Wuyi Origin

First time drinking this company’s teas.
Free samples, don’t you just love the anticipation of trying something different with no expectation except they don’t usually give it out free if it sucks. I purchased a sizeable order and this was the free sample sent along. I like oolongs, and generally the higher the quality the more expensive the tea. So oolong drinking can empty the pockets fast. This is listed at 100 gr for $40 bucks or somewhere about $3 a session for me. A session lasts about 3 hours of pleasure so it’s in the realm of affordable. I start from this point in my contemplation of future purchases, the deciding factor being the flavor. Now for the session.
I used my Dan Cong Yixing pot and had at it. As the water hits the leaves an ambrosial cavalcade of honey orchid hits the nose, “dude, quick, put the lid on and stop whiffing.” The first brew is sweetish, it tastes as its fragrance does, over bounding with orchid floral aromas. The next 4 steeps are why I drink tea. Pure bliss, the leaves open up and pour out their beauty. All are over the top floral with a sweet honey at the start of the sip and ending down the throat. There is a gentle dryness slash astringency that is to be expected and in this case relished in the middle sides on the tongue. The aromas and florals hang around it seems forever. Did fall off like I thought after the 7th steep but still managed to brew a few more after that. Nice tea sessions set up the day, makes you smile, relax and face the day.
This is a good, good tea and for the price will definitely be in the cupboard when next I order.

It is always important for me if I can purchase teas directly from the grower. From John B’s blog I found Cindy Chen and her family tea farm. Upon her recommendation of choosing something that is traditionally consumed by her family I purchased this tea. A really delightful tea with rich malt and sweetness that lingers on the the tongue. The tea holds its tastes for many steeps. One of my favorites to date. If you have the funds, I recommend this one to try.

The tea soup is clear. Exactly the color I think of when I say amber. Perhaps a bit watery looking. The brewed aroma is not very strong. It’s almost neutral in it’s aroma. Subtle amount of minerality, but barely anything else.The initial mouthfeel is thick, and a bit dry. This quickly develops into a more smooth, thin feel. Though, it’s still dry. Towards the back of the mouth, I get an interesting pop-rock effect. The flavor is of a sweet minerality, with a pretty forward roast characteristic. Don’t let the tea cool down too much. It becomes a complete mineral bomb if you do. The finish is a strong, almost tongue bite of minerality. There is a also little chocolate bitterness in the finish. It’s a pleasant taste, if a bit one dimensional. I will say, the finish is really long lasting. A little bit more sweetness comes through after about a minute.

Big switch from about the sixth infusion on. I also changed the water source, which is probably the bigger factor. A lot more sweetness. The minerality is finally taking a back note. Now, it’s almost sugarcane(brown) like sweetness, with some light sided florality. The texture is also much less dry. It’s almost velvet like now; heavy like an embrace. The finish is quite a bit more complex now. You get layers of that sugarcane sweetness, with the a light florality, and strong (but mellow) undertones of minerality. Really, a big difference. The only thing that hasn’t really changed, is the aroma. In both the gaiwan, and the cup, it’s almost non existent.

Cha qi (tea energy) is very mellow. It’s a sort of radiating heat from the mid point of the sternum. I can feel the cha qi slowly enveloping me as I drink more. Moving up from the chest, and into the arms. Eventually, It sort of sits in my forehead. Which is common for me. A sort of pleasant heaviness.

Soup is clear, with a dark red, maybe cinnamon, hue. The gaiwan leaves (brewed) are not super aromatic. There is a bit of maltiness, and a hint of stone fruits, but not much else. Initial taste of the tea is a bit underwhelming. First taste is malt. A bit tannic, but not unpleasant or overwhelming. Which is a surprise. I’m brewing this tea longer than I typically do for hong cha. That heavy malty flavor is joined by a strong minerality on the finish. Beneath that, there is a melon sweetness. Like a very sweet honeydew, or cantaloupe, or something similar. Texture wise, the tea also mimics the watery-juiciness typically found in melons.

Pretty much zero chaqi.

Leaves are on the small-medium side. Jet black, with a slightly metallic sheen. Steamed aroma is a deep, fragrant orchid. Brewed aroma is sweeter, with more honey notes. Tea liquor is dark, muddy black-red. Not very clear, but not impenetrable. First taste is bitter, that rapidly evolves into a thick, honey sweetness. On the finish, a slightly bitter orchid is mixed up with the sweetness. It is so incredibly sweet. Like I was sucking on a crystallized piece of honey. Finish is long lasting. Throat feeling is negligible. No noticeable cha qi.

This tea isn’t super complex. What it is, is tasty, and a pleasure to drink.

Dry leaf is small, twisted, mostly matte black leaf. Pretty uniform leaf size. There are a few odd dark brown leaves thrown in, and a few untwisted partial leaves. I assume this is due to the “wild” nature of the product. Steamed aroma is unremarkable. The gaiwan aroma (post first brew) is also unremarkable. Maybe a bit of stone fruit, but that’s being generous.

Initial taste is a cacophony of fruits. It’s syrupy like fruit punch mix. Important to note, there is no chemical, or artificial taste. The tea soup is viscous. It feels oil like on the tongue. Taste develops into an intense sugarcane, fruity sweetness There’s also a bit of citrus taste in the finish. More shaddock, than, say, lemon. This citrus flavor also comes through on the lips. The finish starts off sweet. That sweetness is joined by an undertone of citrus, and a cool sensation towards the back of the mouth.

Longer steeps don’t seem to change the flavour much.

This is an incredibly complex tea! You can tell just by taking a whiff of the steam after pouring it into a cup.
The tea is quite thick, sweet like some sort of honey, somewhat chocolate-like, it has a somewhat hearty base, maybe malt? The tea can also be re-steeped soooo many times. I use 5g in a 120ml gaiwan, and you must quickly pour out the water after so it doesn’t over-brew the tea for the first 3-4 steeps. Every steeping is aromatic and flavorful, even at the 10th steeping (although I sometimes stop drinking this tea before the leaves are completely exhausted).
The leaves themselves are uniform buds like you would expect of a good Jin Jun Mei tea. Because of this, I think maybe its better to not use boiling water. Perhaps 90 degrees Celsius.

So if you like black teas, then I think you will really love this one!
All this being said, I am not a huge drinker or appreciator of black tea. I usually prefer drinking them very casually without paying much attention to them. And occasionally I brew good black tea western style. I pre-heat my gaiwan with boiling water, put about 1g of leaf in and then steep the tea in boiling water. I let it steep until its barely hot, basically just warm. Then the tea is very strong, and if the tea is good it will also be smooth. It has a lot of richness overall and a lot of sweetness will also come out where when brewing gongfu style it might not be noticed (perhaps some complexities are dulled because of this). Then the tea can sipped very slowly, just like how I would imagine people would sip on whisky (I don’t drink alcohol, but in my mind it seems analogous, also similar in color). Each sip will have a veeeery rich flavor. Only works with fine black teas or else it will go very bitter. Works fine with this Jin Jun Mei!

I love this tea!!!

I have tried a bunch of Wuyi Origin’s teas, and so far this one is my favorite.
The flavor is sweet, the mineral taste typical of Wuyi tea, flowery orchid aroma (somewhat comparable to a tie guan yin) and cinnamon flavor. Very pleasant and smooth aftertaste as well. And like many of Wuyi Origin’s teas, it has a pleasant, very subtle menthol-like effect in the aftertaste.
It is like drinking tea brewed from the flowers of a tea tree with cinnamon bark. I really love this tea a lot!

This is a very good tea. I’ll try to describe the taste in simple terms.
It has a very strong typical Wuyi mineral taste to it. Perhaps the strongest that I have ever had from any Wuyi tea. This flavor lasts for quite some time after every sip you take. The smell of the tea is pleasantly aromatic and slightly sweet. It is supposed to smell of peaches, but to me it smells more like… Well… All I can say is just “fruit” in general. Perhaps dried fruit, with an occasional hint of cherries… Maybe dried cherries..? Do people even produce those? Maybe I simply don’t eat enough peaches to recognize peach aroma when I smell it, haha. I think this tea is roasted quite heavily, BUT no overpowering smokiness at all (which is a good thing). In fact, I can hardly detect any smokiness. So all the tea aromas and flavors come through very clearly without being clouded by the smoky aroma.
Apart from these aromas and flavors, the tea also seems to have a light menthol effect.

This is clearly a high grade tea. I’d imagine this tea to be most appreciated among heavy, experienced Wuyi tea drinkers. As good as it is, my personal preference goes out to Wuyi Origin’s Qilan tea.

Multiple roastings combined with well-sourced leaves make for a complex and well structured tea. The tea is very present in the back of the throat and solar plexus.
Nice subtly sweet granite/mineral base, complex cedar notes, and layered depth similar to wild blueberries, dark chocolate, cinnamon, and roasted grains. Later steeps reveal more floral and fruity notes.

I’ve had only a few teas like this, but for a much higher price, so I definitely intend on grabbing another bag of this one.

This came with a few other yanchas from Wuyi Rock Tea Factory (don’t know why the first person added the “shan”, but there you have it). Skyping regularly with Cindy has given me a better idea of her wealth of experience gained from her family’s multi-generation tea making business in Wuyi. It’s also allowed me to continue to practice Mandarin – a rare opportunity in my current weekly routine!

This is my first Qi Lan. Her yanchas are grown exclusively in either the Banyan or Zhengyan areas. It’s highly floral yet subtle in its crystalline rock/mineral sweetness. The roasted notes are still there, but will fade in a year. The taste is pure and quite straightforward. There is a thick body and depth to this tea. It has good clarity and a certain cleanliness, not just in the glass pitcher but also in the mouth.

It goes for 6 to 7 flavorful infusions, but could go a bit more had I added more leaf (this time just 5.5ish grams). There are no prices listed on Cindy’s website, but if you contact her yourself she’ll give you a good price. That might not be some folks’ do business, but that’s how it’s done in China.

Initially, I can taste the high roast of the tea, which is immediately warming to the body, like gentle sunshine on the face. Then, a light honey flavor envelopes the mouth which gives way to a soft floral and honey aftertaste. A very relaxed mouth feel with lingering sweetness in the breath. A very soft and subtle tea which offers warmth & relaxtion.

An exceptional yancha in every possible way. As far as ‘Rock’ tea goes, this is the real deal! Very pleasant mouth feel with a strong floral bouquet and lingering honeysuckle and Mellon taste. Slightly floral after taste. A very soft tea – easy drinking all day tea. Divine! This tea has earned itself its own yisha yixing pot for life.