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Winter 2019 harvest.

Filtered Santa Monica tap water just off the boil throughout. Poured from a pear-shaped purple clay tea-pot into a glass cha hai, and served in a porcelain (“peony”) cup.

5 infusions (10, 20, 30, 40, 60 seconds) – flax/pale straw liquor; moderate roast, faint grain, wildflowers and grass in the nose; mild creamy flavor with hints of vanilla, corn silk, and a subtle floral presence. Faint residual sweetness hints at toasted rice or waffle batter. Clean, medium-thick mouth-feel. No bitterness. Linear flavor progression from palate entry to finish and largely from steep to steep (although 30 – 40 seconds seems to be the sweet spot here).

Refreshing, mild, medium-roast oolong that would likely do well iced – while well crafted, it lacks the complexity that you can find in some high grown or mainland varieties (I wouldn’t normally dwell on these sorts of comparisons, but the hubristic name suggesting the highest rank of nobility seems an open invitation to criticism).

Briefly noting that I’ve found the Autumn 2019 batch of this tea to be gorgeous to look at, but that the aroma and flavor are at best, so subtle that I am incapable of evaluating much less appreciating them. I found this to be bland and flat for all but the initial infusion (which was itself weak), and only gaining some bitterness and a vague woodiness when truly pushed. Disappointing Dianhong. Not my cup of tea, as it were…

Prepared in my Jian Shui gaiwan, and served in my porcelain tea cup via my glass cha hai. Filtered Santa Monica municipal water just off the boil throughout.

Lasts maybe 6 – 8 infusions brewed gong fu style:

Rust liquor; dense aroma suggesting charcoal-baked Murasaki sweet potato, and a touch of burnt toast if pushed. Very slight floral/vegetal notes emerge in later infusions as the core yam notes soften; sweet, rich, malty palate entry with hints of chestnut and longan leading into a medium-dry, lightly earthy finish with a whisper of smoke; smooth, medium body with hints of starch more than cream.

While the processing doesn’t taste “artificial,” it is difficult to believe this aroma/flavor was achieved without any additives to the tea given how prominent the “sweet potato” notes are from the aroma of the dry leaf on through multiple infusions in the cup. While lacking the chocolate notes I sometimes get from Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong, this remains an indulgent, almost dessert-oriented tea.

Wrote up my impressions of this only to realize I had already done so for the Spring 2016 crop, which I found to be much the same.

No review, just a brief note to myself that I found this to be a clean (maybe a vague mushroom quality without a first rinse, but no fishiness, or other off notes from the fermentation), mellow, earthy shou with plenty of longevity (10 – 15 infusions over 2 or even 3 days) and moderate caffeine. Probably better as part of a meal, but not bad on its own. The first ripe puerh I’ve considered picking up a cake of (which ended up being sold out in any case)…

Prepared in my Jian Shui gaiwan, and served in my porcelain tea cup via my glass cha hai. Filtered Santa Monica municipal water just off the boil throughout.

The compressed cake is easy to break up by hand, and if done gently, the leaves mostly untangle into long even wiry strands. The dry leaf aroma brings to mind a clean stable or feed-store, faintly grainy/grassy and equine.

6 infusions from 10 to 60 seconds.

Mahogany liquor; floral/spicy/grassy/lightly oxidized aromatics – subtle, complex, and difficult to parse; Earthy, almost leathery palate entry with a bit of peach pit. Slightly tannic, not quite brisk. Low fruitiness with a hint of cream and perhaps cocoa emerges from the dusty finish; medium-bodied, energizing (plenty of caffeine).

Curious if this one will develop more character with age or become too bland – right now it strikes a nice balance and I’ll probably drink up this cake in a month or two. While I don’t have much experience with purple varietals – this blend is a pleasant, unoffensive introduction.

Prepared in my Jian Shui gaiwan, and served in my porcelain tea cup via my glass cha hai. Filtered Santa Monica municipal water just off the boil throughout.

The dry leaf aroma immediately brings to mind alfalfa/hay – the leaves themselves are uniformly fine, wiry, with faint touches of gold.

8 infusions from 10 to 120 seconds: Tawny liquor; potent alfalfa/hay aromatics (especially with the first infusion); deep rich flavor, malty with clean grassy cane notes – medium-sweet, slightly toasty finish; medium-bodied, lightly tannic, moderately energizing. Flavor tapers fairly quickly after the 4th or 5th infusion.

Another good daily drinker with unique processing contributing to a subtle but unusual aroma/flavor.

Prepared in my Jian Shui gaiwan, and served in my porcelain tea cup via my glass cha hai. Filtered Santa Monica municipal water just off the boil throughout.

8 infusions from 10 to 60+ seconds. Sienna liquor with harvest gold highlights; gentle roast in the nose with hints of Japanese yam and barley; faint floral and mineral notes present a lingering chocolate-tinged sweetness. Moderately malty, but very little smoke on the palate. Finishes medium-dry with a distinctive nutty/grassy flavor I can’t quite put a name to (perhaps what others have referred to as “oaky”?). Longer infusions bring out more cocoa and darker toast flavors with a tiny bit of smoke in the finish.

Smooth, medium-light bodied, and surprisingly refreshing.

Closer to a good Keemun than a Lapsang Souchong, this is a unique and interesting Hong cha, well worth sampling.

Generous sample kindly provided by the proprietor.

Prepared in my Jian Shui gaiwan, and served in my porcelain tea cup via my glass cha hai. Filtered Santa Monica municipal water just off the boil throughout.

Dry leaves resemble long slightly twisted black sticks with some spots of rust.

10 infusions ranging from 10 to 60 seconds.

Chestnut liquor; wet wood, river stones, and a hint of chocolate, walnut skin, and grain husk in the nose; smooth, creamy, and faintly nutty on the palate – long, increasingly cocoa and autumn-leaf-laden finish that takes ages to unfurl despite a persistent subtlety. Very low acidity/bitterness. Flavor/aroma drops off very slowly over the session. Consistent, gentle, and nearly delightful.