Huo Shan Yellow Buds 2011

Name; Huo Shan Yellow Buds 2011
Type; Yellow, China, Anhui, Hu Shan Sun Town
Price; £ 8.25 for 50 grams from Jing.

http://jingtea.com/tea/type/yellow/huo-shan-yellow-buds

 “Appearance: Large, willow-green whole tips.
Infusion: Glowingly translucent, straw-pale liquor
Aroma: Soft, vivacious, freshly sappy aroma of great charm and discretion, with a faintly toasty edge.
Taste: Sappy liquor with vivid, chlorophyll-fresh edge leading to a soft, open middle palate with a nourishing pea and hazel sweetness. ”

Review; A yellow tea, that often forgotten brother of white.  Not quite a green but still enough of an outcast.  An over simplification of yellow teas are that they are white teas that undergo a sweltering process for over an hour.  This humid tea sauna changes the characteristics to allow for a different type of oxidation. 

Diving into this tea, we must first examining the leaves.  I could believe this is a green tea.  Yellow teas similar to oolongs that have a wide spectrum to cover tend to fall into either over-oxidized or under oxidized.  If I was in a shop I would think this was a green tea not a white.   Granted I have had limited experiences with yellow teas (read only 1 or 2 before this tea), but I smell the same soft metallic edge.  I also note that there is more a green edge to it.  Almost a caramelized candied apples.  The softer edge of a sheng pu-erh

 

The leaves have a most beautiful appearance to them, flat and perfect, I am impressed with the leaves themselves.  Now to see if the quality of the essence holds true.   

Yep, there it is, that tell tale coppery notes I’ve tasted before in other yellow teas.  Well at least this confirms it.  There is an element of umami, and hazelnuts.  This tea to me tastes more like a Chinese green tea, which isn’t really that surprising.  I understand why Jing describes it as having a toasted edge, but to me, that toasted edge, and the bitterness from the metallic nature…means that if I was doing a blind tasting I would think this was a green tea that someone had simply used boiling water on.  Not very much distinct notes to it, all in all a meh on the scale.  

This probably is a nice tea, and I can understand a lot of the beauty to it, however I do not believe that yellow teas will catch on in the western market.  (Unless Victoria Beckham decides to make it her new weight-loss tea like she did with Pu-Erh.) It’s a little on the soft side for me, I might let it over-brew just to see what characteristics emerge.   After I let it over-brew it begins to taste a bit more like a sheng pu-erh.  Same apple-bramble notes I detect in those I taste in this.

This tea wins novelty points. It’s a yellow tea.  Buy it if you’re curious about what a yellow tea tastes like, but don’t expect something life changing.  If you wanted a nice green tea…this is not it.  If you want to try a unique element of tea that hasn’t been over-done by the west, than this is your chance to try a “rare” tea.

Enjoy

-Tea Fan

P.S. Did anyone notice the incredibly vague description Jing did on this tea? Clean crisp and clear.  That could describe anything from window cleaner to bleach.

Darjeeling 1st Flush Supreme 2011

Name; Darjeeling 1^st Flush Supreme 2011
Type; Black, India, Darjeeling, First Flush.  Okayti Estate (?)
Price; £ 16.00 for 50 grams from Jing.

http://jingtea.com/tea/type/black/darjeeling-first-flush-supreme

 “Appearance: long unbroken leaf and bud showing typical brown and green leaves and silver tips
Infusion: fawny gold
Aroma:  fragrant, warm, fresh and light
Taste: clean, crisp and clear with a rounded, satisfying and quenching finish”

Review; Ah what did I say in my last First Flush Darjeeling entry, they are my favourite?  If the reader(s) haven’t caught on yet, I ordered quite a bit from Jing tea recently.  Trying their Darjeeling 1^st flush Supreme now; this comes from the 2011 batch, so unfortunately it can’t be taken to compare with the link to the 2012.  Also I foolishly did not write down the tea estate name, nor can I seem to find it online, so we’ll assume this comes from the Okayti or Goomtee estate (as I know Jing has lots of dealings with both of these).

The leaves were a bit crushed for my liking, but hey, all that matters is the taste.  Aroma standard hints of plastic that I am growing to associate with Jing.  The tea has a nice muscatel aroma, and the peppery aroma that I love.  But smells green.  This is my biggest complaint in first flush Darjeelings, but seems to be a growing trend. 

In the past 5 years, many of the estates in Darjeeling have taken to making their first flush Darjeeling green.  It’s still technically a black tea, but the leaves are green, and the brew could almost be mistaken for a raw pu-erh or an oolong.  When making first flushes in this less oxidized manner, I believe the tell tale muscatel aroma is lost, and often times just aromas of hay, and bitterness remain.  

Now on to this tea the leaves confirm, far too green for my usual liking but, hey all that matters is taste.  And what a surprise, it carries much of the tell tale Darjeeling signs.  Slight muscatel aroma, bitterness, freshly dried hay in the sun.  I let a cup of this cool and I could taste lilies, which is a development on this tea.  Astringent and bitter, but most darjeeling’s have this.  As I drink more cups of this tea, it does grow on me.  A soft fruit edge, and it is light enough to be drunk easily.  

All in all, its passable.  My only complaint would be the price.  First flush Darjeelings are more expensive than second flush usually.  This is no different.  16 pounds for 50 grams though is taking the mick.  At most this Darjeeling should be worth 5 or 6 pounds.  

Enjoy

-Tea Fan 

P.S. Did anyone notice the incredibly vague description Jing did on this tea? Clean crisp and clear.  That could describe anything from window cleaner to bleach.