Spring, 2018; C. sinensis var. Dàbái; elev. unknown, Fuding, Guanyang, Fujian; young buds: one flag-one spear, pre-Qingming, white tea process; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá#Tea, #茶, #Chá.
The dry leaves appear to be thick, fat, sage green, closed buds with silver hairs all over, and have an earthy, biscuit like scent, with a hint of charcoal; when wet the leaves become more ore less uniformly green with occasional yellow hints whilst they have a notably sharp, and mild acrid like wet ash aroma.
The brewed tea, which was steeped with 4g of tea in 50ml of water for 10sec.@80deg. C then a further 100ml of water was added for 60sec.@80deg. C.; has a white pear to pale yellow colour, accompanied by a mild buttery aroma. In the mouth it has a creamy, milky texture, is slightly thin and watery on the sides of the tongue, with hints of pepper, and a subtly metallic sensation, followed by a lingering sweet finish.The taste precedes from being full, creamy, mildly buttery with floral notes on swallowing, followed by an earthy, metallic, mouthwatering drift into a long, sweet aftertaste and a gradual drying presence in the throat.
This tea is now three years old and according to the saying, “One Year is tea, two years is medicine, three years is treasure;” this tea should be at its optimal best, IF it was stored well.
From my research, there seems to be two types of Silver Needle Tea from Fujian: “North Road” from Fuding City in Ningde prefecture, and “South Road” from Zhenghe in Nanping prefecture.
Comparing my tasting notes from last year, this tea seems to be mellower, and slightly darker in colour, but that could be attributed to brewing differences related to time and temperature. It does seem to have a notable minerality to it however, this does not detract in any way from its dominant, sweet, lingering finish, which is very pleasant.
The dry leaves are large, dark-brown to black in colour, with a dried hay/straw scent with a touch of smoke, and a hint of chocolate. When wet, the leaves appear uniformly dark with a hint of olive green whilst the aromatic aroma is a touch vegetal, with hints of fresh cut cabbage, allspice, pepper.
The brewed tea has a clear, golden honey colour with a honey, malt, & Bischoff biscuit scent. It is thick, syrupy, viscous in the mouth with prickling, fresh, mineralish, mouth watering, sensation and sweet finish, and delights with the flavours of malt, honey, hay, and an aftertaste of smoke and carob.
3.5g of dry leaf was flashed steeped in 150ml of water for less than 10sec. at 90-95deg. C. The pack recommends 6-7g in 180-200ml for less than 6 sec. which is the full contents of a single sachet. This is a rather pleasant tea to drink.
What is frustrating about this tea is the total lack of information on the packaging. It is a gift set of what seems to be eminently drinkable tea that cannot be traced back to either farm, or producer. Is it true Da Hong Pao? Probably not, and therein lies the rub.
Here, I am talking about the repositioning, branding, and promotion of certain segments of the Tea Industry and its marketable beverage, through the use of “trendy” terms like, Speciality Tea, Craft Tea, Artisanal Tea, Real Tea, in juxtaposition to others such as Commodity Tea, Orthodox Tea, etc., ad. inf.
Over the past twelve months, I have been an observer of a growing and disturbing trend in the Tea industry, and it is confusing AF.
Now, I like to think that I am an individual that carefully thinks about issues, a critical thinker, and… I know that sometimes I’m an unwelcome stater of the bleeding obvious.
Yet, when I am confused by the Tea Industry’s present struggles to come to terms with seemingly new terminology, I have to consider that many others, perhaps, may also be.
It certainly does not help when new organisations set themselves up as Industry guides, consumer & industry educators, and skills certification bodies, to openly claim that they cannot define certain terms, in a way that everyone will agree on, to then resort to virtue signally through statements of aspiration, as a way to deflect their failure to take a stance of any particular substance.
Many have tried to “define” terms like, Craft Tea, Artisanal Tea, and Specialty Tea and I commend the effort, but I also have to ask why? What purpose does this defining serve? What problem is it trying to solve? Does the problem even exist, really?
All Teas are Tisanes, but not all Tisanes are Tea. Tea as a beverage, a tisane made from the infusion of the dried leaves of Camellia sinensis in water, has been used for at least a couple of thousand years in the East, and for several hundred years in the West.
As the second most consumed beverage in the world, some in the industry seem to think it now has some kind of problem? A marketing problem? A perception problem? A competitor problem? A… I’m not making enough money out of this, problem? Who really knows.
The problem as I see it is, the industry, or the segment(s) of the industry that the problem impacts, has not stood up in unison and clearly defined the problem at hand. Instead, individuals: farmers, producers, blenders, sellers; have said, “Hey! I a problem here and “WE” (the industry) have to fix it, because if we don’t the consumer, or regulators will.”
From the outside looking in, it appears that individuals have looked at the success that other beverage industries have had in differentiating industry segments and marketing that to consumers, with envious eyes saying, “I want a piece of that pie, but in my market.”
Accordingly, they have then “borrowed terminology for other beverage markets and tried to plaster them over the Tea Industry like a band-aid on a child’s imaginary, “oww-oww.”
Craft Beer defined itself by contrasting small scale, seasonal, batch brewed, beer that changes character from year to year, as fundamentally different, in intent, spirit, character, and production to mass produced, industrial, “commodity” beer that maintains a high degree of uniformity and consistency from season to season and year to year.
Presently, the Craft Beer Industry is struggling with issues related to when is a Craft Brewer too big to be a Craft Brewer? The goal posts on this have been revised a couple of times already.
Specialty Coffee, a term that is not uniformly defined or agreed upon in coffee circles, is basically defined as a set of aspirational qualitative principles that can and should be measured that ought to be applied through the entire supply chain, from bean to cup.
Presently, The Specialty Coffee Industry is struggling with corruption, deceptive practices, and rorting of the quality standard they aspire to, resulting in challenges to consumer confidence.
Real Ale was a term coined to address the near demise of consumer choice and access to Cask ales in UK pubs. Due to various bonded relationships between large scale, multinational corporate owned breweries and pubs, cask ale was being squeezed out of the “local.”
Presently, under the guidance of CAMRA, Real Ale is making a comeback, however, the popularity of larger still far exceed that of ale.
Artisanal, Hand-crafted, Slow Food classifiers have been coined and used to differentiate small scale, local, home-made produce and products from mass-produced, supermarket, bulk store commodities. It implies a certain amount of mastery and artistry, “Gong Fu” in the production of limited quantity produce and products.
Presently, these terms cannot be scaled beyond a single, small scale homestead, or farm to larger global distribution. It is purely a localised, community based phenomena, as it should be.
The Problem then, as I see it, is that proponents of the use of such terms in respect to tea, DO NOT UNDERSTAND these terms and why they came about.
They look at the juxtaposition of Sub-Continental CTC and Orthodox tea production, and try to shoehorn East Asian tea production under Orthodox manufacture, to bolster some differentiation between industrial, machine harvested, and automated production-line processed (Commodity) tea, and hand harvested, manual processed tea. Machine-made vs Man-made.
With all the confusion and disagreement within the tea industry, there is little wonder that there is confusion within the Consumer market. Consumers are familiar with such terms, and there is a fair argument to be made to consider them. However, where they come from, the fundamental basis on which they were defined, and the problems they subsequently solve have little relevance to the modern Tea Industry.
The tools of manufacture change all the time, especially if those tools allow us to do the job better and/or more consistently, improving our own skill and mastery. When the tools take that skill and mastery away, it also deprives the final product of any soul or spiritual connection to the producer.
The mantra, “Tea bags bad, whole leaf good!” exemplifies the divide within the tea industry, a divide that it pinioned on the differentiation between machine-made and man-made. It also creates discord and disharmony.Both have their place.
If man-made, whole leaf, single holding, locally regionalised, terroir-based, teas are to be promoted globally as something far superior to, year in year out, constantly produced, machine-processed, human-blended, teas, then begging and borrowing terms like Specialty, Craft, Artisanal, Real, from other beverage industries and suffixing them with “Tea” is painfully pointless from a global tea industry perspective.
If the global tea industry has a problem, then it lies within itself and further introspection is in order, rather than seeking out band-aid solutions.
The global tea industry is not a homogeneous industry. There is history, and circumstance, that fundamentally differentiates different tea regions from each other, and the marketing and promotional, differentiating, “identifying,” solutions for one tea region/segment may not, and probably cannot, solve a similar issue in another.
Specialty Tea is not a global issue that must be defined, it is a regional one that consumers and retailers need to determine for themselves, based on supply chain access, and the terms and conditions of access, back to an estate, a farm, or even a single bush.
Salty Tea has been drunk by many people from different countries, for various reasons, and #Vegemite as a #Bovril/#Bonox beverage substitute has long been drunk in Australia.
Here, I combine Australian grown #Nerada Black Tea with Vegemite to produce a mildly flavoured black tea that has the Vegemite aromatics, and leaves a soft, lingering, salty finish.
Recipe:
1 tsp Nerada CTC Black Tea per cup, plus 1 tsp for the pot
1/8 tsp Vegemite per cup
Boiling water, steep for 2 min.
Recommended: Whilst it is ok to put the Vegemite in the pot for a single serve, it is better to serve the Vegemite on the side, Russian Samovar Tea with Jam style, so drinkers can adjust the flavour to taste.
Additional Considerations: In the tradition of Himalayan, Central Asian, and Northern Steps Tea cultures, milk, butter, and/or puffed millet can also be added according to taste.
Just don’t use Nutella, that would be disgusting! 🤪🤪🤪🤪
C. sinensis var. qidan & other wuyi cultivars; Tea Master Liu Guoying, Wuyishan Yanshang Tea Science Research Institute, Wuyishan, Nanping, Fujian; Spring, 2016, slightly open buds with 2-3 leaves, charcoal roasted, traditional tea roasting process; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá#Tea, #茶, #Chá.
Infusion: 5g in 150ml for 20sec.@100deg. C
The dry leaves are dark brown and twisted, with a smoke, and chocolate aroma. The wet leaves darken to a greenish black colour and exude a strong, smokey, spicy aroma with a hint of dark stone fruit.
The tea liquor is a vibrant brown colour with a tint of red, and has a subtle, slighty peppery, spicy, and solvent-like scent. It is syrupy, &viscous, with a mild minty tingle, in the mouth with a slightly tart/sour, and astringent finish, leaving a drying sensation on the tongue. It tastes earthy, mineralish, and smokey, coupled with vague cinnamon hints, and a lingering, subtle, dark, floral accent in the finish.
Opinion: It is interesting to note that this tea was a first release of an experimental variation on a traditional tea roasting process, using a blend of cultivars developed by the Wuyishan Yanshang Tea Research Institute, in Wuyishan, by Tea Master Liu Guoying. For more in-depth explanation of the tea making process, the “Seven Cups” website has a nice writeup. https://sevencups.com/shop/da-hong-pao-big-red-robe/
Spring, 2019; C. sinensis var. da yezhong; Fengqing, Lincang, Yunnan, elev. 1000+m; young buds to bud & one leaf, hand-picked, dianhong tea process; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá#Tea, #茶, #Chá.
Infusion: 5-6g in 150ml for 10-20sec.@100deg. C (10 second steep with a 10-12 second pour.)
The dry buds have a bright, vibrant golden colour with dark brown to black tips and edging, smelling sweet, and robustly malty. When wet these fat buds take on a uniform brown colour and exude a light smokey, campfire aroma, with undertones of molasses, malt, and black peppercorns.
The liquor brews brassy golden to relish brown in colour and has a mildly spicy, nutty, malty aroma. In the mouth it is thick, viscous, creamy, and mild tingling on the tip of the tongue, leaving a salivating finish.
In the whole this tea exhibits flavour notes that are malty, honey-ish, mildly bitter and spicy, like long pepper and ginger, with a lingering sweet finish.
C. sinensis var. Qingxin (soft stem); Summer, 2018; Teng Chong, Yunnan, 1900-2500m.; 1-2 leaves, organically grown, Taiwan Style Oolong Tea process; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá#Tea, #茶, #Chá.
Infusion: 3g in 120ml for 20sec.@90-95 deg. C
The dry leaves are balled and smell subtle, with suggestions of mango, butter. The wet leaves have a strong, spicy, peppery, and resinous scent. The Liquor is yellow, with a faint, sweet stone fruit aroma, whilst the mouthfeel is some what watery, metallic, viscous, syrupy, and tongue coating, with a distinct peppery, prickly ash tingling. The taste is a celebration of apricot, cinnamon, lingering retronasal floral, raisin, and spicy hints, whilst underpinned by a distinct minerality, and lingering honey sweet aftertaste.
Opinion: I really enjoy this tea. It does not stand out in my mind as a, “go back to” tea, yet each time I do, I am thoroughly surprised by just how much I enjoy the sensory experience of it.
Spring 2016; from Yunnan; C. sinensis var. da yezhong (Yunnan big leaf); bud and 1-2 leaf, sun-baked, 300+ y.o. trees; elev. unknown; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá., #Tea, #茶, #Chá.
Infusion: 4-5g in 150ml for 20sec@90deg. C
Long, twisted, dark brown, dry leaves interspersed with gold and grey, that smell rich & dark, like plums, raisins, dates, and a touch of dried tangerine peel. The wet leaves smell earthy, & woody.
The Liquor brews an amber yellow colour with a mild, cinnamon, and honey aroma. It has a moderately viscous texture, mild stimulation with a minty fresh character, with mouthwatering, sweet fresh finish, and presents a soft malty presence, with slight honeyish, sweet, floral taste.
Opinion: This is a very enjoyable tea to drink. From dry leaf to cup, it provides a lovely, sensory journey without complication, or olfactory challenge. It is robust enough to withstand many quick infusions without losing its gentle character along the way.
