity-and-biscuit. The taste is refined and full-bodied, silky and sweet, a bit tart, with berry acidity, spicy nuances and refreshing finish.

Krasnodar Red Gaba Tea (Diagomys), Spring 2020  that gaba version; should be interesting

In appearance: large, reddish-brown, curved leaves with long cuttings and thin tips. The aroma is intensive, floral with a honey accent. The liquor is transparent, with a shade of yellow amber.

The bouquet of ready-made tea is multifaceted and vivid, fruity-floral with honey, biscuit, citrus and spicy notes. The aroma is high and sweet, honey. The taste is refined and full-bodied, oily and sweet, with berry acidity, spicy nuances and long, refreshing finish.

Review:

Yongde black left, Krasodar middle, Krasnodar gaba right, in all photos

Yongde Ye Sheng: that's quite tart; it helps expecting that.  Even though that one aspect is a bit much for me to love the tea knowing that it's coming helps.  Of course the flavor is similar to cranberry, or something along that line.  I'm from a small town called Cranberry, actually (a bit unrelated).  Being a first infusing the aspects aren't fully developed yet, and with tartness that strong the rest isn't standing out.  As I remember the tartness should dominate the second round too, then ease up, and by around the fourth the character will be completely different.

Krasnodar black:  I did not see that coming.  There's a warm, rich, earthy-into-spice sort of complexity in this tea, dominated by pronounced range that's relatively completely unfamiliar to me.  As flavor goes it includes a sort of fresh baked bread warmth, and also slight sourness, but beyond the actual flavor there's an impression of lots of other complex range headed in different directions.  It's like the smell of a very old study (den, private library), with old books, leather, and old clocks and such giving off traces of completely unfamiliar scents, mostly in a warm, rich range, with the odd unfamiliar metallic or aromatic oil based note.  A decent amount of unfamiliar root spice rounds that out.  

The slight sourness leans towards a trace of mustiness, but within the next two rounds that it takes to evolve this to where it will be all that might change completely.  It's interesting, and positive in overall effect in this form.

Krasnodar gaba:  this is kind of the opposite, striking just one particular note (in opposition to the tea prior being a composite of a lot going on).  It's not the straight-sourness I've ran across in the oolongs but it's definitely in the sour range.  It helps having been drinking sour tea for a month or so to adjust to that range.  I just re-tried that Xiaguan wild sheng from Liquid Proust, and the theme really came together as common ground to me, after drinking that Monsoon Thai black at work a number of times.

This banging on the one particular note might be an issue.  I'm sure it will evolve in the next two infusions too, but it's not a great sign having it just show that narrow a range so early.  There is a hint of nice sweetness beyond that, and earthy warmth, towards the range of leather or maybe even cinnamon, but it will need to show through better to isolate and describe it.  

I'm in the habit of using the first round as a starting point, brewing it light to see where things are going, so part of these not evolving fast relates to my own personal approach to brewing.  Anyone using a rinse would skip past all that a different way (I only rinse pu'er and hei cha, as a rule, or maybe something else if an inclination strikes me).

Second infusion:

Yongde De Sheng:  coming in nicely; the next round should be more about where this is going.  It's a bit extra tart for my preference still but much better balanced already.  A lot of the other range is pleasant, even catchy.  This is fruity as black teas go, moving off the cranberry range into richer, sweeter fruit.  It even seems like a hint of citrus rounds that out, along the lines of blood orange, something rich and sweet (like a softer and sweeter version of red grapefruit).

Krasnodar black:  this shifted to become better than I thought it could; so fast.  There's still a "rustic" sort of edge to it, a trace of sourness, but the main range is very complex with pleasant flavors, and clean and sweet.  It's really too much to unpack, and interpretations would vary so much that two people drinking it together would probably be unlikely to agree.  It's interesting how "at the bottom" a mineral edge includes a trace of salt, rounding out the rest.  

I should be able to place this better, related to at least categories like fruit or floral, but the effect is that a lot is going on, making it hard to get a clear read on any one part of it.  That integrates well; that's what makes or breaks a tea this complex in profile, and in this case it works.  I think openness to range beyond a style that's exactly what you expect is also critical; this isn't a standard Chinese black tea form.  I'll pass on a main range to help at least make some sense; I get the effect that a main foundational context flavor is along the line of sweet potato or yam (probably yam, if I remember those right).  Then some earthy and floral range fills that in, along with that unusual mineral form.

Krasnodar gaba:  at least this did evolve a secondary pleasant flavor aspect to join the other, even in balance of input with it.  It's a sort of rose-floral note, as I interpret it.  It has a sweetness and lightness to it that it's also not so far from the Japanse sakura flavor (cherry blossoms), a distinctive floral scent.  A trace of fruit flavor probably is closest to actual cherry too.  If that sourness keeps dropping out (it's essentially secondary, at this point) and more complexity picks up this could be really pleasant.  It gives up a little being tasted next to a complex version of a tea, as if it should somehow match that.  Aspects grouping into a narrower range, or even being less intense, isn't necessarily a bad thing, since it's about how pleasant the combined set and overall effect are, not reaching some sort of score for one or more ranges.  

It is odd how this doesn't show the same earthy range of flavor common to most black tea, or really expressed as a broad range.  That other wild Thai black version I've been mentioning was like that; it just doesn't seem like a black tea.  Then if you can move past that and appreciate it for how it is, versus matching or not meeting expectations, it can be enjoyable.  Of course a tea completely matching your own preference is a different thing; that's going to work better.  But experiencing a range is interesting in a different way, and preferences can broaden over time.

This third round should be interesting, since all three of these seem to have been "heading somewhere," just in different senses.

Third infusion:

interesting color variations; the third doesn't really look like black tea

Yongde Ye Sheng:  that tartness is now a supporting element, maybe even one that someone could miss in interpreting the range of what is going on, although from expecting it that does stand out.  Other fruit and floral range is quite pleasant, with warm tones balancing that out nicely.  There is no noticeable astringency, just a bit of fullness to round out the feel.  I won't be saying a lot about feel or aftertaste range in this review, in part due to that not being pronounced for any of these, and also because comparing three teas narrows the range of focus down, to mostly considering only flavor.  It will probably work better to describe a flavor list for this tea next round.

Krasnodar black:  something distinctive evolved in this; it's cool feeling like I'm one step behind in really describing the range that I'm experiencing.  The main flavor base might still be something close to a well-roasted yam, with the sweetness and warmth that would emerge from that.  Warm mineral also stands out, but I think something along the line of root spice is what I'm talking about.  Or I suppose that could be a bark spice; the other range tied to mineral and the rest tends to mix.  It's hard to describe in detail but this works well because in spite of that complexity, the broad range this is covering, there are no negative aspects to work around.  Flavors are quite clean, sweetness is good, balance works, and none of those components seems off in any way.  A bit of mustiness, or mushroom, or less pleasant mineral would really throw off this final effect.  To play the devils' advocate the set of aspects and overall character is unusual, so not everyone would love it.  Beyond that it really works.

Krasnodar gaba:  compared to the last tea this is even more unusual in character, but what stands out drinking them one after the other is the split in one being complex and the other narrow in aspect-range scope.  This hasn't really shifted further; a pleasant light fruit tone, closest to cherry, stands out most, with some limited warmer range offsetting that.  The rest isn't that warm or heavy, towards cured hay, or even balsa wood.  In the end it's an odd effect, not unbalanced, but for sure not complex.  Pushing the tea and brewing it stronger might help, but that's only going to make that narrow range stronger.  There being some thickness to the feel helps, lending it that touch more complexity.  

The relatively neutral earthy tones are adding intensity to flavor, just in a way that's harder to notice or appreciate in relation to other range (fruit, floral, warm mineral tones, roasted yam).  Related to personal preference I can't say that I love this tea but I sort of get it.  It's not like for the Taiwanese oolong versions where an odd sourness made those hard to appreciate; that part transitioned away, for the most part.

Fourth infusion:

Yongde Ye Sheng:  really this is just getting into the range of character I would like most for this tea, per my last impression.  It will keep improving, but these review notes can't really cover 7 or 8 rounds because I just can't drink that much tea.  And I'm not going to throw some of the brewed tea away; to me that's disrespectful.  I get it how for tea professionals in lots of context that would seem silly, or stupid, or impractical, but I'm a tea drinker, not a tea professional.  If I don't want to discard brewed tea I don't have to.  If this review stops after 5 rounds instead of 8 that works for me.

Fruit range is complex for this tea, and mild earthy tone will keep picking up.  It's hinting a little towards cinnamon, and it will keep developing along that line, with fruit range that's closer to tart dropping out.  

Krasnodar black:  a heavier, deeper flavor keeps increasing.  It's almost like black licorice at this stage, a spice-like aspect.  In one sense this tea is great for exhibiting a lot of complexity, although I guess for the range being limited maybe it wouldn't match what someone expects.  Feel is smooth with some fullness, but there's no astringency.  To me that's positive, but I could imagine an Assam drinker seeing this as too thin.  Not to keep repeating, but the unconventional nature is either very positive or problematic, depending on how one takes that.

Krasnodar gaba:  maybe that last statement applies even more so to this tea.  It's narrower yet in aspect range, in a way that could naturally be interpreted as lacking depth and complexity, even balance.  A limited range of positive flavor does help, the light fruit tone, edging into sweet floral, with other relatively neutral earthier tones, along the lines of cured hay or mild root spice.  It might help to not expect this to be black tea at all.  I'm not sure what other range it maps better to though.  As with the Monsoon Thai black tea, the wild version, or maybe even more so their oolongs, it's kind of on its own page.

For being so mild this might work out well enough brewed "grandpa style," in a tea bottle or glass, left to stay in contact with the water as one drinks it.  That's one of the most traditional forms of brewing used in China, although it's seen as a "lower" form by some who are into Gong Fu practice, the relatively opposite approach of using a high proportion and short times, as I'm brewing these.  I've not been mentioning timing but I've been brewing these for around 15 seconds, maybe just over, plenty of time to get good infusion strength out of them, at these parameters.  For some teas you need to moderate that to offset one or more aspects (astringency, bitterness, or even flavor intensity) but these would all work at different infusion strengths, they are all quite mild.

It might be interesting to "push" them, to brew one more round closer to 30 seconds and see how that goes.  I think as I've been brewing them is more optimum, back at standard infusion strengths.

Fifth infusion:

Yongde Ye Sheng:  tartness picks back up for pushing infusion strength.  It's still pleasant, with a good bit of fruit coming across.  Part of that seems warm and rich to me, something towards dried longan, then other fruit range is lighter and quite different, like apple range, just not that of typical grocery store apples.  As a child we would go pick fresh apples at local orchards (in Western PA), and the range of apple types and flavors extends a lot beyond what is now sold in places like Wal-Mart.  Most of the types were better, as I remember, maybe just not as well-suited for large scale commercial production.  

Since this does include a bit of tartness it reminds me a little of how a fresh cider comes across, the fresh apple juice that naturally ferments as it contacts any air at all.  That can be really catchy, that final effect.  Maybe it's not closest to the range of best cider versions in this, and not nearly that intense, but it's along a similar line.

In tasting it in later rounds it occurred to me that it tastes closest to berry.  Doing reviews based on a single tasting version can miss something like that, the most obvious flavor interpretations, or other range.  I suppose getting a general impression across is the thing anyway, since interpretations would always vary.

Krasnodar black:  one interesting part of this tea has been that the flavor shifts every single round.  A lot of the same base is present, and it only changes so much round to round, but it does transition a lot.  Brewed a little stronger some tart / sour fruit comes out a little more, but the extra intensity also lets it show flavor depth across a broad range.  A lot of that is probably the effect of suggestion, but this reminds me a little more of apple in this round too.  Woodiness picks up a little too, in a range that's not easy to describe.  Coupled with that fruit and tanginess it's closest to types of fresh cut trees that wouldn't be familiar to many, or not so different than the scent of mowing down a "briar patch."  Like crab-apple wood scent, I guess, not that the description would clarify things for many.

Krasnodar gaba:  even with the bump in infusion strength this is still really mild.  It's interesting how there is a split in the range, how the light, sweet fruit and floral range is one part, and that doesn't necessarily connect with a soft and rich base of mild flavors.  Even though the effect is that of a tea without a lot of complexity it still works, those two notes that integrate nicely together.  For pushing the brewed strength the mild cured hay and root spice does edge a little toward a fresh wood tone, but in this case a very neutral version of one.  Like cutting into a sassafrass tree?  My wood harvesting days are so far back I'm just guessing at this point.  Cherry wood matches that fruit aspect, since the cut wood does contain the fruit scent, but I'm talking about the more neutral range instead.  Nothing like pine or oak, if that helps.  Maple wood can be a bit mild but this is even more mild.

Conclusions:

Three very different, interesting teas.  These have in common being unconventional.  I think if someone valued that experience, trying something new, these would work really well for them.  There was nothing really challenging about any of them, for lacking astringency, off flavors, or any negative range.  I suppose if someone dislikes tartness, as I did more in the past, then to some extent that could be a factor.

I personally don't think it's a good or bad thing to have a broad or narrow preference in the range of what you like in tea.  It's just a preference issue, only subjective.  I suppose local tea cultures might influence someone to experience more of one side or the other, to focus in on experiencing the highest quality versions of standard types, or explore common subthemes like aged teas, or else to branch out and try varying origin and styles of teas.  Getting to it all is relatively impossible, but putting focus on making the attempt would vary.

It goes without saying, but all of these teas would be fine brewed Western style.  Maybe even better; sometimes it does work out that mixing the aspect range of the narrow infusion time "slices" can be even more pleasant.  Only experimentation determines that, and as I keep saying personal preference would definitely be a factor.  I'll mess with these to see, but I probably won't check back in to mention that, since I keep moving on to trying other things.

they also sent some teaware; they've been experimenting with making that this year

really interesting character for those pieces; one is more "organic" than I'm used to seeing