45 Tasting Notes
Reviewing Spring 2015
This is an outstanding old arbor tea. Big, luscious full leaves and buds with thick stems. The aroma and flavor are quite similar to a Feng Qing black tea I’ve tried previously, fully fruity and malty. Even short steeps give full, thick body. Really nice black tea.
Preparation
This is my favorite Don Cong I’ve tried, though to be fair, this is only the third Don Cong I’ve tried. The roasted character is beautiful, and the underlying Don Cong varietal character is clean and clear (in its own rustic way) and only mildly floral. While other Don Cong oolongs can be bitter, this is much more balanced. Even with long steeps, there is only a faint drying character. While not particularly sweet, this tea is still very satisfying due to its crisp nature. I really like this, though I’d prefer a Da Hong Pao or Qi Lan rock oolong anyday. I reserve this for when I want something a bit crisper than normal.
I grabbed a handful of the Georgian black tea offerings from What-Cha, and have been really enjoying them. While they are all different, there is a thread of aroma and flavor that connects them all.
One thing I find interesting about the Georgian teas I have tried is that they can pull off “burly” flavors without seeming in any way dirty. By that I mean that the mild hints of leather I pick up in the wet leaf aroma of the Old Gentleman black tea are welcoming and balanced by the spicier/breadier Georgian character and inherent sweetness of the tea. This one in particular is a satisfying Georgian tea that brews up a dark golden red color with a full body, even with shorter steeps. There’s also a very satisfying mild acidity.
After softening up the long, spindly leaves, and taming the more enzymatic aromatics, this turned into a surprisingly clean and peachy tea (the peach note pops out much more around the second steeping). The leaves are absolutely beautiful unfurled. I was given a sample of the pressed cake of this mao cha with my order from Mandala (thanks!), so I’m looking forward to comparing the two to see if there are any differences.
Very fruity! The dry leaves of this dan cong oolong are quite green, and emit a musky floral fragrance with a hint of fruit, that is complemented by a faint roast smell. Is it roasted? I’m not sure, but it does have a faint mineral-like aroma.
After slapping the leaves with water for a second, the fruity aroma becomes the most prominent. The fruit character is almost like the smell of a freshly opened bag of gummy bears. Specifically white gummy bears. I mean that in the best possible way, and I’m not suggesting its a cheap smelling tea. Quite the contrary! The fruited quality is enticing, and is rounded out by loads of sweetness and a floral aroma that reminds me primarily of a light roasted shui xian, and secondarily of an unoxidized Taiwanese oolong.
Preparation
A pleasantly toasty rock oolong. The initial dry leaf is quite smokey, in a wood-fire way. The rinsed leaves bring in some buttery and grassy tones. Upon steeping, the aroma off the leaves is a good bit sweeter with hints of floral. The mineral flavor of the brew is most dominant with some spice-like tones, a tiny bit of sweetness, and just the faintest hint of a fruited and floral aroma that is most easily recognized at the bottom of the empty cup. This might be fun to stock up and and watch it change of a few years.
Edit: Revisiting this, it is interesting how my taste has changed. This no longer is coming off as overly smokey as it initially did, and has also grown on me quite a bit. I’m often grabbing this over YS’s spring 2015 Qi Lan, which has been my favorite for quite some time!
Preparation
Wet leaf after rinse: Big buttery aroma with nectar sweetness and bright floral fragrances. Recognizable high mountain oolong fruity/floral character comes out after the first real infusion, along with a shift from butter to butterscotch! It is seriously intoxicating. I find myself huffing the gaiwan between sips.
Brew aroma: Butterscotch and floral, with maybe a hint of sweet cream.
Brew: Thick, slippery mouth-feel with a buttery, sweet, fruity and very slightly umami flavor. Retronasal aroma is floral and fruity.
Conclusion: Damn this is good. Drank it at night the first time around, and it was indeed relaxing. I’ve had a few GABA oolongs previously, and they were all significantly more vegetal (sweet potato) than this tea. This tea comes off very sweet and buttery, first and foremost, with layers of fruited and floral complexity that unfold elegantly.
Most of the GABA oolongs I’ve had have been savory caramel/sweet potato to me. Fruit, floral and butter notes sound lovely.
It is a nice twist. There’s definitely some of that savory caramel character going on, but there’s extra depth, and the complexity sitting on top is really nice.
