Premium Grade Anxi Ben Shan Oolong tea * Spring 2017

March Mad(Hatter) Tea Tournament!
Round #1 – Match #14    Yunnan Sourcing – Premium Grade Anxi Ben Shan oolong Spring 2017 VS.  Tea Haus – Marzipan

If anything this tournament is forcing me to write notes for teas I haven’t yet.  Teas that are five years old.  Teas I bought new.  I’m glad I sent some of this to LuckyMe way back then, to confirm there is nothing really special with this tea (even when fresher).   Which is why I haven’t written a note yet.  To my knowledge, I also haven’t had any Ben Shan oolongs before, so not sure what I’m looking for.  The first steep is incredibly silky and reminds me of hints of peaches and cream.  The second steep is a bit like tamarind while still peachy.  I shouldn’t be neglecting this one!  This never gets astringent, maintaining a thick quality throughout.  It’s soothing and tasty enough. 
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for full mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // 18 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep#3 // just boiled // 2 min

The Marizpan has SO MUCH flavor and it’s SO OLD.  How is this possible?  It’s also a soothing cup today.  It’s the most actual marzipan tea of any tea I’ve had, both with flavoring and actual almonds that take it to another level.  It would certainly win the Marzipan Tea Award.  I’d buy this one again, but I doubt any flavoring used today would last this long. (I have a theory that new flavoring, like bergamot or almond, has to be more “natural” these days, meaning not only Less Good and Accurate but also not as lasting when the tea ages.)  Another tough call but the winner today is:  Premium Grade Anxi Ben Shan

Received a sample of this tea courtesy of teasipper. It’s my first time trying Ben Shan which is supposed to be closely related to Tieguanyin and is sometimes sold to unsuspecting buyers as TGY. So going into this tasting, my perception was Ben Shan probably tastes a lot like TGY albeit a lower grade version.

The dry leaf indeed had the familiar floral aroma of TGY but additionally, I smelled some eucalyptus and vanilla. The first steep was like a weak TGY. Light orchid flavor. The color wasn’t nuclear green though. It had a slight amber hue to it. The next steep was fuller with TGY like orchid balanced with a nice vegetal backdrop. In the 3rd steep, the florals become brighter, more orchid than lilac. Some vanilla peeks through as well and a little fruitiness can be detected in the background. This was a very well balanced infusion that tasted like an earlier steeping of TGY. The flavor of the tea changes little in later steeps. It just gets thinner as the steeps wear on.

This was a good tea in my book but there’s nothing unique about it. It doesn’t separate itself from other TGYs in any meaningful way. For all practical purposes, it can be considered to be TGY-lite.