That Red Tin Ti Kuan Yin Oolong

This tea was given to me by a well meaning person a long, long time ago. We have all seen these tins on the shelves of just about every Chinese market. I always appreciate the gift of tea, no matter how humble it may be. I had actually forgotten about this tin of oolong, it's been in the cabinet for a year or more. Today while digging through all the bags, tins, boxes of teas I found this and thought I,d give it a go. I,m probably not any different than most people reading this in that Ive got more tea samples and bits of this and that laying around than I,ll ever get around to trying. I,m making a concerted effort to try to whittle these teas down a bit before buying anything else.

I had to run some errands today and stopped by the Asian market and sure enough, there it was on the shelf. At $5.99 a tin I shouldn't expect much. I see that "Puerh Shop" has this same exact tea on sale for $13.77 Just go's to show that you should be very careful where you spend your money. Not all of Puerh Shop's teas are this over priced, some of his teas are very good and sold at a fair price.

Opening the tins outer and inner lids unleashes a very strong roasted aroma with some very pungent citrus aspects wafting into the room. The teas dry leaf is pretty darned strong smelling. Could be a good sign, could be a sign of overly roasted bland and lifeless tea. So......lets get some leaf into the pot, give it a good rinse and see what we have here.

First things first, the first infusion smells very strongly of the roast and a floral smell that Ive always thought of as "grapefruit flower" a very clean and tart citrus with just a touch of spice is in the mix as well. The aroma is impressive, it smells good. The tea brews up fairly clear with a deep amber color. The flavor isn't bad, actually, it's a lot better than I thought it would be considering it's price. It's body is a little thin and not much in the way of sweetness, but all in all, it's really not a bad tea. Perfectly acceptable as a matter of fact. Of course you can't compare this tea to others selling for a lot more money but it has some of the same flavors and aromas as those higher priced oolongs.

It was a nice gift after all. Now I,m not saying I'd run out and buy a few tins of this stuff but what I have I,ll drink and enjoy it. We all know that you get what you pay for but every once in a while I,m surprised at some of these mass produced teas. Most of them are not very good, or even drinkable for that matter. I don't always have to have some really expensive tea in my cup to be happy, and most days I,m too busy and don't have enough time to really appreciate my tea. So, I save my "good" teas for a time when I can give them the attention they deserve.  But having said that, sooner or latter after drinking these kinds of teas for a while I will get to the point where I,m wanting something sublime. And no matter how hard you look you are never going to find sublime for $5.99 or $13.77 depending on where you shop. Nope, your going to have to fork out the dough.

Fragrant Orchid Dan Cong Oolong

It wasn't all that many years ago that I remember thinking that Dan Cong Oolongs were just about as good as it gets when it comes to Chinese tea's. Ive since changed my ways. I occasionally will pick up a small quantity just for a change of pace. I bought this at my favorite local tea shop "The Steeping Room"  I still enjoy the ocassional Dan Cong but "a little go's a long way"  in my book. I think the best thing Dan Congs have going for them are their aroma's.

This Dan Cong is no exception, the aroma's are not shy in the least. Osmanthus florals, spice, honey and bitter hop's. Dan Cong's that are not heavily oxidised / fermented before being roasted tend to have a greener finished leaf. It's those green leaves that are providing the bitter hop's flavor and aroma. It's a good thing the hop's are there because otherwise this would be a really one dimensional tea. The bitterness is providing a contrast to the sweet floral's in the cup. The flavors follow right along with the aroma's. Honey sweet  florals and spice. Aromatherapy in a cup!  Brews to a deep golden color with good clarity. Not all that durable, by the fourth infusion it's well on it's way out. And by the way, there is no mistaking a Dan Cong that's on it's way out, the flavor doesn't just fade out gracefully as with most tea's. It typically becomes quite astringent and puckery with a chalky mouth feel.

What I realized about Dan Cong's after drinking them for so long is that they are all flash and seldom is there anything substantial underneath, no depth what so ever.  In other words there is very little in the way of complexity in the cup. Now.......I,m not talking smack about em or anything, just calling it how I see it. I admit that there has been exceptions and Ive had some sublime Dan Cong tea's but for the most part they are a really good smelling cup of uninteresting, superficial tea.

2009 Anxi High Fired TiKwan Yin

Ive started using Petr's Shiboridashi's  for brewing everything lately, why not? They brew all teas equally well, easy to use and clean up is a breeze. In my everyday tea brewing I don't often use those tiny little cups, don't want to be bothered with the constant re-filling. The Shiboridashi's matching cup makes it easy, one pot makes one cup, who would have of thought of that?

This Anxi Oolong is from The Mandarins Tea Room Toki offers three different Anxi tea's but this is the only roasted TiKwan Yin (his spelling, not mine) that he sells. Normally I,m not crazy about TGY, they are just too heavy and acidic, and that can really do a number on your stomach. But I couldn't help from trying this one as Toki's description made it sound enticing. Initially I had ordered the sample size but before I had even finished the first cup I was online ordering more. Your $45.00 will get you a very stylish 100 gm. bag.

The leaves look beautiful don't they? Sometimes you can just tell by looking at the leaves that it's a nice tea. The aroma from the pot is not subtle, a pungently rich roasted aroma fills the room. Mingled in with the roast is a clean and sweet smell of citrus. More specifically, grapefruit flower (if there is such a thing) Honestly, the tea's aroma is amazing. This Anxi is very different from any Ive had before, Very rich yet clean and vibrant at the same time, amazing!

The tea's flavors follow suit with it's aromas. Sweet, rich, roasted flavors with the sparkling cleanliness that the citrus and floral aspects provide. The first several infusions can be a little tart but in the later cups the tea's sweetness becomes more dominant. If you really enjoy high quality oolongs you shouldn't let this one pass by, it's worth every penny. Durability is good, maybe eight to ten infusions.

Now, a little story for you. I have an acquaintance, an elderly Chinese man named Tai Ling. From time to time I engage in a little small talk with Tai Ling, the weather, whats on sale at the market etc. Every once in a while I would see Tai Ling sipping coffee from a paper cup and I noticed that he winces with every sip. I asked why he drinks it if he doesn't like it, his response was that he doesn't like coffee but drinks it anyways because it keeps him warm. Being Chinese he of course prefers tea but can not afford it. So every once in a while I would give Tai Ling some tea, nothing special, just everyday teas. He is always appreciative of the gift and would later tell me that it was o.k. (not impressed), I started wondering, just what doe's it take to get a nod of approval from him? So, I gave Tai Ling 10 gms of this TGY and a few days later I,m out walking the dog's and I hear someone yelling my name from across the street, it was Tai Ling. He came running up to me with a big smile on his face. Ive never seen Tai Ling smile before, he normally is very sullen. He wanted to tell me how much he liked this tea, he said it was very good and in his opinion that this is a "first level" oolong. Actually, I had never even seen Tai Ling exhibiting anything that even approached happiness before, but he was a happy man that day. I was happy that I had brought a little joy into Tai Lings life. For me the sharing of tea is what tea is really about, it's not to be selfishly hoarded. Having said that though, this tea is rather expensive so I doubt that Tai Ling will be seeing much more of it.

2009 Phoenix Mountain Dan Cong

It,s been a long time since I last had a really good Dan Cong. Back when Hou De had acquired their Dan Congs I had bought pretty much a lb. of each they had to offer and consequently got kinda burned out on em. Those were the first super fresh Dan Congs I had the opportunity to purchase and kinda over did it, but man those were good. I think I,m ready to pick up where I left off and this Phoenix Mountain I,m hoping will renew my interest.

Some people say the aroma of Dan Congs can be very ummm.......blunt and obnoxious. And there is a part of me that agrees, but there is also a part of me that appreciates those pungent aromas. Theres nothing light or dainty about Dan Cong Oolongs. There are also some who believe that Phoenix Mountain Dan Congs are made from a single tea tree, meaning that the one single trees harvest for that year is processed and sold as is and not blended with teas from other trees in the area. While the idea of that appeals to me, I think it,s doubtful that this is true. The only reason I even bring the subject up is because it was on my mind, I had recently read an article where Imen (Tea Habitat) and Roy (Imperial Tea Court) were going at it over this same issue. With Imen supporting the concept of single tree offerings and Roy saying that this is impossible due to the small qty. that a tree can produce in a season. It kinda bugs me to be agreeing with Roy but I cant help it, the single bush theory just doesn't make sense to me. I don't really care one way or the other, all I care about is whether or not I like the tea.

This tea I picked up at a local tea shop (Central Market) and the sales woman didn't seem to know anything about the tea other than it,s name and that it sells for $189.00 a lb. Judging by the appearance and smell of the dry leaf I could tell it is fresh and a good quality, the leaf is in good condition with not many broken leaves. The leafs color is rich and vibrant, not the dusty, muted colors of an older tea. It appears to be both lightly fermented and roasted. The leaf has a light honey and floral aroma with a cool and refreshing aspect. A tad of the citrus thing is also present. Five grams of leaf are harangued into the small zhuni and rinsed once with boiling water, add more water and with a 15 second infusion time I get a golden yellow brew with superb clarity. The tea turns the slightest bit orange when exposed to fresh air for a few seconds. What relief, I was glad to not see a brown tea pouring from the pot. With Dan Congs that's what you want, yellow tea , not brown. Brown could be a sign of lesser quality or older tea. The flavor reflects it,s aromas fairly well. This has got to be the most elegant Dan Cong Ive ever had, the flavors are very well balanced. Deliciously sweet and slightly syrupy. Pungent with the herbal, floral, barely noticeable citrus (orange) flavor and aroma and at the same time so cool and clean. Reminds me of eucalyptus. The flavor permeates immediately into every part of my mouth and nose. I can smell the tea quite strongly even before Ive swallowed. Sweet, cooling and floral. The second infusion is brutal, in a good way. More of the same but even heavier and almost overwhelming. This tea needs small cups and a leisurely approach, no gulping. I might just need to go back and get a couple more ounces of this tea, pretty good stuff.

It,s weird that Ive bought Dan Congs from all the "cool" online vendors and none of the teas Ive had from them can hold a candle to the one I bought here in town at a local store. Not that the vendors teas were poor quality or anything it,s just that this one is so much damned better. Ive never found Dan Congs to be really durable, they usually turn rather unpleasant in the latter infusions. But this tea keeps it going through the sixth or seventh infusion without turning too funky. In fact the latter cups are much sweeter and floral than the first few infusions. To me worn out Dan Congs are not a nice tea experience. A damned fine tea this one is, and it,s filling out my tea collection nicely. There is more to life than puerh you know!

Ive learned over the years through trial and error that coaxing the best from any Dan Cong requires that you pay attention to details. Of course the qty. of leaf used is important, the yixing in the picture above has a 125 ml. capacity, the qty. of leaf should be around 5-6 gms. Rinse the leaves very briefly and then commence brewing. Ive found boiling water works best for me. The first infusion is your guide for infusion times for the rest of the session. What I,m aiming for is full saturation without over steeping and bringing out the unwanted astringent, harsher flavors. I,m mainly judging infusion times by the color of the brew. Once the optimum strength has been established I am trying to get the same color in each successive infusion. I think that Dan Cong teas can be tricky to brew and it all boils down to timing for the most part. With a lot of other types of tea a few seconds doesn't make all that much difference. But with Dan Congs those few seconds can be the difference between a bland under extracted cup or an over extracted, astringent cup. This way of brewing Dan Cong is what Ive found to work best for me. There is no magic involved it,s just a matter of paying close attention to the teas color. If this helps anyone to get a better cup then great. If you disagree with me about any of this you don't really have to tell me about it.

Floral Tie Guan Yin

This tea I just got yesterday from Upton,s Floral Tie Guan Yin Superior is it,s official name. A new arrival at Upton,s Tea. I love Upton,s for the vast selection in just about any category of tea. A 100 gm. bags price is $25.40. A fair price for a premium tea. Anxi Oolongs are not something I buy very often but every once in a while I read a vendors description and they make it sound so delicious that I cave and order some but most of the time I,m not all that impressed with them. First thing I notice after opening the bag is the pungent freshness of this tea. The dry leaf pellets are a rich and healthy green color. The aroma of the infused leaf is rich, vegetal with the aroma of spring flowers. Upton,s describes the aroma as "Orchid" I don't really smell any specific flower but the floral thing is pretty dominant. Also the faintest hint of ripe fruit. After a three minute infusion with 175 degree water the tea,s aroma is quite pungent. (in a good way) At first I tried using hotter water but it killed a lot of the floral aroma so I found by lowering the temperature a bit helps to retain the teas character. Durability is O.K. I get about four good pot,s and then it runs out of any flavors that are interesting. Brews a golden cup with a slight greenish tint. What I like about this Tie Guan Yin is that it doesn't have that heavy green taste that most of the others Ive tried have. I like this tea and am enjoying it but I wouldn't buy it again. I guess I,m just not that fond of Anxi Oolongs.