I sat down this morning and did a side by side comparative tasting of some Ai Lao. I tasted 2014 Spring Ai Lao, 2014 Autumn Ai Lao and 2015 Spring Ai Lao from Yunnan Sourcing and 2016 Ai Lao from Whispering Pines. I should note right off that I am entirely uncertain the teas are the same teas and can be compared as such. These were all recently purchased from the suppliers so did not suffer from ill storage in my care. :)
Physically, the leaves all look similar. Long, branchy and twiggy looking.
Dry leaf scent in warmed gaiwan:
2014 S – hay and molasses cookies
2014 A – hay, wine and molasses but not cookies
2015 S – hay and smoke
2016 WP – grapes, fruit, cookies and sweetness
First steep at 200F, 1 minute (I tasted at 30 seconds and was underwhelmed so let them go a bit longer):
2014 S – Really pretty bland with no standout notes for me. A very light tea, though not unpleasant.
2014 A – Kind of ashy like wood ashy with some sour notes like lightly fermented fruit.
2015 S – Moderately smokey but the smoke overwhelms the fruity notes
2016 WP – Deeply sweet and malty, nectar like with a pronounced fruit note
The YS teas felt very thin, the WP tea was thicker.
I’m really not sure it’s fair to compare these as exemplars of the same region/varietal/style as they are soooo different. Surely harvest alone can’t make that much difference?
My personal verdict is that the WP version I would and will suck down like mad and mourn when it is no longer available.
The YS-es I will keep some of the Autumn 2014 and pass them all along to someone else I know who would like to do this and has a much better developed and nuanced palate than I. :)
Oh, and while I did these in gaiwans, I didn’t attempt to gong fu steep them. The use of gaiwan was simply for convenience when doing 4 side by sides.
I love that you compared these, as I was wondering! I was debating on ordering one of these High Mountains before I saw this.