Qi Dan 奇丹

Spring 2020 harvest.

So very green for an Wuyi oolong. The verdant leaf is visually cloaked by the roast and makes for a soft and deep floral bouquet aroma of gardenia a hint musty mixed with less pronounced darker notes of chocolate and cinnamon. I get the same in the mouth along with acidic forest floor, salty wet rocks, smooth malty suede, slight bitterness. Squash-like finish and bitter cacao aftertaste. The texture is somehow light yet full.

It all melds together pretty well but this tea’s energy was absolutely not jiving with my own. Initially the tea was very warming and relaxing but left me feeling cold over the course of the session. The sleep paralysis/lucid dream I experienced that night I attribute to the tea. The few times I’ve experienced sleep paralysis, it has started with a cold wind rushing over the ears with hurricane force and a complete lack of awareness of occupying an earthly vessel… It’s a very chilling and desolate experience.

Flavorwise, this was one of the better greenish yancha I’ve had. Ignoring the energetic effects, this tea is not inspiring for me; I tend to appreciate more oxidation and higher roast for yancha. Especially Qi Dan. I want warm woodiness with that lovely cinnamon note, not gardenias.

So after trying a DHP from TeaVivre and hating it, I thought there had to be something I was missing. I decided to give a DHP from a specialty shop a try and I can say that I think I now understand why people like it (and Wuyi oolongs in general) so much. It is very complex indeed, but perhaps not my style at the moment. I can see my tastes evolving to where I like this tea quite a bit at some point in the future. It is also seems well suited to colder temperatures of fall and winter. Definitely not over-roasted like the one from TeaVivre. High astringency. Mouthfeel is as if the tea is “blooming” with flavors while in your mouth. The flavors develop and leave a spicy, dry aftertaste that lasts quite a while. Very complex tea!

Harvest: Spring 2020

Dry leaf: Charcoal.
Wet leaf: Malt, wet earth.
Taste: Bitter → sweet, cacao, nutty, spice.

A promising but ultimately mediocre yancha. I got the Spring 2020 harvest of this tea from my OWT order, and the first few steeps were going good, but it fell off a cliff quite quickly. Decent leaves albeit slightly broken, with a nice and rich aroma full of complexity, topped with a decent liquor that was relatively vibrant. The flavour was quite nice and packed a bit of complexity and richness to it, which was great. However, the flavour only lasted for the first 4 or 5 steeps, before it became blander and thinner, with the complexity dropping off one by one. This tea also has average steep longevity along with no noticeable cha-qi, a lack of character to it, and an average texture, finish & aftertaste. If this tea was able to hold up its flavour for longer, or even better have its flavour transform throughout the session, this tea would’ve gotten plaudits from me. However, this tea just couldn’t hold up for long enough and became a mediocre tea.