Published on: 2026-01-01
I haven’t written up notes from a tea tasting for quite some time. Over the past year I have had some great gongfu sittings along the West Coast. And I tend to have something that I work on through the work day with the first couple of pours to get me through morning email and then the long tail finish carrying me through the afternoon.
Today I decided to bring in the New Year with a focused sitting to compare three outstanding teas:
Brewed all teas in 70ml gaiwans. Went gaiwan over a pot to facilitate side-by-side comparison. I’ve a couple of nearly identical gaiwans for this. Used 4g tea. Water just off boiling. Took notes across the initial brewings.
Really beautiful with large twisted leaves showing only light oxidization. Dry leaf has a bold aroma that gets my attention.
Rinse: Smells of raw almond nut and flower. Reminds me of a tea sampled right before the kill green. Long sweet aftertaste. Yes, I tried the rinse. Don’t judge.
9s: Very light in mouth with a long lingering floral notes left in the mouth. I bit light for my preference, perhaps I should have gone a tad bit longer.
16s: Here we go. Warmer fruit developing at the front of the drink. Floral notes in mouth continue to pile on at this point.
25s: Fruit is stepping aside to make room for a complex bouquet of floral notes. Wildflower and honeysuckle.
40s: Rich and complex. Reminds me of green mountain fields full of wildflowers.
60s: Transitioning into sweet artichoke. Bulk of the ride is through at this point on the tea is ready to go for a LONG finish across additional longer pours.
Leaf is browned. I assume oxidized over the prior 15 years of ad-hoc storage, although I wonder if it started a bit darker or roasted a bit?
Rinse: Smells of strong berry with a medicinal hint in the far background. Not much going on in the moth beyond subdued sweet along with the medicine lingering just out of sight.
9s: Ohh, this is actually pretty good. Peach punching forward as the initial flavor. A bit astringent. Does not linger in the mouth with a clean or even abrupt finish.
16s: Generic sweet that transitions into overripe mango. A bitter finish.
25s: Simple honey. I assume that at this point it would be drinkable for additional pours, but I didn’t ride this one out to see how far I could push it.
Another beautiful tea. Long curled leaves. Notably darker than the 2025 Tong Tiang Xiang, but no where near as brown as the 2009 version.
Rinse: Aroma of lychee fruit? None of the green almond / kill green that I picked up in the Tong Tiang Xiang. Shorter finish with tiny bit of astringency around the edge of tongue from sides up to tip.
9s: Very floral. This one is sneaking up on wild rose. Great flavor, although the floral does not linger long in the mouth. Instead it is replated by a pleasant sweetness in the far back of the mouth and throat. Really good. I think this was my favorite pour of the entire session.
16s: Darker sweetness that is heading towards brown sugar. Continue to have floral in the mouth followed by sweet aftertaste.
25s: Tea seems to be falling off at this point. Nice, but not the magic of the prior two pours. Did I need to ride this one a bit longer?
40s: Ohh! Really nice fruit has popped up with some funky mango. A bit astringent, but this tea is not done yet.
60s: Okay, now it seems to be tapering off the way I’d expect. It’s been a nice ride and this is a good point to transition to longer casual brews.
Overall a really nice session. Was nice to do the two comparisons. Two outstanding 2025 dan cong teas side by side to remind myself of the amazing range of flavors this tea can carry. Neat to see how a very specific and outstanding plant lost it’s magic through poor storage. A great reminder for myself to enjoy these while they are fresh, or defer to a trusted party if looking for a well aged dan cong.