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.

Yunnan Gold 2011

Name; Yunnan Gold 2011
Type; Black, China, Yunnan.  Yunnan Pure Gold (金芽滇紅)
Price; £ 8.00 for 50 grams from Jing.

http://jingtea.com/tea/type/black/yunnan-gold

Yunnan Dian Hong Cha

“Appearance: Long, olive-gold twists dappled with orange
Infusion: Bright yellow-brown with mustard-green rim
Aroma: Sweet, graceful golden straw and meadowsweet notes with a little haunting dried mushroom and spice

Taste: Dark, rich, tangy and deep, with lots of tapered liquorice spice notes to lend the rich fruit gravity. Some gentle tannic grip provides textural brightness and bite”

Review; Last week we went for the silver, this week it’s time to go for the gold.  Another tea from Jing, Yunnan Gold is also often called Yunnan Pure Gold.  Fine tips that are picked not necessarily in spring, processed in a delicate manner to give it just the right level of oxidation.

Yunnan produces a wide array of teas.  Claimed by the team at Camellia Sinensis to be the birthplace of tea (which there is no scientific data to support that claim), Yunnan is home to Pu-Erh teas.  Teas that will remain mostly un-touched in this blog.  (There are many wonderful Pu-Erh websites, this one is the best http://half-dipper.blogspot.co.uk/).  Yunnan also produces green and white teas, but these teas while nice are in much less demand from this distinct province.

And once again Jing has succeeded.  When I first opened the bag it smelled of candied apples.  That sickly sweet caramel aroma, with hints of apple or other fruit. As it brewed in the pot you get that traditional spicy-sweet aroma.  And now as I drink the cup I am in heaven.

Yunnan black teas to me are characterised by a lovely “barn-yard “ aroma, a clean barn yard.  The smell of a freshly brushed horse; musky, and sweet, and hints of hay and grass in the aroma too.  Due to the high number of tips in this tea, or at least following a level of logic, there is little bitterness or astringency to this tea, though a slight kick at the end.  Full-bodied and full flavoured in the mouth, the tips that are present in this black tea make it truly wonderful.

I did not taste any liquorice, or notice a mustard-green rim to my cup.  What is olive-gold?  Can we stick to colours that are actual colours please? Otherwise it just comes off arrogant. (Pot calling kettle black, yes I know…) Congratulations Jing, you pass the test again. (Though you could do with lowering your prices a little.)

-Tea Fan

Silver Needle 2011

Name; Silver Needle 2011
Type; White, China, Fujian, Fuding (town), Tai Mu Mountain, 14^th April-28^th April, Cultivar, Most likely Fuding Da Bai
Price; £ 10.40 for 50 grams from Jing.

http://jingtea.com/tea/type/white/silver-needle

“Appearance: Light, plump and large downy tips

Infusion: Honeyed yellow with pale green hues

Aroma: Subtle, delicate scents with honeyed sweetness and gentle melon fruits

Taste: Light, delicate quenching flavours underpinned by cucumber and melon freshness yet surprisingly full textured with a satisfying velvety finish”

Review; Silver Needle is always a difficult one to stock in a tea shop.  It is notoriously the first tea to go stale, and is one of the most expensive (in most cases), so rarely does stock move quick enough to ensure good quality.  This is why in most tea shops around the world you’ll either get a sub-par silver needle, or the shop will instead stock a more hardy white tea like Pai Mu Dan, or white peony as it is also called (which undergoes a very very slight oxidation process and as such has a longer shelf life). 

A good silver needle consists of just the buds and gives you wonderful fruity and floral notes to it.  Now that all being said and done, let us get on with this particular one.

The aroma as I open the bag is wonderful.  A slight hint of plastic, but all in all a wonderful freshness to it meaning this tea has been well stored and air tight.  Beautiful peach/lily of the valley heavenly scent.

Leaves are whole, another good indicator.  Placing them in the water they are so light I have to force submerge them.  Lots of white hairs, another good character, and most of them stay attached to the leaves, yet another good sign.  Aroma of brewing matches with the quality and develops more into a full bodied fruitiness.  

The taste of the tea is light and delicate, yet full bodied.  Fresh and lychee, slight undertones of apricot and maybe fresh hay (not usually a good sign, but in this, I accept it as a good type of hay if that makes any since).  Smooth, it sits pleasantly in the mouth with no bitterness at all. Wet leaves are again nice and whole.  Congratulations jing, you’ve passed.  

Please enjoy this tea.  While it may be a bit pricey, this is one of the rare cases where a tea is worth its price.

-Tea Fan