How much variation from year to year is usual?

[tea fish]

Hello again all! I am in need of more of your wisdom. So here's the situation: I really enjoyed a 2007 Shui Xian from seven cups (it smelled like sweet, mildly roasted grain, was very aromatic, mmmmm). So I bought some 2008 SX, not really thinking that there'd be a whole lot of difference between 2007 and 2008 (the online description was the same). But the difference is very noticeable. The 2008 batch is much less sweet, more heavy...not sure how to describe it exactly as I've only have one brewing session. But all told it's very different.

How usual is it for the same kind of tea from the same supplier to vary so much in flavor from year to year? Should I expect this as a rule or is my experience in this case an exception?

Let me know! Thanks much in advance...

tf

[AdamMY]

I feel like variation is definitely expected, tea is grown, so think of Wine. People always say there are good years for wine from a certain region and bad years, its basically the same with tea.

[Herb_Master]

In addition to the fact that the weather one year may be different to a different year, there are several other variables to consider when comparing tea(s).

1.) Several Oolongs are harvested 2 (Spring and Fall), 3, or even 4 times a year (Spring, Early Summer, Late Summer and Early Winter). These will usually display different characteristics, Spring may well be best for Aromas and Green Flavours, while Fall may be best for texture and layered earthy / woody flavours. ? Where the 2 years from similar harvests.

2.) After the Mao Cha has been processed into a 'finished' tea it will continue to develop, whether that is to age gracefully, fade delicately, grow bold or simply die. ? What would your older tea have tasted like when it was the same age as your younger tea?

3.) How was your older tea stored before (or after) you purchased it, does it need re-roasting, ? might it need a little help to make it more like it was when it was younger ?

4.) Is your younger tea, still too young? Would careful aging make it more like the older tea ?

There are probably many more,

But to get back to your initial suggestion, the tea from different years can itself be different.

[edkrueger]

Here is an answer specific to seven cups. I have often found them to have some pretty awful teas under a name and have a much better one the next year under the same name [and the opposite situation too.]

[tea fish]

Thanks for the answers, AdamMY, Herb_Master, and edkrueger. Edkrueger, your answer corroborates my recent experience. There is such a dramatic difference between the SX 2007 and 2008 that it's hard to recognize that they're the same kind of tea. But it's also true that tea is like wine, as AdamMY pointed out. And not that I'd want tea to become a standardized product like velveeta, but still it's a bit disconcerting when a tea is so dramatically different from one year to the next. Some indication of the difference on the website blurb would be helpful, but at least now I know to expect potentially big differences. I'm learning!

[Tead Off]

Hello again all! I am in need of more of your wisdom. So here's the situation: I really enjoyed a 2007 Shui Xian from seven cups (it smelled like sweet, mildly roasted grain, was very aromatic, mmmmm). So I bought some 2008 SX, not really thinking that there'd be a whole lot of difference between 2007 and 2008 (the online description was the same). But the difference is very noticeable. The 2008 batch is much less sweet, more heavy...not sure how to describe it exactly as I've only have one brewing session. But all told it's very different.

How usual is it for the same kind of tea from the same supplier to vary so much in flavor from year to year? Should I expect this as a rule or is my experience in this case an exception?

Let me know! Thanks much in advance...

tf

I just bought a Shui Xian from my local tea seller here in Bangkok. It is a 2007 Spring harvest. It is an excellent tea with chocolate and floral aroma and flavors. Silky mouthfeel and no astringency at all.

So much of the results depends on climate conditions and tea preparation after picking. There are so many factors involved including the mixing of teas from different farms to the different techniques used in oxidizing and roasting. I also find if I don't care for a tea, I just simply don't buy it again. A good way to avoid this is to buy samples before you make a larger purchase. I bought 15 grams of the SX above to see why my 90 year old tea seller drinks this 3x a day. I found I have the same smile on my face that he does after drinking it!

[tea fish]

I just bought a Shui Xian from my local tea seller here in Bangkok. It is a 2007 Spring harvest. It is an excellent tea with chocolate and floral aroma and flavors.

Is it just me or was 2007 a good year for tea? I've found myself consistently enjoying wuyis from 2007. 2008 and 2009 seem to be more hit and miss.

[Tead Off]

I just bought a Shui Xian from my local tea seller here in Bangkok. It is a 2007 Spring harvest. It is an excellent tea with chocolate and floral aroma and flavors.

Is it just me or was 2007 a good year for tea? I've found myself consistently enjoying wuyis from 2007. 2008 and 2009 seem to be more hit and miss.

I cannot judge a tea on year alone. So much more goes into the processing of the leaf that will make a bigger difference. The other 2 I bought are 2009 Spring and are very good.

[tea fish]

Yes I was definitely leaping to conclusions based on, like, no evidence (or on my limited sampling of seven cups wuyis). And of course I've tried some lovely 2009 teas outside of the wuyi spectrum, so...I suppose it's hard to classify a tea based on year alone, though one does hear about better and worse years--like this past spring: wasn't it supposed to be a bad spring for Darjeeling? But then I tried a very interesting ff darjeeling from this year (thanks to Victoria). Which goes to show how limited generalizations about year can be.

[wyardley]

Vendors change suppliers sometimes too, and of course, aside from the fact that the tea itself may be better one season (due to growing conditions) processing can vary from year to year even with a particular factory / producer, either due to the way the tea grew or due to market preference.