Red-label vs. Yellow-label Sea Dyke Tiekuanyin?

[mbanu]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone might be able to explain the difference between the red-label and yellow-label tieguanyin oolongs that Sea Dyke produces. The yellow seems to be significantly cheaper than the red. Is this because of the packaging? Are they from different grades or flushes of tea? I noticed that the red-label is more specific about the provenance of the tea (Anxi County, Fujian), while the yellow is simply from Fujian Province... maybe this has something to do with it?

For reference:


Yellow-label


Red-label

The Xiamen Tea website isn't quite helpful with the details, so I thought I'd ask here. Any ideas?

[nickE]

I noticed that the red-label is more specific about the provenance of the tea (Anxi County, Fujian), while the yellow is simply from Fujian Province... maybe this has something to do with it?

Probably. Anxi is famous for TGY so they can probably mark up the price more because of that.

[debunix]

I know someone once posted a tasting note about SeaDyke TKY that sounded so different than my experience that I could hardly believe it was the same tea. After a note or two back and forth, we realized that we were comparing red label to yellow. But I've never drunk the yellow label so can't say I've ever compared them. I just know I was taught to look for the red label, because that was supposed to be the good one.

[dylanstea]

Good TGY I would describe as:
1. Taste: buttery, floral, long lasting in the back of your throat, and deep, or complex, meaning the taste evolves on your palette, it doesn't remain static
2. Look: The wet leaf should unravel to look like this:http://twitpic.com/2xotap
3. Also, ideally, the wet leaf, if you look closely at the edges, should have a red bruising pattern only on the very edge- this is evidence of the tumbling or bruising in the oxidation process.

and most importantly: it TASTES GOOD to you!! That's all that really matters in the end but if you taste a lot of TGY you'll quickly be able to tell the good ones from the not so good ones... Anyone else have anything to add?

[debunix]

These are not the lightly oxidized green Ti Kuan Yin, so buttery/floral/sweet elements are much reduced, and earthy, toasty, warm flavors predominate, with some sweet/spicy flavors coming out when the tea is brewed well (at least, the red label has those).

The leaves are dark green/brown after infusion, I have never identified a clear red edge to them.

[dylanstea]

hmmm.. I am used to the Green TGY, I have had some TGY with higher levels of oxidation and I have tasted those earthy tones... interesting. I guess the heavier oxidation probably hides the bruising marks but they're very apparent on a green TGY.

[mbanu]

On a related note, I've started seeng some newly-packaged Yellow-label at my local Chinese grocer which is quite different than the old stuff.

The older stuff has more brokens and a chocolatey aroma, and is mostly rolled in loose twists.

The new stuff has more whole leaf (to the point where you can actually see the pluck in some of the used leaves, seems to be mostly three-leaf or a mix of two-leaf and three-leaf, although I didn't see any tips...), a fragrant almost floral aroma, and sort of a crumpled ball roll.

The old stuff brewed quite dark, (using the very non-Chinese brewing procedure of a little under 3 grams tea per 4 ounces of liquid and a five-minute steep with boiling water, the old Indian taster's method ) and has a nice, faintly astringent flavor that's not bad, although also a bit of a distracting sour flavor and faintly musty aroma that I'm not quite used to in teas. (From the roasting? Bad tea?) I seem to remember it performing a bit better when made Chinese (gongfu?) style, which isn't surprising, but it's never been a favorite of mine.

The new stuff brewed a bit lighter, no sourness, a bit of astringency and a lingering pleasant aroma that I quite enjoyed.

I'm starting to suspect that I've been drinking an ancient stash of Tikuanyin...

Does anyone know when Sea Dyke updated their packaging? The most obvious change is that the new stuff is handled by the much more appealing-sounding "Xiamen Tea Imp. & Exp. Co. Ltd.", rather than the old "China National Native Produce & Animal By-Products Import & Export Corporation, Fujian Tea Branch, Xiamen Office.". Another notable detail is that the new packaging has a barcode, while the old one does not.

Any info would be appreciated!

[Krabbenhueter]

Hello,

I had by this Yellow-label in a small shop in Berlin.
There was a chinese man, who sells cheap articles.
We talk to about kungfu and then he offer me this tea for a little price.
I take it and was surprisd.
For this price it was relative good.
It was a dark Tikuanyin.

Thanks - Krabbenhueter

[wyardley]

Drinking "silver label" today. New old stock Sea Dyke TGY in pewter gift canister. Maybe not as old as the Rou Gui (haven't checked).