Shan Valley’s First Flush Green Tea 2014

7:05 AM , , , , 2 Comments

Origin: Myanmar
Harvest: Spring 2014


So I felt like tasting the 2014 version of Shan Valley’s First Flush Green Tea after trying the 2013 version and brewed it exactly the same as I did the 2013version. This time I only had a small (relative to the large six ounce packet last time) one ounce sample. I liked the packaging on this one more than the paper-foil packet the 2013 was in, even though my issue with the 2013 packaging was purely aesthetic, although I am a little concerned about the packaging on this one because of the clear back. But then I don’t store my teas in a place that gets much sunlight, so it isn’t that big of an issue.


Dry Leaves: The leaves look pretty similar to the 2013 version, still very dark for a green tea and have a stiff bark-like texture; the difference is these leaves look a little flatter and have longer stems. Other than that they are pretty similar to the 2013 harvest, maybe with a tangier smoke scent, but still has a pleasant fermented fruity aroma as well. It almost reminds me of a barbecue sauce, but it is smokier then most barbeque sauces I make.



First Steeping
Temperature:  175oF
Brewing Time: One Minute
Aroma: Fruity
Flavor: Spinach, Fruity, Metallic and Honey
Tasting Notes: Immediately I could tell I liked this harvest more than the 2013 even though it is more astringent. The 2013 harvest reminded me a lot of a Sheng Puerh crossed with a Purple tea, this time not so much, even though it still feels quite different than most greens I’ve had. There was a sharp metallic taste this time that made the astringency much more noticeable.


Not bad for a first infusion I am not really fond of metallic tastes in tea, most teas I’ve had with metallic notes generally have a rust/blood element, but this was a little different. I almost wanted to describe it as either wet stone or minerally, but it doesn’t fit either category comfortably.

Second Steeping
Temperature: 180oF
Brewing Time:  One and a half Minutes
Aroma: Fruity and Smokey
Flavor: Spinach, Stone Fruit, Metallic and Honey
Tasting Notes: Still very astringent, but it is becoming much more vibrant and nuanced then the last infusion and even the 2013 harvest. There was a nice creamy mouthfeel this time. It still had that sharp metallic taste from last time, but this time it was not as biting.


This was the best of the three infusions, it had a near perfect mouthfeel and a nice balance between the strong spinach notes that lingered and the minor honey notes that disappeared almost immediately. I liked the aroma quite a lot, it doesn’t have as pungent fruity aroma as the next infusion, but it still has a very nice smoke in it that become quite weak in the next infusion.

Third Steeping
Temperature: 185oF
Brewing Time: Two Minutes
Aroma: Fruity and Smokey
Flavor: Green Beans, Metallic and Honey
Tasting Notes: While not as astringent as the last two infusions it feels much harsher this time because the green bean and honey flavors do not last as long. While the metallic notes are not as strong as the green bean it has become very sharp by now. Probably my least favorite infusion.


Overall not a bad tea, I was a little disappointed initially because I came in expecting a sheng like tea, but it still was not bad. It is much more vibrant and complex than the 2013 harvest and overall is a much better tea than the 2013 harvest, but there is something about the 2013 harvest that left me breathless which is missing from this tea. Perhaps this is a tea that is technically better than its predecessor, but lacks the soul of the previous. Regardless this tea is definitely worth trying, at $3 for an ounce (or $10 for 6 ounces! at the time of writing this) it is hard for me to not recommend this tea. Although this tea might not be the right tea for the normal green tea drinker, it won’t break the bank.





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Shan Valley’s First Flush Green Tea 2013

8:55 AM , , , , , , 0 Comments

Origin: Myanmar
Harvest: Spring 2013

So I’ve bought quite a lot of Shan Valley’s tea in a sale sometime last year and finally decided to start sampling them. Today I decided to look at their 2013First Flush Green Tea, I do have the 2014 version and I probably will compare it to this at a later date.


Dry Leaves: I bought a six ounce bag because of the low price and it comes in a paper-foil bag that I am not really fond of. As you can see it has quite a few dings, but surprisingly the bag was not punctured. Regardless the leaves are quite bark like appearance, in fact the leaves are rather pliable firm. There is a pungent smell about them almost like fermented fruit with a little smoke, but not unpleasant. It is quite dark for a green tea.


First Steeping
Temperature:  175oF
Brewing Time: One Minute
Aroma: Char and Fruity
Flavor: Fruity, Smoky and Spice
Tasting Notes:  I decided to not brew this for the recommended three to four minutes because this is quite a potent tea, almost like a young sheng puerh, although it does not have that same harshness that is common in many shengs, but there is a bit of a bite. Even after one short minute I could taste some of the sting of this tea.

I rather enjoyed this infusion. It had a nice balance between being fruity and smoky with a nice spicy kick, it almost reminds me of a purple tea, but it feels unique somehow. Even though it is a green it is easy to imagine this being sold as maocha and while it does remind me of a sheng, it is missing something that I can’t quite put my finger on.


Second Steeping
Temperature: 180oF
Brewing Time:  One and a half Minutes
Aroma: Fruity and Wood   
Flavor: Fruity, Smoky, Vegetal and Spice
Tasting Notes: It had quite a lovely aroma, almost like burning woodchips mixed with peaches. It wasn’t as balanced as the last infusion, the fruity noes became much more prominent and while the smoky taste is still there it is becoming weaker. There were new vegetal notes this time, along with the smoky notes I almost would have said they were the dominant tastes, but the fruity part lingers and is quite nice when you start to taste the spicy almost peppery notes.

It still is very sheng-like, but it is becoming a little more like a purple tea. Although this infusion is the most complex of the three, it is my least favorite. The spicy notes are becoming more distinct, but the vegetal notes are making this a little murky.


Third Steeping
Temperature: 185oF
Brewing Time: Two Minutes
Aroma: Fruity
Flavor: Fruity, Vegetal and Pepper
Tasting Notes:  This was the best infusion! Even though I was sad to see the smoky notes disappear, I was quite happy to taste that it had finally achieved a perfect balance between fruity and vegetal with a nice peppery taste that comes in at the very end. The peppery notes were not as sharp as the fruity ones, but it was quite lovely.

This was the most sheng-like of the three infusions.


If I didn’t have so much of this leftover I’d definitely buy this again, for $3.00 an ounce this is a steal. As for whether or not I’d recommend this to a green tea drinker, definitely, even though it has some sharp puerh-like elements to it, it isn’t an expensive tea to try. I was rather impressed with this even though I initially was expecting a more traditional green tea taste, but I am rather content with this tea. I almost want to call it a Sheng-Lite, but that feels unfair to this tea.




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Sencha of the Summer Sun 2014 from Obubu via What-Cha

6:36 AM , , , , 0 Comments

Origin: Obubu Tea, Kyoto, Japan
Harvest: Summer 2014


So I received a new houhin from O-Cha and decided to break it in with this Sencha. I haven’t been that impressed with many of the Japanese teas I’ve had this year even though Senchas are probably my favorite kind of tea, so I was a little cautious about this tea even though it is from Obubu Tea being sold by What-Cha.



Dry Leaves: I think this is a machine harvested, judging by some of the smaller tea leaves. This isn’t as uniform tea as I like for Sencha, there are quite a few bits that would not stand out from Long Jings, while others are tightly coiled and sill there are some smaller fragments. I wasn’t too impressed by the leaves, but they had a lovely green bean aroma and a nice spectrum of colors. There were more yellows and blues in my sample packet.




First Steeping
Temperature: 158oF
Brewing Time: One Minute
Aroma: Vegetal and Camphor
Flavor: Sweet Grass, Seaweed and Spinach
Tasting Notes: The first steeping was bitterer then I expected, although I did not find it entirely unpleasant, at first I thought I used more tea leaves then I should have, but in subsequent infusions the tea started to shine. Besides the bitterness this first infusion felt very much like a run of the mill Sencha.




Second Steeping
Temperature: 163oF
Brewing Time: One and a half Minutes
Aroma: Vegetal           
Flavor: Wet Grass, Vegetal, Hay, Citrus and Savory Bitterness
Tasting Notes: While it wasn’t as bitter as the previous infusion, it still had some bitterness, although it became much more pleasant. I was quite surprised, while I wasn’t that shocked to find a Japanese tea with some initial bitterness, I was amazed by how quick it became pleasant. Otherwise it started to develop a sweet finish.

I was quite fond of this infusion even though I liked the previous, this time it had a nice balance.




Third Steeping
Temperature: 168oF
Brewing Time: Two Minutes
Aroma: Vegetal
Flavor: Grass, Savory Bitterness, Buttery and Sweet
Tasting Notes: It became much more simple than the previous infusions, and not as nuanced, although it was still quite pleasant. Even though the flavors were not as complex or as crisp as previous infusions, this was my favorite of the three infusions.

Overall I was impressed with this it was rather enjoyable for a summer tea. And at $8.80 for 50g (at the time of writing this) it is well worth the price. I am not sure if I would recommend this tea unless someone was familiar with Japanese greens. I haven’t had many summer senchas that start out as strong as this one then become sweeter in subsequent infusions which was a rather interesting transition for a sencha. While it may not be a daily drinker for everyone, it certainly s for me I can easily see myself buying more of this as my morning tea. I got about five infusions out of this tea although I might stop at four the next time.



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Eco-Cha’s High Mountain Concubine Oolong Summer 2014

7:06 AM , , 0 Comments

 (Tea Provided For Review)


Today I decided to look at Eco-Cha’s High Mountain Concubine Oolong.

Origin: Shan Lin Xi,  Nantou
Harvest: Summer 2014
Elevation: 1500m

Dry Leaves: There is quite a lot of variance in the dry leaves, as you can see towards the left is a rather large strangely shaped ball and then there are some fairly normal sized pellets. There is a strong vegetable aroma to the leaves, quite interesting since many of the teas I tried so far from Eco-Cha have been more savory/herbaceous than floral and there is a foresty smell as well.




First Steeping
Temperature: Boiling
Brewing Time: One Minute
Aroma: Cooked Kale, Almonds and Vegetable Broth
Flavor: Almonds, Pine, Vegetal and Orchid
Tasting Notes: I was surprised by the very light orchid taste this tea has, as I said before I like that Eco-Cha’s oolongs aren’t predominantly floral; I don’t know if non-floral oolongs are becoming rare or if I am just looking in the wrong places. Otherwise it is quite nice, it has a thin mouthfeel for a high mountain oolong, but it is quite pleasant nonetheless.



Second Steeping
Temperature: 190oF
Brewing Time: Two Minutes
Aroma: Pine and Fir    
Flavor: Almonds, Pine and Vegetal
Tasting Notes: The floral notes have completely disappeared and the aroma has become both distinctly Pine and Fir. I was quite surprised that it smells so similar to the two trees definitely brought me back to walking through the woods on the way to class. The tea is a little crisper then the previous steeping, I almost want to say sharp, but not quite.



Third Steeping
Temperature: 195oF
Brewing Time: Three Minutes
Aroma: Pine and Redwood
Flavor: Almonds and Honey
Tasting Notes: It is much simpler by now, the pine taste and vegetable tastes have disappeared as well as the fir scent. This time there is a little bit of redwood in there and a honey taste as well. This might have been my favorite steeping even though it is by far the simplest.


Unfortunately at the time of writing this, this particularly tea is sold out, otherwise I would have bought a bit of it. While I still have a couple samples left from Eco-Cha I immediately wanted to buy this again. I suppose I’ll have to wait to the next harvest before getting this again. Eco-Cha is really starting to grow on me, while I do love Beautiful Taiwan Tea for their floral oolongs; I am rather fond of the herbaceous/savory oolongs I’ve tried from Eco-cha.  I am a little curious if this tea will age well, I’ve been told in the past that generally lower quality oolongs age better than the higher quality ones, but I am considering buying some of the next harvest of High Mountain Concubine and hiding it away for a while. 

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