Moving on with more yancha! This tea was sourced from deep within Xingcun village in Wuyishan. It is a Huang Mei Gui Yancha. Huang Mei Gui is a varietal that is a cross between Huang Dan and Huang Jin Gui, and it isn't that common compared to the big three that is Shui Xian, Rou Gui, and Da Hong Pao. Furthermore, this tea is handmade, or called 手工茶 in Chinese, so that further raises my expectations.
Tea Information
Brewing Parameters
Final Score
Have you ever wondered what a decent yet "prototypical" yancha tastes like? This tea might fit the bill. It looks pretty good first of all, consistent leaves, great colour, no broken pieces, an A to A* in my books. The aroma is pretty good too. It's the smell of walking into a yancha factory, toasty and roasty, rocky and earthy, I miss those times. One day I'll be back in Wuyishan. Dry leaf aroma is decently strong and wet leaf aroma is pungent and potent. No unique notes per se, just a very typical yancha, but a good one.
Liquor wise, it is clean, however no bubbles, which is sad. Nice vibrant reddish-orange that fades to orange-yellow as steeps go by. The taste is once again, very prototypical. A yummy tea don't get me wrong, but it very much feels like I blended multiple varieties of yancha together into one. Slight floral notes emanate from the cup, with your typical rocky notes and dark notes portrayed in this wonderful cup of tea. I really don't know how to describe it, other than a mashup of all the yancha I've drank into one cup. Can you imagine that yourself? All the yancha you've drank into one cup? What would that taste like?
Character wise it is standard, complexity wise it is standard. No frills or shills about this tea, nothing extraordinary but not bad either. Maybe that's a downside to this tea. It doesn't wow me like other yanchas I've drank in Wuyishan. For me, I like to look for that "X-factor", and this tea is just not giving me that vibe. Texture is nice, drying yet smooth, slight astringency yet slightly juicy. A best of both worlds of sorts.
Finish & aftertaste is good. Juicy up till the last sip, and remaining juicy a few minutes after you've drunk your fill. Minty and breeze-like qualities remind me of more expensive Zhengyan Shui Xians, but it ain't as strong as that. Nothing excites me more about yancha that a strong powerful finish, and a strong powerful aftertaste that lingers in the mouth, but this tea just doesn't get to that level yet. Yan Yun is average, yan yun being rock rhyme, nothing extraordinary.
Effect wise, a slight warming effect on the body, pretty comfy and cozy, but not that strong. Definitely better than most teas out there in terms of cha qi. Longevity wise, bang average I would say. You can steep this tea till steep 8 no problem. Maybe longer but I'd rather not drink what's left of a good session and ruin it. I'd rather enjoy the viable steeps, and discard the rest.
Overall, a good foray into yancha. Definitely something I'd recommend to someone who's beginning to appreciate yancha, but I'm leaning to a slight no when it comes to putting this on my store. It just doesn't wow me enough. Decent tea nonetheless, and I'll enjoy the rest of the sample that I still have left in my mountain pile of tea. Let me know if you've tried a Huang Mei Gui before! Would love to hear your thoughts!