203 Tasting Notes
From a new Verdant order. Major props to Mrs. Li on this beautiful tea! An absolute treat. I’ve never had pre-Qing Ming Longjing before, so I have no similar comparators, but this certainly blows the other Longjing’s I’ve had out the water.
Medium-high sweetness that is beautiful. Mouthfeel is incredibly unique and chalky (in a good way). 1-2 mins of hui gan. Longevity is 4 golden infusions.
Apparently Mrs. Li has been at tea-making for 50 years. She has certainly perfected her craft. The #43 varietal was apparently bred specifically to bud earlier than classic Dragonwell varietals.
I’d say this was worth ~$1/g :).
Harvest: March, 2024
Cultivar: Longjing #43
Location: Longjing village, Zhejiang Province
Elevation: 300 m
Dry leaf: Artichoke.
Wet leaf: Artichoke, nutty.
Flavors: Artichoke, sweet, nutty, honey, chalk.
Flavors: Artichoke, Chalky, Honey, Nutty, Sweet
Preparation
Second tea from new YOT order. Bought a brick of this as well as it was only $0.12/g and it is pretty nice! I think I like it more than the ripe from the day before. It still has a nice camphor flavor, but more muted. Not overly complex, but a nice brick with big leaves.
Dry leaves: Camphor
Wet leaves: Same
Flavor: Camphor, wood, dark
Flavors: Camphor, Dark Wood
Well this is from a new order from YOT. I had to give some of their other teas a chance when I heard how much the taste of HK was disliked by some people and considered an “off batch.” This shou is first up and I’m very glad I caked this because it is quite good for the price ($0.09/g). Overwhelming scent, but the taste is much more muted.
Mild sweetness, medium-thick mouthfeel. Lasts 12-15 infusions. Some of this cake literally looks like clumps of clay haha. I know it’s note, but pretty wild how different it looks due to the HK storage.
Dry leaf: Camphor
Wet leaf: Camphor
Taste: Camphor, wet earth, forest floor, wet wood, sweet
Flavors: Camphor, Forest Floor, Sweet, Wet Earth, Wet Wood
I would give this 0 if I could. The worst tea I’ve ever tried by far. This is everything bad about when people talk of the “funk” that fermented teas can have. And I even rinsed this 3 times. The golden flowers just don’t sit well with me I suppose.
At least it was a free sample.
Dry leaf: Pungent, smoke
Wet leaf: Same
Flavors: Pungent, rotting fish, disgusting, mold, must, musk
Flavors: Fish, Mold, Musk, Musty, Pungent
Was this your first heicha? I’ve avoided this tea type exactly because of the flavours you describe.
No I love love love shou puerh and have had somewhat enjoyable experiences with Liu Bao and Hunan Fu Zhuan. Nothing has come close to being this horrible.
Oh dear, sorry to hear that. I’ve had maybe six teas from ORT and they seem very hit and miss to me.
Appreciate the sympathy :). Yea they are definitely hit and miss. Probably wont be ordering samples from them again unfortunately :(.
I know last year ORT had issues with some puerh molding over in storage. Maybe the same happened here? Generally fuzhuan teas should be mild and sweet.
Hmmm maybe that happened. Wasn’t aware they had issues with molding. I didn’t see any mold other than the namesake golden flowers, but maybe it was there an not super visible.
Not too bad as my second to last sample from ORT. Also not worth the price IMO, but I can tell it is pretty high quality. FL’s HZLZ is better tbh. Not sure how much this being 3 years old affects the perception as well.
Moderate bitterness that lasts 2 infusions. No sweetness. Decently thick mouthfeel. Very smooth overall. Lasts 12+ infusions.
Harvest: Spring 2021
Location: Boatang, Huazhuliangzi, Mengsong, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan
Dry leaf: Puerh scent, grapes
Wet leaf: Same
Flavor: Puerh, hay, grapes, honey, bitter
Flavors: Bitter, Grapes, Hay, Honey
Wow this is a properly aged white! And a wonderful tea for the price ($0.13/g). Much better than the aged white from KTM, although a lot more expensive for sure. The price to quality ratio here is phenomenal, though. I am really starting to love aged whites. I will be caking this FOR SURE.
Incredibly sweet, no bitterness. Can handle boiling water. Mouthfeel is thick and oily. Hui gan is insanely long-lasting; 15-20 mins later I still have sweet honey taste lingering in my mouth. Lasts 5 infusions. Complexity is very high for a white tea.
Harvest: Autumn, 2013
Location: Diantou, Fuding, China
Dry leaf: Fermented fruit, dried apricot, fig, honey.
Wet leaf: Same
Flavors: Dried apricot, fig, dates, honey, sweet, vanilla, old library, cream, thick.
Flavors: Apricot, Cream, Dates, Dried Fruit, Fig, Oily, Sweet, Thick, Vanilla
4th sample from ORT. This one is definitely better than the Xenringxiang, but not amazing. Much more going on and more complex. Still not as good as Verdant’s Milanxiang.
Tingling mouthfeel and aftertaste that lingers for ~1-2 mins. Trace bitterness if you squint your tastebuds. No sweetness. Lasts 6-7 infusions. Probably can handle boiling water.
Harvest: Spring 2023
Varietal: Milanxiang
Location: Phoenix Village, Phoenix Mountains, Chaozhou
Dry leaves: Floral, citrus
Wet leaves: Floral, citrus
Flavors: Floral, citrus, grapefruit, tingly, sour, honey
Flavors: Citrus, Floral, Grapefruit, Honey, Pleasantly Sour
So this is Xigui…I see why it is liked so much, even though this is likely at best a moderate quality production from there. It is somewhat Yiwu-like in its softness.
Has the best mouthfeel of the three samples I’ve tried so far. Flavors are much more subtle here than the Kuanshan. No bitterness. Mild sweetness. Lasts 12+ infusions.
Overall, starting to think ORT is just okay. This is definitely not worth $1/g. Not terribly complex. And their tasting notes are just wild. “Champagne, mangos, sour skittles, IPA, spring Gardenias.” I get absolutely none of that. Nothing close. Not sure where that is coming from haha.
Harvest: April 2023.
Location: Xigui, Lincang, Yunnan
Dry leaf: Fruity
Wet leaf: Same
Flavors: Fruity, grapes
Flavors: Fruity, Grapes
Second sample from ORT. This one isn’t too bad. I wouldn’t turn it away if it were offered.
Lasts 12+ steeps. Mouthfeel is nothing special, but somewhat thick. Not much hui gan or cha qi. Mild bitterness that is fairly enjoyable. No sweetness.
Harvest: April 2023
Location: Kuashan, Lincang, Yunnan
Dry leaf: Apricot
Wet leaf: Same
Flavors: Grapes, cream, fruity
Flavors: Apricot, Cream, Fruity, Grapes
My first sample from a new order from ORT. Mostly intrigued by their offerings, so decided to give them a try even though they are a somewhat lesser known company. This one is just okay. Overall a bit too watery for me, but what flavor is there is good. Definitely will finish the sample at some point.
No sweetness or bitterness. Thin, watery mouthfeel. Lasts about 8 steeps. Not incredibly complex as I would expect from a Dancong.
Harvest: Spring 2023
Cultivar: Xingrenxiang
Location: Zhuliu Village, Phoenix Mountains, Chaozhou
Dry leaf: Dried apricot
Wet leaf: Same
Taste: Dried apricot, watery, thin, fruity
Flavors: Apricot, Fruity, Thin, Watery
Ooh, I’m jealous! I’m waiting for some pre-Ming Dragonwell from Seven Cups. I also have pre-Qingming Dragonwell from Teavivre and Treasure Green that I’m waiting to open until the Seven Cups order arrives. I’m going to do an epic green tea comparison tasting—but the wait is driving me bonkers!
Ohh dang I’ve seen the Seven Cups stuff before and now I’m jealous. Maybe I’ll drop the cash on that good stuff some day haha. I’ve never even heard of Treasure Green though. I can’t wait to see how those Longjings compare to each other though!
Treasure Green is a company from Vancouver that offered the three Mingqian teas I was interested in: Longjing, Bi Luo Chun, and Anji Bai Cha. I haven’t heard much about them, but their 2024 Meng Ding Huang Cha, which I also bought, is pretty nice. The other contenders, including Verdant and Tong Xin She, didn’t offer Anji, and Bitterleaf doesn’t appear to be doing Longjing samples at all this year.
Ashman loves Teavivre’s pre-Qingming Dragonwell. We haven’t tried any others and haven’t had dragonwell in a while. I need to paw through my samples.
Ashmanra, I had samples of their pre-Qingming Dragonwell several years ago, so I’m expecting good things. It will be interesting to see how it compares with pricier Longjing.