Shan Shui 2008 Spring Superior Jinxuan

Jinxuan tea is made from a relatively new tea plant varietal, made popular during the 1990s. It is cultivated in the Nantou region of Taiwan. I used about 7.5 grams of leaf for a 120-130 ml gaiwan. The dry leaf was very green, which indicated that there was a very light roast to it.




Tasting Notes:
This particular variety is processed like High Mountain oolong, and it's is similar in color but, has a distinct aroma that blends well with its creamy flavor. The astringency is very nice, and it serves as a wonderful contrast to the creaminess. I could taste the veggie flavors of the tea leaf in the liquor. The tea has a very nice finish, with a kind of butteriness to it. That's the one thing that I like about this tea, is how creamy and smooth it is. There's also a subdued fruity aroma in the tea, that kinda hangs around in the background. It's not as pronounced as the fruitiness one finds in heavily roasted oolong.

Shan Shui 2006 Superior Cuiyu

I'm going to try a different approach to reviewing each tea, and I hope that this week's review will be a little more insightful. Now tea is like wine in many aspects, because even though all tea comes from the same plant, it's all different. Factors like the terroir, weather, harvesting period, etc. can lead to vastly different types of teas. So let's breakdown what Cuiyu is:

Location:

So where is Cuiyu harvested? It comes from Taiwan, but more specifically Nantou county, which is the only landlocked county in all of Taiwan. Here is the scenery of Hehuanshan (translates into "Joy Mountain"), one of the highest mountain ranges in Taiwan.



Tasting Notes:
Alright, so here's the actual tea review. I brewed this tea at about 7 grams for a roughly 120 ml gaiwan. I did a 10 second rinse, with steepings of about 15 seconds, adding an additional 10 seconds after the third steeping.So what does Cuiyu actually mean in English. Translated, it means "crisp jade," which is descriptive of the tea's bright front flavor. This characteristic distinguishes it from teas such as Sijichun, Wulong, and Jinxuan, which are processed similarly with about the same level of oxidation. It tastes like a green tea, with a crisp aroma which at the same time is very subtle. There's also a refreshing aftertaste that I enjoy very much.

Winter 2007 Shan Shui TGY/Winter 2007 Shan Shui Shui Xian

I've reviewed both of these teas before; however, the ones I tasted before were harvested in the spring. To save the trouble of repeating the same information I'm just going to sum up the key differences in the tea, and which ones I liked better. I preferred the winter version of these teas better, in that they packed a bigger punch in their flavor profile. If I had to theorize a reason why that is, it probably has to do with the season they were harvested in (well duh). More specifically though, the tea plants grow slower in the winter, so the individual leaves accumulate more flavor, where as the spring leaves grow a bit faster. To me, the spring teas tended to have a more flavorful bouquet of smells, while the winter teas had a better taste to them. This is just my theory though, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

I hate to post without a photo, and putting up photos of the teas would be ridiculous, since I can't tell the difference in terms of tea liquor which one is which, except that the winter TGY seemed to be darker in color. So I'll leave you with a pretty photo of an orchid I found at DC's Eastern Market a few weeks ago.

Shan Shui Spring 2006 Winter Yinya

Parameters:
7.5 grams for a 130 ml gaiwan; 10 second rinse, 15 seconds for first three steepings, adding on 10 seconds for each additional one.

Dry Leaves

According to Brian Wright from Shan Shui Teas, in terms of varietal and processing, Yinya is essentially Baozhong tea. However, the harvest is timed differently to include the buds of the tea plant as well as the leaves. This difference gives Yinya its name, which means "silver needle." The "silver needles" are refering to the buds, which appear a silver white.
(Enlarge the photo to take a closer look.)



Tasting Notes:

So when I first steeped this tea, the first though that came to my head was, "wow this tea is floral." There is a rich bouquet with rich color. There is also a slight sweet aroma that is very intriguing. It smells like honey, but more "plant-like," if that's even possible. The light roast on the tea makes it very mellow, giving it a smooth silky finish.





Conclusion

So I've been on a bit of a "green oolong" run this month, since all the samples I bought from Brian Wright were mostly lightly roasted oolongs. I'm beginning to appreciate greener oolongs more, but unfortunately this one did not hit the sweet spot for me. It's a bit too floral for my taste. Maybe it has something to do with all the green oolongs that I've been trying, and I'm tired of it. Next time I'll be reviewing a sample of winter TGY (highly roasted!) so it'll be interesting to compare that to the spring TGY I reviewed earlier.

Premium Winter 2007 Buluomi

Parameters:
7.5 grams for an approx. 130 ml gaiwan; 10 second rinse followed by 15 seconds for first three steepings, adding on 10 seconds for each additional one.
Dry Leaf Appearance

The leaves had a dark green color. It reminded me of wuyi yancha, but with unroasted leaves. There was a very strong veggie smell that reminded me slightly of high mountain oolong leaves.






Tasting Notes:

This tea had a surprising sweet aftertaste that lingered on my tongue. Judging from the dry leaves I had expected something similar to High Mountain teas, so I was surprised by this. The tea had a very smooth finish, with a slight baked pineapple aroma to it. It was very creamy, a nice contrast to the other oolong types. The tea was very durable, and the sweetness continues even after six to seven steepings. The tea had a golden green color, with amazing clarity.



Conclusion:

The wet leaves had a very strong "plant" smell to it. It reminded me of being in a warm and humid jungle. Like the tea, I detected a slight baked pineapple aroma in the wet leaves. The wet leaves were very durable, and had a dark green color. I had originally thought that this tea would not be one of my favorites, but I actually liked this tea a lot. It's a great contrast to high mountain oolongs and it's an interesting variety of oolong. I don't think I've seen this anywhere else other then on Shan Shui Teas.

Side Note:
When sniffing for the aroma of the wet leaves, I put my nose close to the gaiwan, accidentally breathing in some hot steaming leaf into my nose! Although this should have taught me a lesson, that's the only way I can properly take in a tea's aroma

Shan Shui Premium Spring 2008 TGY

Parameters:
7g/120 ml; 10 second rinse, 15 second for the first three steepings, adding 10 seconds for each additional one.

Dry Leaf Appearance:
The tea leaves are roasted to a dark chocolate color, indicating a high level of roasting. The tea leaves were a bit crushed so this particular tea tasting had particularily flavorful steepings towards the beginning of the tasting session.

Tasting Notes:

The tea exhibited very smoky flavors, which only increased with each additional steeping. The wet leaves have a very distinct rich smell, with hints of chocolate. The liquor was very mild and mellow tasting, exuding a flavor that lingers on the tongue. The roasted nature of this tea though, might be overpowering to some people. However, the roasted nature of the tea gives me a complex character. The tea exhibits a gorgeous dark amber color, with extreme clarity.


Conclusion:

I am a big fan of this tea, which is both to be expected and surprising at the same time. It's expected because I appreciate the complex nature of roasted teas. On the other hand, however, it's surprising because I'm not a fan of TGY, but this high-roasted one changed my mind. I like to think of this tea as an easy-going tea that sips well, like a nice bourbon. I'm looking forward to trying other high-roasted TGY.

Post note:
The photos came out better this time because I discovered the "macro" function on my camera, which the manual describes should be used when shooting up close. I'm embarrassed that it's taken me this long to figure out this crucial function.

2007 Hou De Spring Ta Tung "Si Cha" Oolong

Wow, I haven't reviewed a tea in a really long time. I've been busy with schoolwork and just this weekend I traveled to New York City to visit some friends. I actually have tasting notes for different teas already, and I'm just getting around to the first one now. Anyway, to the actual review...

2007 Spring Tai-Tung "Si Cha" Oolong
Parameters:
9 grams/120 ml teapot; 10 second rinse, 15 second for first three steepings, add 10 seconds for each additional steeping
Dry Leaf Appearance:



The leaves had a very dark color to it, and there was a strong roasted aroma that made was very delicious. The tea was roasted very well, and it showed all the characteristics of a tea that was handpicked.



Tasting Notes:

The roasting gives the tea a very pronounced fruity. I detected subtle plum flavors, along with some peachiness. It had a very silk smooth taste, which was very mellow. However, at the same time there was a slight tartness to the tea which I enjoyed. It ook a while for the tea's flavor to fully awaken, and I had to experiment with the parameters before getting it right. For me at least, the flavors seemed to "peak" during the third steeping. All in all, there is a certain richness and orchid floriness.

Conclusion:

I wasn't a big fan of this tea, although after reading about in on the website I was really excited and perhaps had inflated expectations. I would say that I enjoyed this tea, but I probably wouldn't try it again on my own. The flavors were good, but it wasn't the kind of "bold" tea that I thought it was, which is what I usually enjoy. Don't let this discourage you from trying it out though, it's more that this particular tea was "incompatible" with my preferences and tastes.

Post Notes:
I'll be posting up a review of a 2008 Summer Wenshan Baihao from Shan Shui teas that I tried out a few days ago. I also have some tasting notes from a Black tea I just tried out from Plucker's Pick (too many teas in my life!). Looking for a yixing for black tea if anyone is willing to help out...