Wuyi Origin

Dry leaf is small, twisted, mostly matte black leaf. Pretty uniform leaf size. There are a few odd dark brown leaves thrown in, and a few untwisted partial leaves. I assume this is due to the “wild” nature of the product. Steamed aroma is unremarkable. The gaiwan aroma (post first brew) is also unremarkable. Maybe a bit of stone fruit, but that’s being generous.

Initial taste is a cacophony of fruits. It’s syrupy like fruit punch mix. Important to note, there is no chemical, or artificial taste. The tea soup is viscous. It feels oil like on the tongue. Taste develops into an intense sugarcane, fruity sweetness There’s also a bit of citrus taste in the finish. More shaddock, than, say, lemon. This citrus flavor also comes through on the lips. The finish starts off sweet. That sweetness is joined by an undertone of citrus, and a cool sensation towards the back of the mouth.

Longer steeps don’t seem to change the flavour much.

This is an incredibly complex tea! You can tell just by taking a whiff of the steam after pouring it into a cup.
The tea is quite thick, sweet like some sort of honey, somewhat chocolate-like, it has a somewhat hearty base, maybe malt? The tea can also be re-steeped soooo many times. I use 5g in a 120ml gaiwan, and you must quickly pour out the water after so it doesn’t over-brew the tea for the first 3-4 steeps. Every steeping is aromatic and flavorful, even at the 10th steeping (although I sometimes stop drinking this tea before the leaves are completely exhausted).
The leaves themselves are uniform buds like you would expect of a good Jin Jun Mei tea. Because of this, I think maybe its better to not use boiling water. Perhaps 90 degrees Celsius.

So if you like black teas, then I think you will really love this one!
All this being said, I am not a huge drinker or appreciator of black tea. I usually prefer drinking them very casually without paying much attention to them. And occasionally I brew good black tea western style. I pre-heat my gaiwan with boiling water, put about 1g of leaf in and then steep the tea in boiling water. I let it steep until its barely hot, basically just warm. Then the tea is very strong, and if the tea is good it will also be smooth. It has a lot of richness overall and a lot of sweetness will also come out where when brewing gongfu style it might not be noticed (perhaps some complexities are dulled because of this). Then the tea can sipped very slowly, just like how I would imagine people would sip on whisky (I don’t drink alcohol, but in my mind it seems analogous, also similar in color). Each sip will have a veeeery rich flavor. Only works with fine black teas or else it will go very bitter. Works fine with this Jin Jun Mei!

I love this tea!!!

I have tried a bunch of Wuyi Origin’s teas, and so far this one is my favorite.
The flavor is sweet, the mineral taste typical of Wuyi tea, flowery orchid aroma (somewhat comparable to a tie guan yin) and cinnamon flavor. Very pleasant and smooth aftertaste as well. And like many of Wuyi Origin’s teas, it has a pleasant, very subtle menthol-like effect in the aftertaste.
It is like drinking tea brewed from the flowers of a tea tree with cinnamon bark. I really love this tea a lot!

This is a very good tea. I’ll try to describe the taste in simple terms.
It has a very strong typical Wuyi mineral taste to it. Perhaps the strongest that I have ever had from any Wuyi tea. This flavor lasts for quite some time after every sip you take. The smell of the tea is pleasantly aromatic and slightly sweet. It is supposed to smell of peaches, but to me it smells more like… Well… All I can say is just “fruit” in general. Perhaps dried fruit, with an occasional hint of cherries… Maybe dried cherries..? Do people even produce those? Maybe I simply don’t eat enough peaches to recognize peach aroma when I smell it, haha. I think this tea is roasted quite heavily, BUT no overpowering smokiness at all (which is a good thing). In fact, I can hardly detect any smokiness. So all the tea aromas and flavors come through very clearly without being clouded by the smoky aroma.
Apart from these aromas and flavors, the tea also seems to have a light menthol effect.

This is clearly a high grade tea. I’d imagine this tea to be most appreciated among heavy, experienced Wuyi tea drinkers. As good as it is, my personal preference goes out to Wuyi Origin’s Qilan tea.

Multiple roastings combined with well-sourced leaves make for a complex and well structured tea. The tea is very present in the back of the throat and solar plexus.
Nice subtly sweet granite/mineral base, complex cedar notes, and layered depth similar to wild blueberries, dark chocolate, cinnamon, and roasted grains. Later steeps reveal more floral and fruity notes.

I’ve had only a few teas like this, but for a much higher price, so I definitely intend on grabbing another bag of this one.

This came with a few other yanchas from Wuyi Rock Tea Factory (don’t know why the first person added the “shan”, but there you have it). Skyping regularly with Cindy has given me a better idea of her wealth of experience gained from her family’s multi-generation tea making business in Wuyi. It’s also allowed me to continue to practice Mandarin – a rare opportunity in my current weekly routine!

This is my first Qi Lan. Her yanchas are grown exclusively in either the Banyan or Zhengyan areas. It’s highly floral yet subtle in its crystalline rock/mineral sweetness. The roasted notes are still there, but will fade in a year. The taste is pure and quite straightforward. There is a thick body and depth to this tea. It has good clarity and a certain cleanliness, not just in the glass pitcher but also in the mouth.

It goes for 6 to 7 flavorful infusions, but could go a bit more had I added more leaf (this time just 5.5ish grams). There are no prices listed on Cindy’s website, but if you contact her yourself she’ll give you a good price. That might not be some folks’ do business, but that’s how it’s done in China.

Initially, I can taste the high roast of the tea, which is immediately warming to the body, like gentle sunshine on the face. Then, a light honey flavor envelopes the mouth which gives way to a soft floral and honey aftertaste. A very relaxed mouth feel with lingering sweetness in the breath. A very soft and subtle tea which offers warmth & relaxtion.

An exceptional yancha in every possible way. As far as ‘Rock’ tea goes, this is the real deal! Very pleasant mouth feel with a strong floral bouquet and lingering honeysuckle and Mellon taste. Slightly floral after taste. A very soft tea – easy drinking all day tea. Divine! This tea has earned itself its own yisha yixing pot for life.