puyuan wrote:[
The red mark is a blend of a variety of very low-yield forest regions with small canopies of old trees. Yes, all broadly in Yiwu. I was told the recipe (which I don't think I can disclose) for 2015 is more or less the same as 2014, but the proportions aren't.
Your description surprises me. I'm still a month away from tasting this tea, but knowing what the materials are, and having tasted a couple of similar SHT teas that preceded it, I'd expect a very thick tea.
Different methods... Might be the roasting time and oxidation of the fresh leaves. The processing of these Yiwu forest teas tends to be dodgy because of operational logistics in such places, but I know SHT employs a bunch of people to more or less take care of that. The 13 Chawang bing that's available on the West is very pristine compared to the usual tea from these areas.
Conversely, I've had more than one Jingmai that was processed in a greener fashion. I think deliberately.
Also, XZH employs a lovely technique of picking leaves 1-4 instead of 1-3, which gives their tea a different quality...
P.s. Taking in only the differences in terroir/varietals, these teas are supposed to be hugely different anyway.
Thanks Puyuan for the additional info on the material/recipe. I must clarify that my impressions are about the 2014 red mark. I've got samples for 2015 material, but have not yet found the time to try them.
As to Jin Damo, I have tried both their 2014 and 2015 productions.
I agree that the Jingmai material used for the JD is different from the Yiwu material in the XZH. I gather that Jingmai gushu is predominantly of the Siniensis varietal, whereas Yiwu is probably Assamica or a different varietal (please, correct me if I am wrong).
But putting aside the terroir and varietal differences, I believe there is some difference in the processing and the mindset of the people who make these products. One (XZH) seems to me similar to a green tea as fas as the required steeping parameters are concerned. On the other hand, the JD requires a steeping technique which is more akin to those of Oolongs.
I am not sure if the JD should be called a Pulong though. There is a lot of negativeness in that qualification. I have drunk aged (from early 2000s) versions of JD and they tasted great: Quite smooth, sweet, and calming.
In any case, even if the processing would put JD into the Pulong category, one should remember that there are plenty of examples of Oolongs that have aged pretty amazingly. I have some high mountain (Lishan) Oolong, which is rather green (not roasted or even re-roasted), which has been around for 15 years and still tastes great.