Early Spring Bai Sha Lu

Tea: Early Spring Bai Sha Lu
Vendor: Jing Tea Shop
Price: $2.99 / 100g
Source: Hai Nan Province, China
Vendor Description: First batch of 2009! This steamed green tea is the most famous green tea of Hai Nan island. The birth place of this tea is named Wu Zhi Shan (five fingers mountain), which has a very good environment for tea plantations.

This top grade Bai Sha Lu is a chopped green tea made with very tender buds and leaves. It has a pale green color that is frosted with its natural "tea sugar" on the surface. The dry leaves give a fresh nutty and sweet fragrance. The bright yellow liquor is thick, smooth, and, pure. A lovely sweetness comforts the mouth after drinking. A good everyday green tea to start the spring.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea is a somewhat uniform matte green color. Almost all of the leaves are uniformly sized at about 1cm. The uniformity of the leaves almost resemble koekicha. The aroma is a bit odd, it reminds me of pork & beans.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5oz, 185F, 45s

1st Infusion: This tea has a lightly murky yellow green color to it. The aroma is sharp with a flavor to match. My first reaction to this tea is that the tea has a sharp bitterness to it. Beyond this there is a light smokiness to it. It is very bodied with a medium astringency.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 185F, Instant pour

2nd Infusion: This is a little hazy yellow hue. There is a bit of a woody aroma to it. The tea is a bit brothy with a smoky and woody flavor to it. It finishes up with a medium sense of astringency.

Rating: 8/10

Conclusion: This tea is a bit of a surprise to me. It has a very bold and strong sense to it, but isn't terribly bad for it. It's not a tea that I would drink alone, but that would pair well with food. And at the price it is very affordable. Not the finest tea that I have run across, but a very good bargain. Thank you to Salsero over at Teachat for this sample.

Ba Xian Dan Cong Winter Single Bush

Tea: Ba Xian Dan Cong, Winter Single Bush
Vendor: Jing Tea Shop
Price: $29.00 / 100g

About this tea: This tea was a sample provided to me by Salsero over at Tea Chat. This tea is no longer available from the Jing Tea Shop website so the information pertaining to it is a bit short.

Leaf: This tea is a mix of dark black colored leaf along with some green leaf. This reminds me of the Yulan Dancong from Canton Tea Co. Some of the leaves are light green in color. There is a light floral aroma with a medium intensity to the leaf. Most of the leaf is slightly wider and flatter than most Dan Cong oolongs.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5 oz, 208F, 45s, 5s rinse

1st Infusion: The tea is a yellow green hue. It has a very vibrant aroma and reminds me of freshness. There is quite a bit of aroma to this tea. The flavor is bold and full bodied. There is a light tinge of sharpness and a light side of the mouth sense of astringency. The tea has a definite green freshness to it.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 45s, 208F

2nd Infusion: This infusion has a browner hue than the first. It is less floral of an aroma. It feels thicker and heavier. The flavor is lighter and snappier, with a light sense of astringency.

Rating: 7/10

Conclusion: The first infusion of this tea had a fantastic sense of aroma. Unfortunately that all but disappeared in the second infusion. I'm still not quite sure what I think of greener Dan Cong oolong teas, and this is definitely one of them. The price is affordable for a good Dan Cong, but there are others that perform better for less.

Feng Huang Milan Dancong

Tea: Feng Huang Milan Dancong
Vendor: Jing Tea Shop
Price: $4.99 / 100g
Source: Guangdong, China
Vendor Description: Everyday milan tea from the Wudong Mountain, Feng Huang town. The tea only went through its first baking steps which allows the leaves to offers a more flowery then honey profile. The liquor is quite pure, after taste has medium lenght. The tea will be rebaked later in the month so now is a good time to get acquainted with the flowery character of a milan dancong.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea is a very large and fluffy black leaf, rather well cared for and unbroken. There is a light aroma to the leaf. It is a very phoenix style characteristic aroma. It is rather faint so it is a bit difficult to narrow it down a bit more than that. The leaves are an assortment of brown hues.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5oz, 208F, 45s, 5s rinse

1st Infusion: This tea has a lovely sweet and floral aroma. The liquor shows a clear brown hue with shades of red. The aroma feels very broad and general. The flavor matches the aroma well, both in breadth and generality. The flavor of the tea is very bodied. Despite the heavy body it has a nice and light, flavorful feeling to it. The core of the flavor is very thin, but the sides are stronger than the core of the flavor. There is a thickness left on the tongue as an aftertaste. The backend of the flavor is somewhat thick.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 208F, 1:00

2nd Infusion: This infusion was a darker golden brown hue. It is lightly murky with a lighter aroma to it. The flavor still lacks the central portion of the core as the first infusion though. There is a light astringency and bitterness in the flavor. It feels a bit sharp on the tongue, but shows a decent body. The flavor is in general a very smooth, yet crisp flavor overall.

3rd Infusion Parameters: 1:45, 208F

3rd Infusion: This infusion was a more golden brown hue than previous infusions. This one again shows a light aroma, no real change from the previous infusions, just simply a light aroma. The flavor was a sharper bitter flavor again. It finishes with a medium high astringency on the backend. There is a snappy bitterness in the aftertaste.

Rating: 3/10

Conclusion: This tea was interesting. Aside from the Royal Phoenix from Tao of Tea it's the only other Phoenix that I have found in this particular price range. From what I have seen of teas in this range though, it leads me to believe that it's better to just stay above this range if you're looking for a Phoenix oolong. For me one of the most alluring parts of a Phoenix is the ever so disticnt, yet indescribable aroma. That is something that was utterly lacking with this tea. Also the depth of the flavor were not showing that well before the tea turned more bitter and astringent. When going for a Phoenix oolong in my opinion you should, as Emeril would say, kick it up a notch! Thank you to Salsero over at Teachat though for providing me this sample.