California Tea House Dian Hong: A Tea Short and Stout

Hello, all tea connoisseurs, appreciators, Tea Partiers who accidentally stumbled here looking for fiscal-conservative views, and true tea masters who would do better somewhere else!

As you can see, we've been in hiatus for a while. Honestly, I ran out of things to talk about, and spiffy images to accompany a blog about tea when brown leaf juice just doesn't seem that photogenic all the time. I had allowed drinking tea to become a bit of a chore, because everything I drank required an essay. And even for a person who types 90 words per minute (on a good day), there are only so many ways I can say, "Wow, this is great tea! Go buy some, and don't make me come back there!"

So I'll return, methinks, to the original idea of this blog: To help me keep track of the teas I'm drinking and to share discoveries with whomever is still out there, reading this little blog of mine.

AND I HAVE A SECRET PROJECT, which I'll let you know more about in the days ahead. It's tea-related, it's fun, and it'll only cost you your life savings. Or maybe some pocket change. TBD.

So today, I think I'll talk about Yunnan Golden Buds, also called dian hong, brought to you by California Tea House. I've had this sitting in my tea cabinet for a while, and with a new gaiwan to replace my broken one, I thought to break it in with something easy to prepare and simple for the palate to discern. This seemed just the thing.

This tea is hefty, hearty, rich, malty, with a thick mouthfeel and a pub attitude. I put in perhaps two teaspoons into the gaiwan and served gongfu style, meaning lots of leaf, short steeping times. But even with short times, this tea maintained quite a kick. I wouldn't call it a deeply subtle tea, but earthy and robust.

The closest thing analogy can think of is like taking a good Guinness stout and drinking it hot. (I know, it's a horrifying idea, hot Guinness, but no analogy is perfect.) If a tea could have a head on it, this would. I got through three steepings before I started to taste some of the subtler tones; the earlier ones tasted like hot chocolate, like malted milk, like thickness in a cup. Not your delicate, lady tea, this. No, it's the kind of thing to wipe away a gray Chicago afternoon, kick you in the teeth, and get you going.

I'm on my fourth steeping of this quite nice tea now, and an astringent, almost lemony flavor is starting to dominate as the malty notes recede into memory. This is much more to my liking, as I enjoy lighter, more subtle teas than bonk-you-on-the-head-and-take-your-wallet types of vintages. Though the flavor is more one-dimensional than it was at the start of the steeping series, the lightness and fruity quality are quite enjoyable.

California Tea House seems to be taking their teas pretty seriously, giving rather specific information about origin of the teas they're procuring for their customers. This is a good thing for any tea appreciator, because it allows us to understand what we're getting, so we can make informed choices later. Well done, CTH, and I look forward to more of your tea in the future.



Thank you, tea friends, for continuing to keep me in your thoughts as I slog through life and occasionally try to write something useful about this wonderful drink and the culture surrounding it. I'll drop in occasionally and write something, but I'll try to keep it light so I don't become oppressed by the requirement to write about everything, which seems to ruin it for and make me avoid the blog entirely. Oh, and by the way, I actually spent time making the above image of the tumbler of Guinness with a teacup handle, which took me longer than writing the tea review (such as it is). Please appreciate my mad Photoshop skillz! 

REVIEW: You, Me & Tea, Golden Monkey

Montague Dawson, The Great 1866 China Clipper Tea Race.


Let me start by saying I truly enjoyed this tea. It's a fun tea, an exciting tea, an unusual tea that is definitely worth the time to explore.

THE TERROIR
The Chinese would call this type of tea a Dian hong, 滇红, or Yunnan Red (Dian being a contracted term for Yunnan). In China, a fully oxidized tea is called red, because the color of the liquor is actually a reddish hue. In the west, we think of this as a black tea. And the naming of Chinese teas often is quite fanciful, with something like Golden Monkey typically signifying a high-end, if not the highest-end, grade of tea. With the exception of pu-erh tea (which is also from the Yunnan region of China, and is a double-fermented, compressed tea) and Keemun (an oxidized red tea, which is what is often used for high-quality English Breakfast), almost all other tea from China is green or oolong. This hearkens back to the days of the tea trade, when the only people drinking black teas were the Europeans who had no choice, because the nearly year-long clipper ship voyage from China would naturally cause the delicate green leaves to oxidize into black tea. Interestingly, though, the production of uncompressed black tea in Yunnan is a recent innovation, only having begun production in the 20th century.

As is often the case, I wish the Web site description would have included more information. Just saying the tea is from China is not enough information to persuade someone to make a purchase, is it. You, Me & Tea describes the tea, thus:

Country of Origin: China

Cup Characteristics: A full bodied tea with an exotic origin character which tea tasters describe as "mouth-feel"

Infusion: Very bright and golden coppery color

Ingredients: Luxury black tea

THE LEAVES
The long, twisty leaves are a combination of black and gold, with a heady smell.

THE PREPARATION
Nearly boiling water, 1 tsp per cup, 3 minutes.

THE CUP
In appearance the liquor is like a rich, amber ale (though without the bubbles, and steaming hot). This tastes very spicy and very, very unusual: an exciting, high-energy tea. In my notes, I described it as both "smooth and sharp," indicating the spicy brightness, coupled with a smooth mouthfeel.

This tea is wonderful and intense, and it commands my attention as I drink. The flavor is like hot metal and dark chocolate, though light and not heavy. This tea was good for at least three steepings, each with a satisfying, bright intensity.

REVIEW: Zhi Tea, Royal Gold

Zhi Tea
2008 Royal Gold

There's a sharp spiciness that is quite elusive, which I've come to think of as that Yunnan taste. It's highly unusual and distinctive. In a way, it reminds me of the aroma of a beehive: pollen-sweet, but with a sharp buzz.

I've moved away from drinking Yunnan teas of late, because I had been drinking them so much in years past. I typically tasted a mid-grade bulk Yunnan, which was sort of the benchmark flavor I came to associate with the region's tea. Coming back to it is rather exciting, because it's like visiting a friend I haven't seen in a while.

For those who have never had a Yunnan: It appears as a black tea, though the Chinese would categorize it as a red. It is full-bodied and has an intensely spicy flavor and a distinct aroma that I find a bit hard to describe, but it's what I always think of as that "Yunnan scent." And the flavor has a very unique flavor profile, as well: spicy, sharp, slightly bitter, slightly sweet, dry, smooth. It's the contrasts in the cup that are so beguiling. The Yunnan red teas are often described as earthy, sometimes smoky, malty (a description of mouthfeel, mostly), floral, honeyed. A fellow named "anodyne" on the ChaDao blog did a fairly extensive survey of Yunnans over a number of blog posts, and these were instructive to me as I began to think about this tea today.

THE LEAVES
These are lovely gold-and-black leaves, tightly twisted (which prevents such quick oxidation of the leaves, allowing them to taste better longer). Upon steeping, a very distinctly spicy aroma comes up from the chocolate-brown leaves, which have unfurled into beautifully long needle shapes. The leaves are quite complete, but no sign of insect bites, which is usually a sign of pesticide-free production.

THE PROCESS
1 tsp tea leaves to 1 cup near-boiling water, in lined Japanese cast-iron tetsubin.

THE CUP

THE FIRST STEEPING
This tea is sharp and spicy, just a bit bitter. My wife likes its smoothness and the cleanness of the flavor. On the other hand, I find it just a bit dry, and the bitterness, I find, slightly off-putting. The liquor is opaque, and I can't see the bottom of the teacup. There's a sharp spiciness that is quite elusive, which I've come to think of as that Yunnan taste. It's highly unusual and distinctive. In a way, it reminds me of a beehive: pollen-sweet, but with a sharp buzz (if you will) that is quite arresting. And there's a honey flavor within that, which seems as though created by some exotic bee somewhere. That being said, that bitterness was just a bit too much for me. On the second cup of the first steeping, I cheated and put in some sugar to ameliorate it. My wife, on the other hand, loved it and was disappointed that we had run out of tea so quickly.

THE SECOND STEEPING
Much of the powerful mouthfeel has gone out of this Yunnan Royal Gold by the time of the second steeping. The liquor is now a transparent brown, clear to the bottom of the cup. A bright earthiness becomes apparent, almost a metallic taste, though in a pleasant way. The bitterness is gone, as well. I definitely recommend taking this tea to at least a second steeping, because there are nuances that are revealed once the more powerful flavors are given their moment in the spotlight, and now can release the stage to the other actors. There's a slight woodiness, as well, which seems unusual with the more watery mouthfeel of the cup.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
I really do like this Yunnan, and it's a good reintroduction into this type of Chinese red tea. Strong, bold, interesting flavors to match the spicy, exotic aroma. Thank you, Zhi Tea, for such a great offering.

>> UPDATE: ADDED WEB SITE ADDRESS FOR PURCHASE: http://www.zhitea.com/store/detail.aspx?category=14&section=13&id=539

Review: Zhi Tea, Royal Gold

Reviewing: Zhi Tea Royal Gold

Zhi Tea's Royal gold is familiar, it's friendly, and it's got complexity and intensity enough to make me happy while not needing to be explained to people who don't drink tea every day.

My life has changed a lot since I started writing about teas. For starters, I now have a healthy and happy baby girl of three months. And because I work at home, my tea times have become much more often packaged between bouts of work and diapers and carrying Charis in the football hold that leaves me entirely unable to type, but very able to read with the occasional mouse click. I've had the pleasure of reading many other tea bloggers, who write passionately and enjoyably about this obsession of mine. I find that some of the best tea bloggers, aside from their obvious breadth of knowledge and charming insight, also seem relaxed, and they are not trying to impress the reader. Humility seems to go with the territory, and I will try to emulate that here.

THE TERROIR
Yunnan is the heart of tea, and where it seems to have originated. The Web site reads:

Our organic Royal Gold from Yunnan Province is the queen of China Black tea! This top-most grade is comprised entirely of gold-tipped new-growth spring buds that produce a gorgeous dark gold liquor infusion. After harvesting, the buds are painstakingly hand-sorted, resulting in an exceptionally high-grade tea. When oxidized, these gorgeous buds turn gold rather than black and when steeped, release a rich, smooth flavor with lingering notes of honey, roasted almond, and bing cherry. The flavor will evolve through subsequent infusions (yes!). A royal treat.

I would like to know more from the Zhi Web site: Where in Yunnan is this tea created? What is it like there? How does the terroir affect the flavor of this specific tea? How is this specific vintage distinct from other Yunnan teas out there?

THE TEA
Zhi Tea offers their Royal Gold, which is a Yunnan black tea. The dry tea is made up lovely twists of brown-and-gold tippy leaves, which give off a tiny bit of yellow tea powder from the travel. The leaves are nice and crunchy when I crumble them in my fingers, which means this batch has been kept safe from its archenemy, moisture. Bodes well for a good pot of tea. The tea leaves have a rather dusty smell, like chocolate powder, perhaps. The scent makes me think the subsequent brew will be malty and thick... ah, but not so fast!

THE PREPARATION
Using Great-Grandma's Japanese porcelain teapot, my lovely wife prepared 3 cups barely boiling water with 3 generous tsps of the tea. Generous, because the tea leaves are pretty large and are therefore not too dense in the teaspoon. We steeped the tea for about 3.5 minutes before pouring off.

THE SPENT LEAVES
This is a very fragrant tea. The leaves have a rather spicy, dark, heavy scent, and they unfurl to large, chocolate-brown leaves that remain furled fairly tightly.

THE CUP
...And the cup belies the scent almost entirely. I was expecting heavy, thick, mouthfeel. Some people like this, but I don't particularly. However: I found the tea's flavor and aroma to be very clean and bright, with pungent berry notes and the kind of mouthfeel I would typically expect in perhaps a green or first-flush Darjeeling-- not at all heavy or malty. There is a very bright berry flavor (the Web site suggests bing cherries, and I am certainly willing to accept that), and the finish is quite subtle but lasting. One point of contention: The tea is not at all golden in color, but rather a dark brown, not truly transparent to the bottom of the cup. I did follow the instructions of the Web site, so I am not sure how their in-house preparation differed from mine so much that they arrived at such a result.

THE SECOND CUP
Interestingly, as the tea cools, the flavor dulls considerably. The higher, intense berry notes are gone; and the body note, the heavier chocolate-spice, has gone missing. For my taste, this tea seems to have a very quick life in the cup, and it benefits from being drunk quite hot, just as it leaves the pot. The second cup did not fare very well, and seemed much less interesting than the first cup. This is in opposition to many teas I have enjoyed, particularly from Darjeeling, in which that second cup is where the real business is.

The Half-Dipper Web site includes a nice discussion of the way aromas in tea behave, in this post. Here is a short excerpt from a thoughtful blog post, "Tasting Tea."

When you pour the soup out of the wenxiangbei [aroma cup], you get what perfumers (and modern day biochemists) traditionally term the "top note" or "head note". It's all of the "light" volatile compounds that make it into the nose first - you get lighter, higher notes such as sweetness, floral compounds, etc. Teafolk might call this the beidixiang (BAY DEE SHEE-ANG), lit. cup-bottom scent. Do you get mushrooms? Flowers? Sweetness? If so, what sort of sweetness?

As these disappear, and the "heavier" volatile compounds take over, you get the "bass note" or "body note". Perfumers liken their craft to music, and it's easy to see why. As an engineer, I think in terms of low-frequency spectral content and high-frequency spectral content - it's exactly the same as the audio analogy. (Engineers are great to take to concerti - "oh, listen to the high-frequency components in that section!") This heavier stage consists of deep sugars, richness, lowness, bass notes, that kind of thing. Teafolk might call this the lengxiang (LUNG SHEE-ANG), lit. cool-scent. Molasses? Brown sugar? What do you get at this point?

Sensing of these compounds gives you an indication of the content in various stages of the tea. Often, the aroma correlates with observations made using the mouth, throat, and aftertaste. It can another way to determine what compounds are tucked away inside your tea.

Do please read the article to enrich your own enjoyment of really tasting your tea.

OVERALL THOUGHTS
At any rate, this is the type of tea that benefits from paying it close attention, because it has a lot to offer. Some of the teas I most enjoy seem made for very private enjoyment, but this one is something I would easily see serving at a gathering of friends who don't usually drink tea (like most of my friends), but enjoy having their palates expanded. Zhi Tea's Royal gold is familiar, it's friendly, and it's got complexity and intensity enough to make me happy while not needing to be explained to people who don't drink tea every day.