Yunnan Sourcing

[Autumn 2017 harvest]

I am very happy about the developments of this tea over time. It is now even more oxidized and starts to resemble a black tea. However, beneath its undeniable sweetness, there hides a well-balanced character without an overbearing complexity that is common among high-end black teas. One other general observation to note is the longevity that is almost unparalleled for a tea at this price point. One can easily push the tea beyond 350ml/g, and this may improve even further with subsequent aging.

The aromas seem to be more pronounced than before. Before the rinse, there are notes of white peach, cherry wood, hot hay, and other floral ones. On the other hand, during the session I can detect hints of apple, peach blossoms and other flowers, shellfish, maple syrup, and sugarcane emerging from the gaiwan.

The taste profile is decidedly sweet and woody, with occasional dips into floral, fruity, and towards the second half also malty and bitter territories. The very end of the session is characterized by a smooth, creamy and mineral taste though. Additionally, flavours of nectar, sandalwood, apricot, winter honey, nougat, and tree bark that come up over the course of the session.

The aftertaste is slightly drying, warming and coupled with a throat tingling sensation. As I mentioned in earlier notes, it is quite a subtle aftertaste. Compared to the sensations from the liquor itself, I find it to have more of the dry grass and thistle notes, but overall it’s fairly similar just more floral.

[Autumn 2017 harvest]

I am revisiting this little cake today. I store it like the rest of my white tea cakes, sealed with no active humidification although I did give it a bit of humidity initially with a boveda pack.

The aging is slow, but still much faster than any of my raw pu’er, as one would expect. The dry leaf aroma is a bit more muted now, while the wet leaves have some new scents of apricot, caramel and wood. The taste is more tart/fruity and less grassy overall. I noticed new flavours such as red apple and tamarind. Aftertaste is quite drying and has a distinctive caffeine bitterness. These moonlight whites tend to be fairly caffeinated and this tea underscores that. The liquor has a medium body and a smooth, velvety mouthfeel.

[Autumn 2017 harvest]

Even though none of the flavours of this moonlight white are particularly uncommon, I found the combination fairly unusual. In any case it is very tasty. The overarching theme is provided by the various shades of sweet, with a fight between floral/hay and malty/fruit notes.

The dry leaves smell of books and haystacks. The aroma becomes quite strange in a preheated gaiwan. I get coconut macaroons and cognac, but I recognize even that is very far from what it actually smells like. Wet leaves don’t have such a distinctive smell, it is mostly floral and woody. As for the liquor itself, the dominant aroma is that of fruit blossoms.

As I mentioned, the taste is sweet, but remains balanced for most of the session. The main notes are malt, dried fruit (dates), sandalwood, molasses and dry grass. There is a light sourness and the late infusions remind me of Himalayan black teas with a decent astringency and a mixture of grassy, floral, fruity (blackberry, lychee) and malty tones. Aftertaste is subtle and the only new flavour is the one of white peach, which is probably a variant of the fruit blossom one.

All in all, I can definitely recommend this tea, especially given the very friendly price. It has a lot of caffeine and a thick, although not too exciting mouthfeel. From the 6g, I got 9 pretty strong 90ml infusions, which is really good too.

I haven’t been drinking much Dan Cong recently, but with the arrival of spring (finally!) I am more tempted to return to this category. This particular one is a very fragrance and texture focused tea. It doesn’t shine in taste or cha qi.

Especially the aromas are incredibly complex and varying. The dry leaf smell is sweet and floral (a little bit like sheng) with notes of wood, cinnamon, orchid, beeswax, green apple and sunflower seeds. Once hit with water, it gets more fruity, thick and spicy. There are hints of cranberry, campfire, tulips and green grass at an outside pool.

The taste starts quite floral and metallic. There is generally not much bitterness, which is why I tend to brew it aggressively. I get flavours of stonefruits, nuts, peach pit, wet hay and roasted pear. It’s not a bad taste profile and I think the taste is quite well defined and memorable, but it’s not exactly my favourite. The aftertaste is not super strong, but it lasts for a very long time and it retains a lot of the tart and fruity notes.

The mouthfeel is very interesting and one the highlights for sure. It is very heavy, buttery, somewhat brassy and a little effervescent. After swallowing, the tea leaves a slick, cooling and drying feeling in the mouth.

This is clearly a high quality tea, but since the fruity taste profile is not quite my cup of tea, I rate it lower.

This is the first Shui Jin Gui I have ever tried I think. Despite the dark coloured leaves, the liquor is actually not as dark. It a very aromatic and complex tea, but I’d say its aroma is more interesting than taste. I am not quite sure if it’s worth the price for me personally. Maybe yes, but not as a high priority buy, rather to keep diversity in my stash. It also doesn’t last very long, I can’t seem get much more than 100 ml/g of tea from it.

That being said, the range of aromas really is mind-blowing and I just can’t stop sniffing it :D
Dry leaves smell floral with a stonefruit note not unlike some Dan Cong oolongs. In a preheated gaiwan, I get further notes of dark wood, coffee and caramel. Once soaked in water, the aromas change significantly. There are notes of char, toffee, peat, smoke, petrichor, volcanic soil, black pepper and others. It is a sweet and somewhat metallic scent. In an empty cup, I detect further notes of frankincense and maple.

The rinse has a nice bubbly mouthfeel and full body, but it’s not very flavourful, just a roasty sweet (and thick) water. Later infusions showcase a mineral and smooth taste profile with no bitterness or astringency. Particular flavours include caramel, wood, hops, nectarine, sage, apricot pits, and licorice. There is a decent complexity in the taste, but it’s nowhere near as pungent as the aroma. The aftertaste is stronger, with a spicy, fragrant, and woody character.

The mouthfeel is very slick and soft, with a cooling and mouth-watering effect. I also notice a quick and relaxing cha qi.

At this point, the tea is not very exciting overall. The flavours are somewhat muted, and there is also some surt of off-putting taste to it. Moreover, I don’t really enjoy the sort of bitterness it has when overbrewed, which reminds me of an overbrewed mint tea.

Nevertheless, it is still a very much drinkable white tea and I am interested in how it develops further.

At the moment, some notes I get are celery, hay, chicken broth, snail meat, and various herbs.

Even 4 years old, this tea still has a little bit of a youthful character to it. Nevertheless, the astringency seems to now appear only towards the end of the session and a lot of the floral notes are receding.

The dry leaf aroma is sweet with notes vanilla, cognac, definitely quite distinct from a fresh silver needle. After the rinse, it smells somewhat metallic. There are notes of thistles, dry earth, pumpkin and cape gooseberry.

The last one is prominent in the taste as well, especially in early steeps. One can still clearly detect basic hay and dry grass notes. However, there is also more fruitiness in the mostly sweet and sour flavour profile. Beyond that I get a light woody and spice (black pepper) flavours, as well as some hint of funky acidity. The aftertaste is a little bitter and carries a strong cooling sensation.

I can’t detect much change in this cake as compared to a year ago, but it does seem to be a bit sweeter and more medicinal, have a slightly thicker body, and a more pronounced cooling and numbing sensation in the throat.

None of the developments are too surprising, but it’s nice to see a Silver Needle cake heading in the right direction. I am not sure what is the common wisdom on aging pure bud white teas, but it’s clearly not very common when one looks at the market with aged white teas.

This is not the most interesting Silver Needle I came across. It will be interesting to track its aging process though. It takes a while to open up, but once it does, the liquor has a medium body and the taste is quite strong, albeit not too distinctive. The aromas I get are the standard ones – dry grass, forest floor, florals and mushrooms, as well as some fruit in the wet leaf. The taste is quite sweet and citrusy with notes of lemon balm, lemongrass and pine. Astringency is mostly felt in the throat and is quite strong, but not overpowering.

This seemed happiest with higher-than-average (for me) leaf-to-water. Lovely sepia-to-light-amber brew. Very comforting flavors, mostly in the rich wuyi-type family but a bit brighter/lighter than its cousins.

~7g/100ml
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Dry leaf appearance – medium-sized leaves and a fair number of silky, golden-haired buds distributed throughout

Dry leaf smell – menthol, camphor, eucalyptus, tobacco, dried apricots, slight hint of wintergreen

Wet leaf smell – boiled plums, raisin bread pudding, golden raisins, dark bread dough, slight tartness, raisin bread french toast – the smell of it caramelizing on the pan, autumn leaves, slight smokiness, burnt tobacco,

Liquor – deep golden yellow that is well on its way to becoming a nice orange hue

Texture – thick and very soft; gentle going down the throat; coats the tongue and palate and leaves the slightest tingle

Taste – immediately sweet like some kind of light nectar or syrup but it leads into a relatively standard raw taste; flowery, but I’m not sure what – perhaps orange blossoms; there is a hint of a Grand Marnier-ish flavour; very sweet at first, moves into a savoury bready taste, but finishes in a slight almost pharmaceutical bitterness – but not in a bad way, as strange as it sounds. Each sip is like a little journey

Empty cup – it’s like a simple syrup that has been lightly infused with a citrus zest

Mouth finish – the coating lingers and the tingle intensifies – especially on the tip of the tongue – as the pharmaceutical bitterness quickly subsides to produce a very sweet salivation that closely matches the initial taste of the liquor itself

Wet leaf – beautiful, healthy-looking and full leaves and buds for the most part; the few broken leaves are likely my fault since I’m away from home and don’t have access to a proper pick or knife.

Body feel – a light, heady feeling followed the first infusion, and it brings a nice focused feeling. This is another nice one for reading. Edit: by the eighth infusion, I no longer feel capable of reading… This is one strong tea! It’s really turned me inward and I’m now just sitting here staring into space and contemplating life and the nature of reality.
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I bought this tea on a whim and it seriously paid off – I love it! I thought it would be interesting to try, especially since I’ve never had a raw in this age-range, but I wasn’t expecting this much! It’s a really engaging tea that goes from sweet and innocent to a burly powerhouse throughout the course of the session, though there is no unpleasant bitterness or astringency. It is a well-rounded and enjoyable daily drinker, though I may have to get another cake to see how it ages out.

I’m not usually a fan of Jingmai teas but this one is a winner. Floral, oily, powerful energy and $.25 a gram make this great bang for the buck. Oh yeah and I got over a dozen steeps.

This is the lightest shou I have encountered to date. It is surprisingly delicate with no strong flavours or aromas, medium body and I didn’t really feel any cha qi either, despite what Scott writes in the description. I even forgot about the fourth infusion (which is usually one of the strongest) for several minutes. Still, there was almost no bitterness. Instead I got some umami coming out. The mouthfeel was smoother and bubbly, rather than numbing and watery with shorter steeps. As for particular notes, I picked up berries and other fruits in the smell and aftertaste, as well as some malt. The taste is mostly sweet, but nothing overpowering, as you could probably guess.

All in all, this is a tea that is strangely memorable for its lack of any memorable aspects. Nothing really stands out. Nevertheless, it is tasty and has some nuances to be explored, mostly in the mouthfeel. I am curious how it will perform with a simmer, which I plan to do at the end of this session.

Thanks, Derk :D.

I often make ochazuke (Pour green tea over rice, add seasonings and toppings) on a cold afternoon, and I constantly thought of that while sipping this tea because it’s so flavorful.

The dry leaves had a sweet, vegetal aroma. After the rinse, the wet leaves had an intense vegetal – soybean aroma. The first few infusions, it was a thick, comforting, extremely vegetal, brothy, savory soup. Throughout the infusions, lots of different notes entered the picture: edamame, spring peas, umami, broccoli, spinach, seaweed, bamboo, sweet grass, cream, butter, sugarcane, roasted chestnuts, and honey notes. It had light mineral notes and some wood. Throughout the infusions, there was slight astringency but like the bitterness, it was balanced.

This tea embodies what is so great about Laoshan green. It is creamy, has a buttery smooth texture, has a plethora of complex and potent flavors and aroma that I just know I missed hehe. Vegetal, sweet, savory, soy, mineral and the umami flavor that lingered in my mouth long after each infusion. Derk had written on the sample that it was past it’s prime but it was so good that I’ll definitely go for this coming year’s release to compare.

Porcelain gaiwan, 5g, 175°F, 110ml, rinse, 11 steeps: 5s, 10s, 15s, 20s, 25s, 35s, 45s, 55s, 65s, 75s, 120s

This was the last tea I consumed in January. I needed a break from Dan Cong oolongs at the time, so I turned back to one of my first loves: Wuyi black tea. I usually enjoy Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong, but I had no clue what to expect from this one. The spring 2016 version of this tea was not a favorite of mine, so I went into the review session for this one not expecting much. As it turned out, this tea pretty much blew me away. It was not nearly as bitter or astringent as the spring 2016 offering and also displayed greatly improved depth and complexity.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 15 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of honey, pine, chocolate, cinnamon, and baked bread. After the rinse, I detected aromas of roasted almond, roasted peanut, and malt. The first infusion introduced aromas of rose, orange zest, cedar, and juniper. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of honey, baked bread, malt, roasted almond, roasted peanut, earth, orange zest, and rose that were accompanied by hints of chocolate and chased by pleasant creamy and toasty qualities on the swallow. The subsequent infusions introduced stronger aromas of rose as well as scents of wintergreen, violet, minerals, earth, grass, toast, vanilla, red apple, cream, brown sugar, and lemon zest. Stronger and more immediate chocolate, cream, and toast notes appeared in the mouth along with impressions of pine, cinnamon, and cedar and a few stray hints of juniper. New notes of brown sugar, minerals, wintergreen, plum, violet, red apple, vanilla, lemon zest, pear, vanilla, grass, and oats emerged, and I also picked up some hints of hay. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized dominant impressions of minerals, cream, malt, oats, lemon zest, orange zest, grass, earth, and baked bread that were balanced by hints of violet, vanilla, rose, pear, roasted almond, pine, cinnamon, red apple, wintergreen, and honey.

This was a ridiculously complex Wuyi black tea that yielded an incredibly aromatic, flavorful, and textured liquor. Even more impressive is the fact that it was so well-balanced. Nothing seemed out of place or over-emphasized to me. Overall, this was an exceptional black tea. Had it not faded rather quickly, I would have scored it much closer to 100.

This was the last of the Dan Cong oolongs I consumed in January. It seems that 2017 was a good year for Dan Cong teas as the overwhelming majority of the 2017 Dan Cong oolongs I have tried from Yunnan Sourcing have been very good. This one was no exception. I found it to be more complex than the Spring 2016 Bai Ye I tried last year, though I also found this tea to have a bit of a bite and to not be quite as smooth.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After the rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 203 F water for 6 seconds. This infusion was followed by 15 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and 7 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of orchid, pomegranate, nectarine, candied pomelo, and cherry. After the rinse, I noted new aromas of lotus, honey, hibiscus, orange blossom, and almond. The first infusion brought out aromas of spinach, baked bread, and butter. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of nectarine, pomegranate, honey, orchid, candied pomelo, and cherry that were chased by slightly subtler impressions of almond, baked bread, butter, and vanilla. The subsequent infusions introduced aromas of green bell pepper, chili leaf, vanilla, and wood. Lotus, hibiscus, and orange blossom notes emerged in the mouth along with hints of spinach. Impressions of cream, minerals, chili leaf, green bell pepper, pear, wood, lychee, peach, and white grape also appeared. As the tea faded, lingering mineral, green bell pepper, baked bread, cream, butter, wood, and almond were underscored by hints of lotus, orchid, vanilla, spinach, candied pomelo, white grape, and peach.

This was a very nice Bai Ye, but I found it to be slightly prickly and sharp in places; the tea’s woodier and more vegetal qualities sometimes undercut its gorgeous floral and fruity characteristics. Still, this was a very good Dan Cong oolong, one that fans of such teas would likely appreciate greatly. Even though there are smoother Bai Ye oolongs out there, one could do far, far worse than give this one a shot.

I like this tea quite a bit. Good complexity with the blend bringing an interesting session. This is really what I’d expect in just an everyday shou for me.

The cake has a mellow aroma – hardwood and molasses, no funk now while there was maybe a touch at arrival.

Taste is very multi-dimensional with ginseng and dark chocolate with more bitterness early on. Personally, I love some bitterness in shou and I’d say this is a fairly midline bitterness, nowhere near the Hai Lang Hao LaoMan’E ripe. Middle steeps are more or less chocolate while later ones are more like that antique shop taste of aged shou.

This has a nice warming energy to it and steeps for a good time as well.

All in all, I’m happy with this. If you liked the 2017 Crimson Rooster, grab this.

I recently sampled and reviewed the 2006 version of this and found it to be a good example of a solid semi aged Lincang that offered the typical flavor profile (no wild/purple tea character)and qi that performed well above its price range. This 2008 is a different animal altogether. Here, the wild in its title stands out. If I blind tasted this I would guess it was a 10 year old Wuliang wild cake with its bitter licorice and fig notes. The qi is nice but I can’t comment too much on that as I drank a pot of Last Thoughts with breakfast and that tea can elevate ones mood for prolonged periods.. I’m on steep 6 and the wild king is showing no signs of slowing down. If you are a fan of adolescent purple teas this one is solid. I was expecting something similar to the 06 with possibly diminished leaf quality with the growing popularity of Bingdao area teas. Instead I taste something radically different but still quite good I need a few semi aged purple cakes and have a few samples of cakes from Wu liang I want to taste beside this. It’s definitely on the short list.

Traditional tie luo han spring 2018. I like this tea, it has strong malty and roasty shent. I rinsed the tea, then I steeped for 10/15/20/25/30/35/40/45 seconds 1.5 minutes with 96 C water. The liquor is clear and orange, it darken a bit once in the cup.
First comes the malt and roast aroma, then a strong mineral taste starts to built on and it lasts until the end. The taste become like sour and after some infusions you fill a pleasant astringency in the back of your throat.
It is complex and with strong character

decent tea that gives out several good brews, but feels tame to me. maybe the initial price was good value and price increases diminished that , or maybe it is entering the weird maturing period puer has between the ages of 2-6 ..