As some of you may know, I run Sipscollection, an online tea store based in Singapore. Each harvest season, I get multitudes of samples from farmers across China and Taiwan, and I spend time tasting each one of them to find the right ones to put on my store. I thought it might be interesting to give a sneak peek into what drinking teas for a business looks like, so I'll be posting regular reviews of the samples I receive from farmers and merchants alike.
Today, I'll be drinking this Zhengyan Rou Gui from a merchant based in Xiamen. This Rou Gui is from Mi Tuo Yan, in the northern part of the scenic area of Wuyishan. As with any Zhengyan tea, the price is high and the expectations are equal to that, so let's dive right in.
Tea Information
Brewing Parameters
Final Score
I had high expectations for this tea, knowing this supplier and the quality of teas they produce, but as you will see from this review, I'm not so keen on this one. Looks wise, this tea is pretty good, bar a bit of tea dust probably from transportation of the tea, the leaves are consistent and are vibrant in colour. The aroma somewhat let me down a bit, with the dry leaf aroma being slightly weak but possessing a unique plum smell. The wet leaf aroma was a prototypical Rou Gui Yancha aroma, with strong roasted notes and that rocky and earthy aroma that yancha, or rock tea, is known for.
Liquor wise is pretty good. Nice colour, full of bubbles, and the liquor had a golden patina around the cup. Flavour wise, it had a plum like taste, but it missed the power and strength of a Rou Gui, it lacked the 霸气ness that I associate with many Rou Guis I've drunk in Wuyishan. There are slight sour and roasted notes, otherwise it was pretty unremarkable.
Speaking of unremarkable, this tea's character and complexity is as such. Too simple for my liking, other than the unique plum taste, this tea didn't really have much going for it. Not strong enough, not powerful enough, and a bit weak to say the least. It's texture is also average, slightly astringent, slightly drying, at least keeping it interesting throughout the session.
Finish & aftertaste however is a talking point for this tea. There is a long, cooling sensation in the mouth that is almost breeze-like. It also had a nice Yan Yun or rock rhyme to it, which is what a lot of yancha drinkers look for. This tea also had a decent effect on the body, a nice buzzing feeling that is stronger than most yanchas I've drunk. Lastly, this tea is also relatively steepable, with slightly better than average longevity, lasting till around steep 9 before calling it quits.
Overall, not a yancha I would stock for my store, too simple and not complex enough. Hopefully this supplier's other offerings would peak more of my interest than this tea. Have you had any experiences with yanchas or rou guis in general? Do share below!
