2008 Fenghuang Winter Hungshui

I feel a little strange after my recent Japanese green tea overdose (see this link for a list of related posts). When perceiving the ‘outside world’ with our senses, we all benefit from temporary specialisation. If you drink one Chablis amidst a diet of California Zinfandels, chances are you won’t like it or appreciate it. If, however, you travel to Chablis to taste the local wines for a week, you become much more aware of the nuances that differentiate the various Chablis. The same goes for music. If you’re due to write an essay on the operas of Wagner, you’d better do a bit of listening before that. It’s good to have that individual style well ‘in your ear’.

But there’s another aspect to that. Overdo that Wagner listening, and all his operas will seem like one repetitive ramble. After two weeks of drinking only Japanese shincha three or four times a day, I didn’t feel like having more, and all those notes of green fruit and mild astringency on the palate really didn’t make much difference. So it’s good to switch to something different after a while. Yet the first sips of that ‘different’ tea (wine, food, music) always seem strange. Everything’s out of sync. The mouthfeel is not what it’s supposed to be. Even a tea’s colour can seem anomalous.
 

This 2008 Winter Fenghuang Hungshui oolong is a sample courtesy of Stéphane Erler of Tea Masters (merci!). In many ways it’s the perfect antidote to a Japanese overdose, yet it took me two sessions to really acknowledge its quality and personality to the full.

The Tea Masters website has a comprehensive description of this tea. Tea vendors’ websites and product descriptions can dangerously degenerate into repetitive marketing ramble but Tea Masters are (in my opinion) a notable exception. Their tasting notes are universally well-written and to the point.

Hungshui is a traditional term for a high mountain rolled oolong from Central Taiwan, produced with ‘traditional’ roast (i.e., higher than most modern Taiwanese mountain oolongs). As all tea terms it is approximate: with this specific 2008 Fenghuang, it is at most a medium roast, lower than I remember from Tea Masters’ 2008 Spring Dongding produced from exactly the same area. But (typically for a winter harvest) the fruity and flowery aromas of this tea are also quite subdued, making this medium roast a sensible choice: it doesn’t overpower the natural expression but is present throughout in the profile. You see it clearly in the xiangbei [‘aroma cup’] where there is a very interesting progression: starting with fumé, toasted-woody smells through cereals, then chocolate and caramel, going back to woodsy, herby, toasted, baked-bready scents. Hmm, interesting… I spend a few minutes smelling the aroma cup alone.

Infusions no. 1 (45 seconds, left) and 2 (25 seconds, right).

These leaves are very slow to open…

2009 Lushan Jinxuan

I have just received this package of samples from Stéphane Erler of Tea Masters (thank you!). The opportunity to taste some new teas is always exciting; this one even more so, as the package includes some rare old puer and oolong (more one these soon), and my first taste of this new season’s tea.

This 2009 Lushan Jinxuan is an interesting variation on Taiwan’s classic high altitude rolled green oolong. The variation lies in the varietal: jinxuan. Most of the renowned gaoshan (high-mountain) oolongs are made from the traditional qingxin tea cultivar. However, due to the latter’s low yield and disease resistance, a number of new cultivars have been developed over the recent decades. These are so rarely featured in a tea’s name or descriptor that tea drinkers remain mostly unfamiliar with them, and jinxuan, sijichun or cuiyu can only dream of enjoying the recognisability of syrah, merlot or tempranillo.

Jinxuan (a.k.a. as Taiwan No. 12) is one such variety of tea tree, and apart from good productivity it is known for its creamy or milk-like aroma. This is as much a blessing as a curse, as many unscrupulous producers of lower-end oolong simply boost this subtle natural aroma with artificial flavouring. The result, sold as ‘Milk Oolong’, can be so utterly repulsive I have pretty much lost any confidence in jinxuan altogether. I thank Stéphane all the more, therefore, for having sent this very enjoyable sample.

Brewed: competition style (2g / 100ml / 5 minutes)
Leaf: These tea pellets look just like any gaoshan but are really rather large: I reached the required 2g with just 12 leaves (see photo at the bottom of post). These leaves are also quite thin, resulting in a fair bit of bruising and other damage. Colour is a consistent dark green. A pleasant leafy smell to the wet leaves, like walking in a garden after a spring or early summer rain.

Tasting notes:
Infusion colour is rather light. A fine scent, vegetal, leafy, mildly sweet perhaps, with the ‘milky’ association really kept more allusive than upfront (what a relief after the low-end, artificially-flavoured examples). A comfortable mouthfeel for this classic-styled tea that in fact reminded me of continental Chinese teas such as Tiekuanyin or Maoxie. Limited sweetness, this hints at boiled vegetables on the reasonably long finish which is enlivened by some dryness. I don’t get any milk notes here.

Another session in gaiwan (4g / 120ml) showed a slightly more pronounced dairy aroma reminiscent of clotted cream perhaps. There is also a distinctive florality that is different from the lily & orchid register of qingxin: this is less exotic, leafier, perhaps tulip-like. With short gongfu-style brewings (30s, 40s etc.) the register and intensity are quite pale, though, and Stéphane is right in his description that this should ideally be infused for longer times.

All in all this an enjoyable tea with a very subtle, unobtrusive ‘milky’ aroma. But it also shows why the jinxuan variety doesn’t have the pedigree of qingxin: this tea just lacks the structure, depth and finesse of the latter.

2g of leaf after 5 minutes of infusion.

2008 Spring Luanze

A springtime delight

High mountain (gaoshan) oolong from Central Taiwan is one of the world’s best teas, and Shan Lin Shi is one of the most famous appellations (origins) here. No wonder, therefore, that leading Taiwan tea internet specialist Tea Masters are offering no less than a dozen varieties from each vintage including six from Shan Lin Shi alone, at the time of writing.

As the spring is here and I am waiting to place an order for 2009 oolongs, I am slowly finishing my sample of the 2008 Shan Lin Shi Spring Luanze. As most of the top gaoshan oolongs, this is made from the qingxin tea cultivar, also known as luanze (and identified as such on the Tea Masters catalogue). There will be experts around to explain it fully but the reason why qingxin is preferred to other tea cultivars (such as jianxuan or the most widespread sijichun) is the inimitable buttery mouthfeel it gives, along with good ageing potential for the more roasted types.

See here for background about this tea, which was picked on 30th April 2008 at 1650 meters of altitude and underwent no roast; the oxidation is also rather low, giving a tea that’s close to a green in aroma and lightness, but showing a bit more substance and sturdiness than most green teas.

Price: 28 € / 100g (and worth every penny)
Brewed in: gaiwan
Dosage: 4 g / 120ml
Leaf: Appearance is the usual tightly rolled green leaf with a bit of stem attached. Dry leaf aroma is clean and very pleasant, reminiscent of the leaves and petals of first spring flowers (tulips perhaps).

Brewing #1 (30 seconds).

Tasting notes:
30s: The aroma is surprising for a gaoshan in being only vaguely floral, and quite vegetal-leafy. Flavour is again less floral than many teas of this style: mild, soft, light, with only a bit of dryness on end. As it cools down there is quite an inviting velvety texture and an understated, clean, satisfying vegetal taste.
30s: Seems denser in texture and flavour, with some grainy, mealy notes adding to the vegetality.
30s: Now a little lighter, no floweriness at all, and some grip on the finish. In fact this is going along the lines of brewing #2 in showing a touch of roast perhaps (?? Tea Masters are indicating there is none): against many featherlight and unsubstantial renditions of Shan Lin Shi, this tea has guts, and has in fact survived the 360 days of ageing more than well. Altogether a highly satisfying version of its appellation. Stay tuned for tasting notes of other SLS types offered by Tea Masters.