Dian Hong

Tea: Dian Hong
Vendor: Swan Sisters
Price: $8.00 / oz
Source: Yunnan, China
Harvest Date: Spring 2008
Vendor Description:
Yunnan Imperial known in Chinese as Dianhong, is from Fengqing county, Yunnan in Southern China. It is made from the same variety of tea plant as found in Darjeeling (A tea growing town/region in the Northern Indian state of West Bengal) and grown directly across the Himalayas. This tea is China's answer to those who love robust black teas. Yunnan imperial is high in tannins with a malty flavor and deep amber color which holds up well to milk. Production, almost exclusively for export, started in the 1960's when the officials of Yunnan where looking for revenue for the poor rural areas.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea is black and gold in color. The leaves are long and twisted with a rich and sweet aroma. The aroma reminds me somewhat of coffee.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5oz, 208F, 1 min

1st Infusion: The tea has a rich black tea aroma to it. The aroma is thick and heavy with a strong sense of intensity. The tea itself is a rich dark red-brown hue. The flavor is smooth and rich. It is full bodied and is definitively a Yunnan black tea. It finishes off with a long lasting aftertaste.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 208F, 1:30

2nd Infusion: The second infusion still shows the rich black aroma. The flavor is bold and strong, but has developed a light sense of bitterness and a medium astringency. The flavor is snappy and sharp.

Rating: 5/10

Conclusion: This is is very characteristically a Yunnan black tea. The leaf has an appropriate color as so, with golden leaf mixed with the rich black colored leaf. There isn't much that unique about this tea though, at least not enough to warrant the price. It's definitely a good stop if you're looking for a black tea outside of the Darjeeling/Assam/Ceylon ranks.

Thousand Step

Tea: Thousand Step
Vendor: Swan Sisters
Price: $9.00 /oz
Harvest: April 2008
Vendor Description:Thousand Step Oolong originates from the Wu Yi Mountains in northern Fujian, an area renowned for producing some of the finest Oolongs available in China. This special tea is crafted by the award winning tea master Liu Guo who produces only small batches of select Oolong varieties each year. The outstanding quality of this tea is apparent in its velvety texture, caramel color, and smooth creamy finish. 2 teaspoons of Thousand Step Oolong can be infused with boiling water up to 6 times.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea is dark in color, mostly a black color with a light brown/greyish surface. There are shades from a dark brown to hues of black. The aroma is deep and rich.

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

1st Infusion: The hue of this tea reminds me of amber. This tea has a rich and thick malty aroma. The flavor is in juxtaposition to the aroma. It is very light and fruity. It is smooth and rolls down the tongue. Despite the light flavor though it is very full bodied and has a thickness to it. Just not much in terms of intensity.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 208F, 1 min

2nd Infusion: The second infusion had a slightly darker amber hue to it. The flavor felt much sharper than before, it comes through as a stronger, richer flavor. The aroma is not as abundant, but it is still thick and rich. The flavor feels bodied yet light.

3rd Infusion Parameters: 208F, 2 min

3rd Infusion: This infusion is a dark brown color, but it is very clear. The flavor feels lighter than the 2nd infusion and it has an interesting peppery feel to it.

Rating: 8/10

Conclusion: This tea has a very rich and enjoyable aroma for a Wuyi oolong. The flavor has some nice tones to it and an interesting feel on the third infusion. Compared to some Wuyi oolongs this has a more refined flavor. I have not had too many though thus far and my palatte in terms of Wuyi oolongs is still developing. At it's price it seems a bit expensive compared to other oolongs I have seen though.

Lu'an Guapian

Tea: Lu'an Guapian
Vendor: Swan Sisters
Price: $10.00/oz
Source: Anhui, China
Vendor Description:
Luan melon seed, English for the Chinese "Luan Guapian" is named for its tightly rolled seed-like shaped leaves. This emerald green tea made in Luan county of Southern China's Anhui province is one of the great bargains of the green tea world. This is because Luan Guapian is largely ignored in the Chinese tea market, though only prime spring leaves are used with a painstaking hand made process. Melon seed is roasted longer than most green teas which gives it the longest shelf life. Try this tea in winter when other green teas are losing their luster.
Harvest Date: 04/ 2008

Leaf: The leaf has a very uniform shape to it. The leaves are twisted and curled and have a dry, dull, and matte appearance to them.

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

1st Infusion: The tea has a yellow hue to it. The aroma is quite sweet, it is quite light and subdued though. The flavor is quite bold and shows some bitterness and a medium sense of astringency. Some of this flavor reminds me of a dragonwell.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 20s, 185F, 5oz

2nd Infusion: This infusion was yellow in color again. The flavor was lighter and crisper than the first infusion. It reminds me of a dragonwell yet again. It has what seems like a light woody taste as well. There was the bitterness once again.

Rating: 4/10

Conclusion: There wasn't anything particularly outstanding about this tea, and at $10/oz it doesn't seem to compare well to teas in the same price range. This is possibly influenced still by my general distaste of Chinese green teas, I have yet to find some that compare in flavor to a Japanese green tea. While the two are different entities, I don't see any appeal on the Chinese side over the Japanese.

Phoenix Oolong

Tea: Phoenix Oolong
Vendor: Swan Sisters
Price: $25/oz
Source: Guangdong, China

About This Tea: This is a Phoenix / Dan Cong oolong in limited offering from Swan Sisters. Their supply is only for the local market (SLO). It is not available on their website.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea is very dark in color, almost black. It is very light and fluffy with very light density.

1st Infusion Parameters: 3g, 5 oz, 208F, 5s rinse, 45s

1st Infusion: This tea is very light and unique aroma. It is hard to describe, but is the most alluring aspect of this tea. The aroma is sweet and malty at the same time, yet more than just that. The tea itself is a golden brown color. The flavor is light and crisp, and it moves quickly through the mouth to flush with a full bodied flavor. It is rich and smooth at the same time.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 45s, 208F

2nd Infusion: This infusion was darker, with still a clear brown hue to it. There is a tangy sharpness to the flavor of this infusion. It starts at the tip of the tongue and slides down the tongue. It is sweet, but not sugary similar to the way that a yutakamidori shows it's sweetness. It finishes with a medium astringency.

3rd Infusion Parameters: 1 min, 208F

3rd Infusion: This infusion starts to show a bit more color, with a red/gold hue. The aroma switched over to an almost nutty aroma. The flavor is stronger than the initial flavor. It is rich and flavorful, and significantly thicker. It is not quite as thick as a gyokuro though.

4th Infusion Parameters: 3 min, 208F

4th Infusion: This infusion has a richer brown hue to it. The aroma changed once again. This time it was thicker and more subdued. The flavor was moderate in strength, but started showing signs of easing up. It felt sweeter yet again and left with a medium sense of astringency.

Rating: 8/10

Conclusion: I'm really unable to describe the aroma of the different infusions very well for this tea, but they are quite different from infusion to infusion. I don't have much experience with Dan Cong Oolongs, so I don't have that much to compare them to. I somewhat expected a bit more for the price though. I'll need to compare it against production grade Dan Cong to see how they fare in comparison. On its own though, the flavor was very interesting and refreshing.

Silver Needle

Tea: Silver Needle
Vendor: Swan Sisters
Price: $6.00 / oz.
Source: Fujian, China
Harvest: 3/08
Vendor Description: This delicately pleasant tea is from the home of white teas, Fujian's Fu Ding county. Bai Hao Yin Zhen is hand plucked in the first two weeks of March and made using century old techniques. The flavor of this tea is earthy and sweet with a velvety, smooth texture that is characteristic of a Silver Needle white tea. SwanSisters' Silver Needle is a higher grade so the flavor and the texture of the tea will be more apparent than in the more common grades. Enjoy Bai Hao Yin Zhen on a quiet afternoon

Leaf: The leaf for this Silver Needle was a bit dryer looking than normal. There are a few small flecks in the mix as well.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 50z, 180F, 2 min

1st Infusion: This Silver Needle has a heavier and thicker aroma than most silver needles. The leaves, once wet, have a very nice green color to them. The tea itself has a nice light light yellow hue to it. It is a very typical looking cup of Silver Needle. The flavor is much bolder than a normal Silver Needle, it is very full bodied with a light sense of bitterness. The flavor on the tongue is much thicker than normal.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 180F, 3 min

2nd Infusion: The flavor in this infusion was still quite rich for a silver needle. There was a light sense of bitterness to it, and for the most part tasted the same as the first infusion.

Rating: 9/10

Conclusion: This Silver Needle has a stronger, bolder taste that the others I have tried. It is thick and creamy almost, while retaining that Silver Needle light flavor. The only thing about this tea is that it is a little on the pricey side, even for a Silver Needle. For a unique SN experience though, this is a tea to try.

Oolong 101

Last Tuesday I had a chance to attend a small class on Oolongs by a local vendor, Swan Sisters. The class was appropriately named Oolong 101. The class covered some of the general points of Oolongs, brewing, manufacture / history of specific oolongs, and of course tastings.

There were a few types of oolong covered, Tie Guan Yin, Taiwanese Oolongs, Wuyi Rock, and Dan Cong. For a lot of the attendees the class really was also an instruction on how to use a gaiwan with a tea table. Most of them had never used a gaiwan before, let alone serving pitcher or tea table. I have a feeling that may have been more rewarding of an experience for some of them than the actual tea itself. First starting to use a gaiwan is a very difficult and somewhat painful proposition.

A few important points in brewing oolongs though were brought to light. The class focused on brewing multiple infusions using a gaiwan in a gong fu style. This mean short infusion times and lots of infusions. To prevent swimming through tea all night though we tended to stick to about 2-3 infusions, as is appropriate for beginning. I've always felt that learning to coax more out of your tea and reading your infusion is something that comes with experience and practice.

Swan Sisters plans to have classes like these every second tuesday of the month on different teas/subjects. The cost for the class was $10

Tae Guan Yin

Tea: Tae Guan Yin
Vendor: Swan Sisters
Price: $8.00 / oz.
Harvest Date: 4/07

About This Tea: Swan Sisters is a local company which I believe is only recently just starting. They sell their teas at the local farmer's market and by direct phone ordering I believe. They currently don't have a website to speak of. From what I have gathered they have been going on buying trips to China and bring the tea back and sell it at farmer's market. They bring back the regular big name teas from China, Dragonwell (Long Jing) , Iron Goddess (Tae Guan Yin), Silver Needles(Bai Hao Yinzen), White Peony (Bai Mu Dan), etc. It will be interesting to see how they do in eventually opening an online presence and possibly a brick and mortar presence in this town.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea was very green and interestingly comma shaped. This is not unusual though for an oolong, but there was a large amount of small dust particles in the mix. I found this to be a bit unusual and disappointing.

1st Infusion: The first infusion had a very strong aroma to it. I'm not sure how to describe the actual aroma though, but it was not a sweet aroma, it reminded me of a citrus, but without the sweetness or sharpness of it. The liquor had a very strong flavor at the onset, it matched the aroma quite well and produced a very difficult to describe flavor as well. The flavor builds up gradually on the tongue and then intensifies rather quickly. After intensifying it drops off. There is a definite richness to this flavor, but it is not bold.

2nd Infusion: This infusion had a strong sense of bitterness to it, but the flavor and aroma were very similar to the first infusion.

Used Leaf: The used leaf for this tea was very interesting. I have not had much experience with oolongs, and so I was intrigued by the used leaf, the leaves were much larger than are used for many other teas and expanded quite a bit from the small comma shapes they had originally been. There were lots of small pieces broken off from the edges of the leaves though, this was most likely the source of the dust that I noticed.

Rating: 3/10

Conclusion: The flavor for this tea was interesting, but I'm not sure that I really enjoyed it that much. The small broken pieces of the tea were a bit disappointing. I'm not sure if it is simply this tea or the style of tea that didn't really appeal that much to me.