ShuiXian

I got a sample of this one from a teafriend – not 100% sure it was this exact Shui Xian, but I’m just gonna leave my note here. This tea was smooth and easy to drink. Roasty without being overroasted. Sweet roasty notes with a bit of fruit in the finish. It’s been a while since I’ve had a nice yancha, so this one was a treat!

This tea peaked my interest with the use of the term Zheng Yan. Zheng Yan, true cliff, is an area with in Wuyi Shan about 18 square miles, that is the most revered location for yan cha. So far only Tea Drunk has used this specific location when talking about their teas, so when I saw Cha Ceremony using it I had to try.

On the rinse I knew it was a Shui Xian and I knew it would be good. Shui Xian is probably the Yan Cha I am most familiar with and can distinguish the best so that is why I choose to start with it.

The roast was good. Often times with Yanchas you get an over roast. An overly roasted tea means that there was a flaw that the producer/farmer tried to cover up with the roast. In Cha Ceremony’s the roast was in balance with the rest of the tea. The body was good too. A full round body. I detected a mineralness on the teeth which is a sign it is from the general region of Zhengyan.

There was only one major flaw I picked out, and that was a sourness. While it was pretty apperent from the first steep, the body and roast of this tea made it not too offensive and did not ruin the tea.

I didnt quiet get burnt caramel, instead I got cigar smoke, sour plum, metallic.

Trying this tea again using less leaf. This is I find a heavily roasted oolong, at least to my tastes. It is much improved using less leaf. The roast character was not quite as dominant. I used 6g of leaf in a 120ml gaiwan. The roast flavor was dominant for about the first two steeps. What was left behind afterward was much more pleasant. I’m not sure how to describe the note so I won’t speculate. I ended up giving this eight steeps and it was pretty much played out at eight. Had I used more leaf I’m sure I would have gotten more steeps out of it. I think this is a good quality tea. It took me a couple of tries to get this where I liked it. I am not a big fan of roast flavor but I did manage to enjoy this tea.

I steeped this tea eight times in a 120ml gaiwan with 6g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, anad 30 sec.

I just read the description for this brew, and I can confirm that it is lovely for a cold day. Today has been dark and gloomy, and I’m finishing up all my work before my birthday. I took a break to enjoy this and hopefully warm me up. The pouch emits a delicious char aroma, and it is very intense. I placed a generous amount in my warmed gaiwan and gave it a shake. The aroma deepens to a nice toasted wood. I’m loving these warm tones. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The steeped leaves keep the consistent char, embers, and resinous scents. The brew is delightful! The drink carries a nice pleasing roasted flavor. This tone is not over powering, and it soothes the body. The sips contain a light bite present in the aftertaste that keep the mouth alert and the taste buds intrigued. I enjoyed each steep of this. I noticed a slight sweet aftertaste and a well mixture of burnt sugar, roast, and smooth caramel tones. I was able to pull about six steeping sessions from my gaiwan. I sat by the window watching the snow fall on the pond as I sipped away at this roasty treat. This brew made for a very nice moment of peace and quiet. The drink has a nice head feeling and good body to it. The tea carries no overly complex tones, but it’s perfectly okay and makes up for it with a pleasant, fragrant experience. This is perfect for a cold day. I’m glad I had this moment, and I enjoyed this offering very much!

https://www.instagram.com/p/-CmvtwTGbr/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

Nichole generously sent me a sample of this. It sounded interesting from the tasting notes but unfortunately for me, I think this is far too roasty an oolong. I do get the roasty mineral notes but none of the floral notes. I can see where burnt caramel is something people taste. Glad to have tried this but I don’t think my palate appreciates the roasted oolongs still. :)

Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum! (Can you tell I liked this one?)

This is my first step into a straight oolong and not a flavored one. I’m so impressed. I wish I had brought some with me to work so I could have drank this all day. I’m craving it!

This tea produced such a beautiful roasted caramel sweet delight. I was at the 4th infusion before I had to leave for work so I’m excited for 5pm to come around so I can head home and have more!

http://www.cuppageek.com/index.php/2015/07/22/shui-xian-from-cha-ceremony/

I feel overwhelmingly accomplished! My painting desk has of late been a real disaster area, miniatures and paints littered its surface in a complete pile of chaos, so I stopped that. My desk is no organized and almost all my trinkets packed away. I figure if I have to pack, might as well keep the essentials organized while doing so! Truly, one of the great things in life is an organized desk.

Today’s tea is Cha Ceremony’s Shui Xian, yes it is Yancha time! I was sent three samples of their tea and was torn as to which one to review first, I decided to go with the Shui Xian because it was a classic favorite of mine. The name Shui Xian (or Shui Hsien) translates to Water Spirit or Water Narcissus, there is some debate as to it being a reference to a water flower or an actual water spirit, I find this immensely intriguing, because language is a fascinating thing. According to the website, this Yancha (or Rock Tea) is a more lightly roasted Yancha, so good news for you who love the less char heavy Wuyi Oolongs. The aroma is something else, I let out a maniacal giggle while sniffing it because I LOVE the smell of Shui Xian!! There are notes of wet slate, sweet almost creamy molasses and caramel, fruity tobacco, a slight dry leaf pile, and a finish of char and wood smoke. This is, in my humble opinion, a perfect Shui Xian, balancing the aroma of sweet and fruity, woody and char, and mineral notes perfectly.

I brewed this the way I usually brew my Yancha, in my Yixing pot, using a lot of leaves and a short steeps using water just off the boil. It makes for an intense experience, but it is how I like my Yancha. The aroma of the now soggy leaves is intense, strong notes of char and smoke with an accompaniment of mineral and tobacco, with a lingering sweet molasses and slightly fruity finish. The liquid is a heady dance of char, tobacco, and mineral with a sweet cherry finish. I love, absolutely love those notes. It might be why Shui Xian is my go-to Yancha.

And speaking of it being my go-to Yancha, I do love the other ones, but they are like treats, Shui Xian I could drink all the time, in my mind it will always be the comfort food of the Rock Teas. The first thing that really struck me about this tea is how heavenly thick the mouthfeel is, definitely a tea that fits the term soup very well. It starts out with a strong mineral note, like spring water on wet slate, or limestone, because licking rocks is awesome. This moves to sweet molasses and cherry, this then transitions to tobacco and char. The aftertaste is dried cherry and it lingers for a while, eventually changing to delicate floral much later, the aftertaste seems to last for an eternity.

Second steeping time! The aroma blends mineral and cherry notes with delicate char and tobacco, very sweet this time around. The taste reflects the aroma, with a similar very thick mouthfeel that fades to a slight sharpness at the finish. The taste is creamier and sweeter, there are still notes of char and mineral, but that is mostly at the finish. Notes of cherry and molasses dance with delicate cocoa and even a hint of hyacinth at the midtaste.

Third and final steeping, Yancha, at least when it is brewed the way I do it, tends to die by the third or fourth steep, and I once read that is the mark of a good Yancha, really intense earlier steeps and not a tea that lasts. The aroma of this steep is very mineral and delicately sweet cherry, with a slight finish of char. The taste is delightfully mellow, a mildly creamy mouthfeel with notes of cherry and almost entirely mineral notes from start to finish with the cherry dancing around. I greatly enjoyed this tea, it got me pleasantly tea drunk (kinda after the first steep, it is intense) and is a super top notch example of how wonderful Shui Xian can be.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/05/cha-ceremony-shui-xian-tea-review.html

Marcus of ChaCeremony also sent me this to try! Thanks, Marcus!

I did a side-by-side comparison using one other well-known tea vendor’s Shui Xian. I used about 3g of leaf for each, and steeped them 60s/60s/90s.

The ChaCeremony leaf was darker in color, the other vendor’s was more grey. The size of leaf was similar. The color of the rinse water was shockingly different, with ChaCeremony’s tea coming in a lot darker. The color of the liquor was still dramatically different in the first infusion, but became more similar in the second infusion.

The ChaCeremony tea has a nice roasty bite to it, it’s smooth and sweet, and it has a nice complexity. Some teas with good complexity make it feel like multiple flavors are bopping around in your mouth…this tea does that! By comparison, the other vendor’s tea fell flat. Looking at the leaf afterwards, it appears that the other vendor’s tea is not as roasted as the ChaCeremony tea. I guess I know what I prefer! :)