I just received my order consisting of 100 grams of Dong Ding and 100 grams of Benshan from Dragon Tea House, and I have now brewed both teas. This is the first time I taste Oolongs, but I noticed something strange about those teas. First off, they are really out of season, as they are almost a year old, and they have little to no dry leaf aroma. The brew on the other hand has a heavy fruit scent that smells like perfume more than any fruit I've smelled. Both teas have almost the same taste and it isn't much better than the smell. I got a bit of real fruit taste from the Dong Ding, but the "perfume" scent was so upfront it really drowned anything else.
My question is this: Do you think this tea has been artificially scented? It isn't stated anywhere on the site, but the price (just over $20 for 200 grams) doesn't exactly guarantee exceptional quality. One more fact that might be a clue; I just brewed it in my new Yixing for a few minutes, to season it, and some hours later it has a strong "fruit" smell just like the tea. Is that normal after just one long brew?
Thanks in advance
Feb 20th, '09, 20:59
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Herb_Master
I tried DTH Supreme Anxi Ben Shan a few months ago and found it delicate with nice green asparagus notes and seaweed flavours over the first couple of infusions later infusions were more minerally and a very slight aroma of flowers (orchids ?) so slight that I could not believe you were talking about the same tea.
Tried it again a few days ago to compare and was disappointed to find that I should probably have consumed it quicker or stored it better(in refrigerator perhaps) the Green notes had gone, but still it was middling to good nothing unpleasant and certainly no great perfume.
Read your post and tried it again just now.
Fearing it may be past it's best I overloaded (I may as well use it up) 13 gm in a 290ml Yixing - water about 200.
First infusion 30 secs (no rinse) boring to zero on Aroma but the texture was lovely and silky and extra thick and yummy - a touch of bitterness but not unpleasant - no complaints but no awards
BUT the 2nd infusion (30s again) the bitterness had gone, the texture was not as thick but a great flowery aroma - not overpowering but very pronounced - like sipping nectar from a flower not at all like smelling a flower
AND to think I had nearly written this tea off
Tried it again a few days ago to compare and was disappointed to find that I should probably have consumed it quicker or stored it better(in refrigerator perhaps) the Green notes had gone, but still it was middling to good nothing unpleasant and certainly no great perfume.
Read your post and tried it again just now.
Fearing it may be past it's best I overloaded (I may as well use it up) 13 gm in a 290ml Yixing - water about 200.
First infusion 30 secs (no rinse) boring to zero on Aroma but the texture was lovely and silky and extra thick and yummy - a touch of bitterness but not unpleasant - no complaints but no awards
BUT the 2nd infusion (30s again) the bitterness had gone, the texture was not as thick but a great flowery aroma - not overpowering but very pronounced - like sipping nectar from a flower not at all like smelling a flower
AND to think I had nearly written this tea off
Best wishes from Cheshire
I've now brewed the teas a few more times, and tried the Benshan in a yixing pot, and I've turned away from the idea that they are scented artificially. I was probably using to hot water, since I dont have a proper thermometer. And after a wash the smell went away from my teapot. I do however stand by the Dong Ding not aging well, but it's not a very good tea so I won't weep over it. The Bensan is pretty good though. Thank you Herb_Master for your reply.
Feb 21st, '09, 21:11
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Herb_Master
Glad you like the Ben Shan!
I like to try different varietals, particularly from Wuyi and fenghuang, but so far all the different Anxi varietals that I have tried seem very similar to Anxi TKY in style and delivery.
Do you find the Ben Shan is very TKY-ish?
Maybe I need to find a teamaker who can feel confident enough to express the variety rather than try to imitate TKY?
I like to try different varietals, particularly from Wuyi and fenghuang, but so far all the different Anxi varietals that I have tried seem very similar to Anxi TKY in style and delivery.
Do you find the Ben Shan is very TKY-ish?
Maybe I need to find a teamaker who can feel confident enough to express the variety rather than try to imitate TKY?
Best wishes from Cheshire
I haven't really tried any TKY so I can't say for sure, but from what I've read they are now becoming increasingly similar. This is both because the TKY is becoming greener and because some sellers actually sell their Benshan as TKY. I've even heard that our own hosts do this, but I can't verify it. I would say the TKY is Benshan-ish rather than the other way around since TKY was originally more roasted, so maybe you should look for a TKY that is closer to the original roasting stage. Just guessing here though.
Mar 5th, '09, 04:22
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ABx
I've heard of Dancong being scented, and got one that obviously was from DTH (I've had two Dancongs from them and wasn't impressed with either), but not Dong Ding or Baozhong. I've had some Dong Ding that was almost perfumey, though, and I do not think that it's scented. Sometimes your brewing can bring out an unbalanced brew. Generally if a tea has been artificially scented then you can smell it on the dry leaf.