Tea Mountain

A good quality DJ that however doesn’t stand out all that much. It is very fresh tasting and has a relatively strong and energizing cha qi.

Dry leaves smell of meat and hay, while wet ones have an aroma of pepper flowers, bread, and onions. The tea is pungent with notes of yellow bell pepper, citrus fruits, custard, almonds and plant stems. There is quite a lot of bitter and sour notes, including some goat cheese in the aftertaste.

The description of this tea mentions that the cultivar originates from Fujian. The dry leaf smell, however, reminds me of Dan Cong oolongs, but it’s even more fruity. There are notes of watermelon, peach and other fruits. After the leaves open up, the aroma changes to a more floral, grassy and spicy one. I also get some curious notes of stir fried beef and shrimps.

I found the taste to be very hard to describe. I don’t think I’ve ever had Ai Jiao yancha, but the taste profile does bear resemblance to a fruitier version of some rock oolongs. It has strong minerality and floral components. I brewed it quite strong today, which meant a less balanced profile, but the evolution of the various tastes and textures is pronounced this way and very unique. At first sip, the bitterness hits, followed by an astringency spreading all over my mouth and a tingling sourness at the back. After swallowing, I get a warming sensation spreading through my body and a fragrant, floral aftertaste that slowly gives way to a rock sugar and cantaloupe sweetness. At first, the cha qi seems to be more of a bodily experience, but over time I notice heightened sensations as well.

All in all, this is a tea that I think has to be experienced, there is nothing like it in my past drinking experiences to be honest.

Song pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwcaDvr8f1o

I don’t have much information about this tea. I bought it in Bratislava in a tea house after trying it out. It was labelled as Shui Xian Huang Pian. I am not sure where it was grown, but it’s quite possible that it is from Wuyi Shan. My guess is that it is the leftover leaves from yancha production, processed as a sheng pu’er.

The aroma reminds me of summer in Liguria with fruity and herbal scents. It also reminds me of a very fruity sheng. In the preheated gaiwan, I can smell coffee tiramisu and black pepper in the background. The wet leaves are mostly mineral and floral smelling on the other hand.

The taste is extremely mineral, bitter, crisp and vegetal with a sweet finish. It really tastes like a sheng, but much more mineral than your standard pu’er. The aftertaste is spicy, expansive with a returning sweetness. Liquor is medium bodied with a creamy texture. Overall, the cha qi is quite body warming and focusing.

Smells of nutmeg, stewed celery and somewhat sweet and earthy. Today it tastes very mild, uninteresting and kind of sickly. I remember it being much better when I tried it in the tea house. Next time I’ll try a more gong fu like setup.