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I commute by bicycle, often leaving before dawn, and taking fire roads over the spine of the Santa Monica range before descending down to the ocean. Over the weekend a fire erupted on the hill-side just above Mandeville Canyon, consuming all the dead brush as it climbed up to Kenter/Canyonback. The fire crews were still mopping up this morning, but they ignored me as I pedaled past their staging area and over the blackened soil, still smoldering in places, smoke languidly rising to join the marine layer. Earlier, this same fog had pushed the hawks down out of the sky, one red-tail passing just 10 feet overhead before alighting on its prey immediately across the road as I climbed Mulholland Dr.

I mention these things in passing (as well as a Memorial Day weekend suffused with smoked brisket, Alasdair Fraser/Natalie Haas, and Laphroaig) as they all served to prime me for this tea:

Prepared in my Jian Shui gaiwan, and served in my porcelain tea cup via my glass cha hai. Filtered Santa Monica municipal water just off the boil throughout.

The dry leaves are pure pine smoke, but faint mineral and stone fruit aromas emerge from the wet leaves (possibly taking on some qualities from the un-glazed clay?).

Mahogany liquor; beach bonfire aromatics are more subtle than anticipated; delicately smoky flavor profile with a sweet vaguely spicy core suggesting sarsaparilla; not too drying in the finish, and free of any acrid notes, char, or heavy phenolics. Hints of peat, wood, and fruit in the periphery. Smooth and almost creamy. A well crafted hong cha, the smoke serves to elevate the best elements of the leaves rather than hide their short-comings.

A fairly brief session, forcefully punctuating the workday morning – 8 infusions ranging from 20 seconds to 2 minutes, though I would use more leaf next time if I wanted to push beyond 5 or 6 infusions.

Popped a bag of this open a couple weeks ago to compare with the “Old Style” Dong Ding from the same vendor. While the “Old Style” might have more complexity, I appreciate the slightly increased flavor potency afforded by the baking/roasting – it’s a reasonable trade-off:

Filtered Santa Monica municipal water, to glass cha hai, to my Taiwanese purple clay tea-pot (mostly used for heavy roast oolong), back to the glass cha hai, into my porcelain cup.

Pleasant, sweet, slightly vegetal aroma post-rinse.

3 steeps at 45 seconds: Amber liquor; hay, paraffin, roast nuts, butter bean, and toasted honey in the nose and on the palate – floral/herbal notes emerge in the finish, which is surprisingly long and satisfying. The lingering sweetness reminds me of custard.

6 more steeps, gradually extending from 60 seconds out to 3 minutes: As above but the character of the aftertaste settles down to a more unified note (reminding me of fennel pollen), and the color gradually becomes both lighter and more drab. This remains drinkable for a long time, with day-old leaves giving you a few more steeps the following morning, the flavors diminished but not lost, flattened but not disordered…

Similar to the Old Style Dong Ding, but exchanging some of the subtle complexity for a bit more longevity…well balanced and gentle, but not too light.

Sampled a while ago, but didn’t have time to write out any notes – revisiting after a few months of aging/airing out:

Brewed in my porcelain Jingdezhen gaiwan with Los Angeles municipal tap water, just off the boil throughout.

Looking at the dry leaf – brittle seal brown chunks could be petrified guano, but have faint cocoa and fish aromatics. After a rinse, the wet material suggests leaf litter, smothered campfires, steamed banana leaves, brine, and a finishes with a vaguely phenolic note (not quite band-aids).

10 steeps at 10 seconds each, and another 5 steeps at 15-25 seconds each: Russet to seal brown liquor, enveloped in steam which seems almost supernaturally thick. Smooth, earthy, with the sweetness of a potato on the palate, and hints of loam, root cellar, river stones, hen-of-the-woods, hay loft, and horse trough in the finish. No bitterness; decent thickness. Pleasant and easy drinking despite the above descriptors. Consistent across the session. Caffeine (I hesitate to say cha qi) builds gradually but never overwhelms.

A tasty shou, a serviceable daily drinker (that will go on infusing all day), and even better as part of a savory/spicy breakfast.

Received as a generous sample from the proprietor. I believe this is the 2015 harvest, but no idea on the season.

Brewed in my porcelain Jingdezhen gaiwan with Los Angeles municipal tap water, boiled and allowed to cool to ~185ºF before steeping. One quick rinse.

8 steeps starting from 35 seconds and eventually working up to 2 minutes.

Pale amber-tinged liquor (difficult to assess color in my stoneware cup); moderate roast is central to the aroma in the cup, while slightly sour oxidization notes dominate the leaves. Wet stones, forest floor, black walnut, and faint raisin flavors emerge on the palate. Smooth, gentle mouth-feel, no tannins, and lacking any char or bite (the bake accentuates rather than overwhelms the underlying qualities of the cultivar). Decent longevity to the flavor, tapering off slowly and evenly over subsequent infusions.

Excellent quality leaves without a doubt, though I find my curiosity about their potential for aging/re-roasting almost surpasses my enjoyment of them in their current form – Tea Trekker and Floating Leaves appear to have very similar offerings at wide ranging price points, so I would shop around a bit before ordering larger quantities of this.

Received as a generous sample from the proprietor, this Qing Xin cultivar was picked 10-11 months ago and stored in a sealed vacuum pack until today (I did give it some time to air out).

Brewed in my porcelain Jingdezhen gaiwan. Boiled, slightly cooled Los Angeles tap water throughout. No rinse.

7 steeps at 1min, 1min, 1min, 1.5min, 2min, 3min, and 5min:

Pale, nearly colorless liquor; sweet, floral (gardenia, lilac?), honey-like aroma; alfalfa, guava, and subtle hints of clover and cream on the palate. Smooth, surprisingly thick mouth-feel. Impressive longevity…the flavors, especially the natural sweetness are not quick to diminish.

Buttery, clean, sweet, spring-time-in-a-cup – very good.

This is actually TC26, which appears to be the same as TC27, so:

Brewed in my black, Korean infuser cup – so as usual, I didn’t note the color (a rich copper or russet I assume).

The dry leaves are fine, even, black, platinum-tipped wires.

Very sweet (fruity) and floral aromatics, even before I add water; doing so actually seems to diminish the complexity of the liquor’s aroma (which is a very gentle version of the flavor), although the leaves take on some vegetal and honey notes.

Rich, deep, remarkably persistent cocoa-powder notes with softer hints of pipe tobacco and malt on the palate. Mild bitterness throughout. Medium-dry finish. Hints of light roast coffee at times in the after-taste – would take milk well, but this is certainly a refined self-drinker on its own.

Soft yet lively body, mild astringency to balance the sweetness.

Delicious (but a bit potent caffeine-wise) afternoon tea – doubt you’ll find a better low-land Ceylon than from this estate – comparable to some high-grade Keemun teas, albeit significantly more affordable.

Winter 2016 version.

Vernal equinox at hand, and feeling vaguely renewed after attending a wonderful Nowruz family luncheon, I thought this tea might serve me well as a way of demarcating the seasonal shift.

Filtered Santa Monica municipal water, to glass cha hai, to my Taiwanese purple clay tea-pot (mostly used for heavy roast oolong), back to the glass cha hai, into my porcelain cup.

Rinse: Once the leaves are wet the aromatics come to life dramatically: butterscotch, chestnut, fresh bush/wax beans, freshly cleaned wood, etc.

45sec: Greenish lemon chiffon liquor; aromatic but weaker than the wet leaves held under the nose; very delicate nectar-like sweetness emerges from the depths of the finish. Wild grasses, with hints of melon as well.

60sec: More of the same. Fresh cream flavors accentuate the mouth-feel, and suggest hints of butterscotch as well. Lots of floral notes in here, though they largely remain secondary to the gentle sweetness up front and rounding things out.

90sec: Pushing the leaf a bit, liquor darkens slightly to a canary yellow; a hint of spice perhaps (coriander? stale dried mint?) develops, finishes slightly more herbal – otherwise consistent with the initial steeps.

4 – 5 more steeps from 90 seconds up to 3 minutes before the sweetness fades and the floral complexity is diminished/muddled.

Overall – light, floral, creamy, and moderately energizing. Looking forward to trying the roasted version from the same vendor…

I’ve yet to sample any Yancha or Taiwanese black teas, so I can’t honestly say I taste their influence, even if there are similarities in production between these styles and the tea presently under consideration.

Steeped 8 times without a wash, starting from 10 seconds, increasing the steep time by 10 seconds as needed to preserve the character/color.

There is a distinctive aroma to the dried leaves, floral with hints of honey and something akin to leather or wood – difficult to place.

Gamboge liquor, with the same distinctive floral aroma as the dried leaf, joined now by some delicate but bright stone-fruit notes (nectarine), and a somewhat earthy finish with hints of nettle. Not quite sweet, though rounded and mellow throughout. Fairly rich mouth-feel, though I wouldn’t say “thick.” Very low astringency, this would probably work if prepared western-style as well.

Caffeine sneaks up on you – a fairly speedy cup.

Unique, well crafted, reasonably priced, though I doubt I would re-buy.

Just realized I’ve nearly finished my supply of this without posting any impressions.

Prepared in my Jian Shui gaiwan. Filtered Santa Monica municipal water just off the boil throughout – from gaiwan to glass cha hai to bone porcelain cup:

Twisted, wilted, very dark individual leaves with some rust/gold tips remind me of talons.
No wash, steeped around 10 times, slowly moving up from 10 seconds to a full minute by the final pour.

Marigold liquor that grows more auburn as you extend the steep time – almost like the tea is blushing, embarrassed for me for steeping it too long. The aroma of the dry and wet leaves is consistent, singular, and difficult to find a direct analogy for. Hints of cream, straw, and low earthy and floral aromatics round out the profile.

The flavor adds a mild biscuit malt character to the nose, along with chocolate, toasted pecans, and some (wine like?) minerality (wet stones) in the finish.

Smooth, pleasant mouth-feel with no perceptible astringency unless you let it steep for several minutes.

As described, this is a mellow but characterful black tea with some qualities of an oolong. A very good value, and quite pleasurable on a rainy/Winter day.