I haven’t drank any osmanthus tea for comparison over the past day, but I can say this Jin Mu Dan isn’t for me after another brew today. Too finicky – I sometimes edge the line of abuse with tea (theme song ‘Push It’ by Salt-N-Pepa). It could often be called forgetfulness or neglect. I suppose it’s all part of the flow. For the fragrant yellow floral nose, it’s missing a longevity in brightness of the sour yellow fruit taste, as well as any pronounced sweetness. The mineral tastes muddy, lacking any distinctive quality. Flat mouthfeel. No noticeable energy. I read a review this weekend by Daylon R Thomas for an entirely different tea, about tasting colors. I’d say this tea tastes dull yellow and grey/brown. Stomped on flower petals.
The roast of the dry leaf, dark and sweet at this time, and the aroma of the liquor are its highlights. This would be a good tea for somebody who has a delicate hand and is interested in perfecting brewing technique.
To the back of the drawer it goes. Maybe either the tea will change or my tastes will by the time we meet again.
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I gotta say, I do hesitate with some of the floral “fragrance” yanchas. Don’t let it dissuade you from trying osmanthus scented teas-they tend to be on the greener side of the spectrum especially if they are from Taiwan.
Yeah, I still want to try osmanthus. I’ll be on the lookout for some of those teas from Taiwan.
I wonder if a different brewing vessel would make for a more enjoyable session with this tea. One of those other types of clays, yixing? I used a purple jianshui clay gaiwan and cup for those two tastings. There is no ‘purple’ in this tea for that type of clay to bring out. Color theory, purple and yellow mixed creates brown. I’m now curious about the elemental and ionic contents of different types of clay.
I get the feeling this tea might be too harsh brewed in glass or porcelain but I’m willing to give those a try.
I am not sure how much I’d contribute to that conversation since I only have one clay gaiwan as the rest of my teaware are porcelain, glass, plastic, or metal. I have gong fu’d using a french press for surprising success, but I refer back to my porcelain or glass gaiwans. My gong fu sessions also tend to be very light with 4-6 grams for a 5 oz vessel, or 3 grams for 100 ml gaiwan. So maybe lighter brew to focus more on the individual flavors of the leaves? There is surely someone more knowledgeable on here, or even with Yunnan Sourcing, Reddit, or Facebook groups like Gong Fu Cha.
Here’s easteaguys note on what I believe to be the same tea.https://steepster.com/teas/yunnan-sourcing-us/79052-gold-mudan-jin-mu-dan-wu-yi-rock-oolong-tea
Wow, eastkyteaguy’s experience was very different. It looks like he reviewed the 2016 harvest but I’m uncertain. I am very curious to see what his experience is with the 2017 if he has it.
Thank you for sharing some of your brewing techniques and I may seek another knowledgeable source because this tea is really throwing me.
Guys, the version I reviewed was the 2016 version. I did not purchase the 2017 offering from Yunnan Sourcing, but I did buy one from Wuyi Origin if memory serves. With yancha, I usually throw it in a cabinet or a tub and let it sit anywhere from 6 months to 2 years before I fool with it. I’m pretty sure the version of this tea that I reviewed was around a year old. With regard to this tea’s parentage, it is my understanding that it is not at all unusual for different Wuyi oolong cultivars to be produced from the same parent cultivars. Differences come down to the percentage, generation, and origin of the parent plants used in the breeding program.
Also, I have noticed that many of the yanchas offered by Yunnan Sourcing seem to have gotten lighter over the last couple of years. The roast on this particulae tea could have been a little different compared to the previous year. I would store what’s left of it and try it periodically over a length of time to see if it changes. If that doesn’t make a difference, this may just have been a bad harvest, or it may even just be something off with the amount of tea you received. Another possibility that is just as if not more likely is that this particular cultivar may just not be your thing. I, myself, am not huge on several Wuyi oolong cultivars, most notably Huang Guan Yin (I find it boring) and Rou Gui (I’ve found some good ones recently, but it is still not my favorite). I can often take or leave Dan Gui too.
eastkyteaguy:
Ah yeah, I’ve been letting most of my yanchas sit for at least 6 months if they don’t already have a few years of age on them relative to purchase date. Both because I have a lot of tea to work through and my experience with Yunnan Sourcing’s 2017 Qidan earlier this year. In regards to cultivars, I didn’t take into consideration the polyploidy of plant genetics. That is a world beyond me at the moment. I know I didn’t like the few Huang Guan Yin I’ve tried as I, too, found them boring, remarkably so, and also unbalanced. My plan was to sample this Jin Mu Dan once more before year’s end and again early next to year to note any changes. If it’s still not working for me after that, I’ll stay away and hopefully find a good home for the remaining amount.
Thank you for your insight, especially regarding YS’s recent trend of greener yancha. That might be of great help in my searches for favorable Wuyi oolongs.
I gotta say, I do hesitate with some of the floral “fragrance” yanchas. Don’t let it dissuade you from trying osmanthus scented teas-they tend to be on the greener side of the spectrum especially if they are from Taiwan.
Yeah, I still want to try osmanthus. I’ll be on the lookout for some of those teas from Taiwan.
I wonder if a different brewing vessel would make for a more enjoyable session with this tea. One of those other types of clays, yixing? I used a purple jianshui clay gaiwan and cup for those two tastings. There is no ‘purple’ in this tea for that type of clay to bring out. Color theory, purple and yellow mixed creates brown. I’m now curious about the elemental and ionic contents of different types of clay.
I get the feeling this tea might be too harsh brewed in glass or porcelain but I’m willing to give those a try.
I am not sure how much I’d contribute to that conversation since I only have one clay gaiwan as the rest of my teaware are porcelain, glass, plastic, or metal. I have gong fu’d using a french press for surprising success, but I refer back to my porcelain or glass gaiwans. My gong fu sessions also tend to be very light with 4-6 grams for a 5 oz vessel, or 3 grams for 100 ml gaiwan. So maybe lighter brew to focus more on the individual flavors of the leaves? There is surely someone more knowledgeable on here, or even with Yunnan Sourcing, Reddit, or Facebook groups like Gong Fu Cha.
Here’s easteaguys note on what I believe to be the same tea.https://steepster.com/teas/yunnan-sourcing-us/79052-gold-mudan-jin-mu-dan-wu-yi-rock-oolong-tea
Wow, eastkyteaguy’s experience was very different. It looks like he reviewed the 2016 harvest but I’m uncertain. I am very curious to see what his experience is with the 2017 if he has it.
Thank you for sharing some of your brewing techniques and I may seek another knowledgeable source because this tea is really throwing me.
Guys, the version I reviewed was the 2016 version. I did not purchase the 2017 offering from Yunnan Sourcing, but I did buy one from Wuyi Origin if memory serves. With yancha, I usually throw it in a cabinet or a tub and let it sit anywhere from 6 months to 2 years before I fool with it. I’m pretty sure the version of this tea that I reviewed was around a year old. With regard to this tea’s parentage, it is my understanding that it is not at all unusual for different Wuyi oolong cultivars to be produced from the same parent cultivars. Differences come down to the percentage, generation, and origin of the parent plants used in the breeding program.
Also, I have noticed that many of the yanchas offered by Yunnan Sourcing seem to have gotten lighter over the last couple of years. The roast on this particulae tea could have been a little different compared to the previous year. I would store what’s left of it and try it periodically over a length of time to see if it changes. If that doesn’t make a difference, this may just have been a bad harvest, or it may even just be something off with the amount of tea you received. Another possibility that is just as if not more likely is that this particular cultivar may just not be your thing. I, myself, am not huge on several Wuyi oolong cultivars, most notably Huang Guan Yin (I find it boring) and Rou Gui (I’ve found some good ones recently, but it is still not my favorite). I can often take or leave Dan Gui too.
eastkyteaguy:
Ah yeah, I’ve been letting most of my yanchas sit for at least 6 months if they don’t already have a few years of age on them relative to purchase date. Both because I have a lot of tea to work through and my experience with Yunnan Sourcing’s 2017 Qidan earlier this year. In regards to cultivars, I didn’t take into consideration the polyploidy of plant genetics. That is a world beyond me at the moment. I know I didn’t like the few Huang Guan Yin I’ve tried as I, too, found them boring, remarkably so, and also unbalanced. My plan was to sample this Jin Mu Dan once more before year’s end and again early next to year to note any changes. If it’s still not working for me after that, I’ll stay away and hopefully find a good home for the remaining amount.
Thank you for your insight, especially regarding YS’s recent trend of greener yancha. That might be of great help in my searches for favorable Wuyi oolongs.