Greengold white-green tea

 

I'm trying another Greengold Georgian tea, one labeled as "Greengold white-green" tea this time.  The hybrid style theme sounded interesting, with more detail about it in their related website page:

მწვანე ოქრო /mts’vane okro/, in English meaning “Green Gold”, this is how Georgian ancestors were calling tea. Green Gold product has specific altitude in manufacturing process: tea leaves are plucked in specific area of our plantation and specific time (weather, degree level, moisture level, period of the day), which generates special aroma and taste of this tea.

The liquor has a soft, smooth and medium-thick texture. The moistened leaves have a distinct grapefruit juice odour. The infusion gives frank aromas of herbs, fruits and flowers. Its finish is slightly dry and ticklish. Sweet and refreshing. It gives you the body sensation of an instant heat.

Interpretations of flavor aspects are never completely consistent, between vendor descriptions and reviews, and how different people would identify flavors, but all that is pretty much it.

There would be one objectively more correct interpretation, wouldn't there?  In my opinion not really, but I can relate to the opposing conclusion and opinion, that there is.  Flavor aspects are complex in teas, as the compounds produced in the process leaves would also be.  For sure there is a one to one mapping of some final compounds and flavors to those compounds found in other food items, but in general I would expect a mix to occur, not two or three distinct compounds determining main flavors, or even a half dozen.

As we infuse teas across a number of rounds it's very conventional for people to interpret flavor profiles as shifting quite a bit, as the main effective compounds producing flavors varies.  For sure it was all present initially in the dried leaves, with the same compounds present in all infusions, but those are being extracted at different rates, in different proportions, and it seems likely that we tend to interpret sets of distinct flavor inputs in complex ways.

Review:

#1:  this could definitely pass for green tea; it's fresh, vegetal, sweet, and a bit floral.  I like it, even though green tea isn't a most favorite style range.  When green tea balances well that sometimes-annoying grass and vegetable flavor range can really work, as it does in this.  Longjing works around that by tasting more like nuts or toasted rice.  I can appreciate the umami intensive Japanese green tea styles but they're really not a favorite, so this more standard range I'd like better.  

Or maybe it is a little like white tea, and I've just not sorted that part out, including some less vegetal, sometimes warmer range.  Sweetness and brightness is really pleasant in this.

#2:  there is a distinctive flavor range in this that I'm having trouble making out, something that seems to reoccur in these Georgian teas.  It's along the line of a spice note, or maybe that's not it.  A touch of mint seems closer.  I had eaten a couple of those Girl Scout cookie Thin Mints not so long ago and thought it was just that carrying over in the first round, but I think this does taste minty.  It might be that paired with a savory note, so it's like a touch of mint and a bit of sun-dried tomato combined.  It's quite catchy. 

That sun-dried tomato range trails over into a unique mineral range too, which tastes almost like salt.  By that I mean that somewhat distinct flavors seem to relate to each other (perhaps already clear enough).  The range I'm describing as floral doesn't come across as distinct or pronounced then, because there is a lot of other flavor going on.  

#3:  the balance of these flavors is shifting but the set is the same.  I might be missing a spice related aspect description, in there along with the vegetal range.  It's not simple identifying that vegetal range; it's not far off fresh green bean but that's not it, closer to sugar snap pea or fresh soybean.  If I had to pick one it's sugar snap pea.  Feel is decent in this, not thin, but aftertaste really stands out, trailing on as a strong flavor experience after you swallow.  Length, that's sometimes called.

#4:  the brightness and sweetness fades a little, with depth and warmth picking up.  I'll give this a longer soak and see what I make of that and close taking notes.  

It's possible that this is a tea and tisane blend; one leaf doesn't look all that similar to Camellia Sinensis.  That might explain why the flavor is so distinctive.  Even though there is plenty of complexity, lots of different flavor range, it all integrates, so that it doesn't seem like some sort of blend to me.  Of course it could just be varying "real tea" plants that match together, or an extra herb that somehow does, along with those.

it's clear enough which leaf doesn't match the others

#5:  more of the same, including more transition in the same direction.  That vegetal range is quite different now, more onto a spice range, still including a bit of mint, and considerable sundried tomato savory tone.  I might like it better like this, less like a conventional green tea now.  The brightness and freshness being more intense did work well, with this still kind of bright and fresh.  

#6:  I let it brew a really long time, forgetting it, and flash-brewed the next round to mix them together.  Vegetal range increased again, into some sort of plant-stem type range, which doesn't mean much in relation to what a more conventional brewing outcome would've been.  It was still nice.

Conclusion:

An interesting and pleasant tea.  Maybe how much I like teas often doesn't come across in reviews, since I focus on identifying aspects and comparing to standard styles more, with the second not as relevant in this.  I never did get far with placing this as somewhere in between white and green tea.  

I liked it.  It was fresh, intense, pleasant, well-balanced, and novel.  I could probably even drink quite a bit of this, as a routine tea selection when I felt like having something approachable, light, and fresh, stepping back from the edge in relation to the normal sheng pu'er intensity.  It matches what I remembered of their teas, that the quality level and pleasant character hold their own with really good teas from anywhere else.  There isn't a single mention of an aspect flaw in this review for a reason.

Of course green and white teas are not completely unrelated categories, but it's odd considering a type to be in between them, instead of one or the other.  White tea is for the most part just dried, not processed in any other way, beyond some potential degree of wilting, allowing fresh leaves to rest.  Green tea is kill-greened, processed by a main heating step, to suspend activity of enzymes that convert compounds into black tea, the process referred to as oxidation.  

Use of pan-frying, steaming, or oven roasting seems to make a difference, probably best optimized by pairing ideal processing with material suited for that particular step.  Oven heating seems to relate most to large-scale production, but I could be clearer on to what extent final outcome results are inferior to using the other processing / heating forms.

  

I could say more, and there is an interesting reference on oxidation / enzymatic browning here, but in general I tend to focus on what teas are like, not speculating about processing or other inputs.

There was an exception in this review; one leaf seemed to not be Camellia Sinensis, and I wondered if this wasn't a tea and tisane blend.  Probably not really intentionally, not created or presented as such, but it does seem like an extra leaf made it in there.  Interesting, right?  That never happens.  This is one potential explanation in their main website page information:

Our tea plants are surrounded by paulownia tomentosa trees.  The trees create the ultimately supportive environment for plantation’s growth.

That's not described as material used in blending, but the look does match that extra leaf (from their site):

On to many more questions, right?  Is that leaf even edible?  What should it taste like, and is it ever used to make a tisane?  Would it be healthy?

This reference is comforting:

Paulownia tomentosa is commonly known as Princess Tree, Empress Tree, Royal Empress Tree, Royal Paulownia, Fox glove tree, Kiri (in Japan), PaoTong (China), and Odong-Namoo (Korea). 

Paulownia plants are well respected in Japan, China and most of East Asia for its tradition, uses and quality of wood. According to traditional literature flowers and leaves are cooked and consumed occasionally for the treatment of fever and pain, and skin ailments [40]... The major polyphenol found in Princess Tree wood is Paulownin which belongs to a class of chemistry called lignan.

Other sources that come up in a Google search describe use of leaves of this type of tree as animal food input, and say that consuming the leaves isn't a health risk for pets, although for some related plant versions you shouldn't eat the flowers.  Brewing a stray leaf should be fine.  

The related Wikipedia page doesn't mention consumption at all, but brings up that it might be seen as an invasive species in some places, probably partly related to it being fast growing, and potentially capable of replacing other tree species.  A photo there makes it even clearer that it probably was a leaf from that tree type:

By Plantman - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=129895550

Maybe it's a theme that they could look into, using those leaves as tisanes.  For sure that would involve lots more review related to EU import, but a related tea and tisane blend might be pleasant and novel.

Viet Sun Tả Củ Tỷ and Giàng Pằng Autumn 2023 sheng (pu'er)

 

photo lighting isn't dialed in where I'm trying the teas just now

I'm reviewing Tả Củ Tỷ and Giàng Pằng Autumn 2023 sheng pu'er-style teas from Vietnam, from Viet Sun.  There are plenty of earlier Viet Sun reviews of different tea types posted earlier; these were sent by Steve (the owner) as samples when I reordered a good bit more of a black tea that I loved (this one; a new version should be available for this year before too long).

Tả Củ Tỷ Autumn 2023, $36 for 200 grams, (equivalent to $64 per 357 gram cake)

This tea was made in early September from a mixture of medium, older and ancient trees growing in a few different gardens around the area. One of the most interesting parts of this tea is the varied terroir inputs. Some of the raw material was collected from higher elevation rocky/ boulder field gardens and some from lower elevation more clay-rich soil gardens.

This tea brews up quickly into a clear green-golden soup. The flavor is punchy with vegetal mossy and deep forest floral notes. Bitterness and astringency are moderate with a quick floral sweet huigan that develops after the first cup.

I like brewing it at 90-100C for short and then longer steeps.

I believe this is a good candidate for aging as the raw material is good and its aggressive edge should round out nicely after a couple of years.

Picking Standard: 1 bud, 2-3 leaves

Region: Tả Củ Tỷ, Lào Cai

Elevation: 1000-1300m

Giàng Pằng Autumn 2023, $38 for 200 grams, so $68 for 357 grams worth ($68)

This tea was made from ancient trees growing at about 1400m. It brews up slowly into a rich, hazy golden, green soup. Heavily sweet and floral with a melon fruit range and vegetal forest/ almost leathery notes. Low-medium bitterness and astringency. Rich huigan that builds after a few steeps and energizing qi.

Due to being an early season tea, we decided to go with a younger/ buddier pick to minimize huangpian. Expect a more fragrance/ flavor heavy tea this season.

Picking Standard: 1 bud, 2 leaves

Region: Giàng Pằng, Yên Bái

Elevation: 1400m

Review:

Tả Củ Tỷ Autumn 2023:  that's really nice.  The flavor is richer, warmer, and more complex than I would've expected, not the typical pronounced bitterness, vague floral, and underlying mineral a lot of pretty good sheng mostly covers.  

Mineral is warmer, onto almost a metal range, or at least like a mineral-intensive well water effect.  Bitterness is there but secondary to the mineral range, which isn't underlying.  Other flavor is harder to break down.  It reminds me of the scent of a damp forest in spring, but that's not a flavor list.  One part is earthy, like a damp fallen log or mushroom, and another is sweet, a little towards dried fruit, and some could be a spice note.  I'll keep going with breakdown next round.

Giàng Pằng Autumn 2023:  absolutely different, but with a similar effect.  Bitterness is pronounced but not dominant, and mineral stands out in an unusual form, and form of expression.  Sweetness leans towards citrus, and there is more of a vegetal spice input in this, less warm and rich earthy range.  I suppose floral stands out more in this, but that fruit and light spice range is stronger.

Both of those I brewed for longer than usual to skip the part about them being too light to identify, and as a result both were a bit strong, more so than optimum.  At least the initial progression is on track.  I didn't separate the large chunks as much as I normally would, not for a clear purpose, just not so clear this morning, and skipped that step.  Of course you don't want to tear and shred the leaves but it does work to twist them apart without breaking them, the part I didn't do.  

Both samples looked great; I could've done more justice to that taking a better picture of those too.  I've been really busy here (in Honolulu) for about a month, and I overdid it yesterday with a long run (12 km) and walking the better part of that far doing local errands, then cooking and cleaning at home.  Our apartment here is tiny and crowded and my mind feels crowded as well.  All of these are ok problems to have; I don't mind at all.

Tả Củ Tỷ, round 2:  lighter, a more conventional infusion strength.  Bitterness has picked up quite a bit; that's no surprise.  The warm tone, sweetness, and unusual mineral range are all quite pleasant.  This isn't all that oxidized, seemingly, but limited association with black tea range might be pleasant for many, that tone being this warm.  Thickness of feel really picks up, and aftertaste.

I'm still not having luck with flavor list style breakdown.  There's almost a Chinese medicinal herb quality to this, complex and diverse, with parts warm in tone, like unusual dried bark spice, or maybe even mushroom.  It's not mushroomy, tasting like fungus, so maybe that part is more like ginseng, a root spice with a hard to describe flavor range.  It's hard to justify why I'm saying this is warm in tone; it just is.  It tastes a little like dried fruit but that's a secondary and integrated component at most.  There's just a subtle warmth to it, less subtle in the mineral range.

Giàng Pằng:  fruit really picked up in this, and also bitterness.  I brewed these fast, around 10 seconds or so, counting all the pour times, but they're still too strong.  As usual I've used too much leaf material; if I complete that step on autopilot it ends up like this, probably using 7 or 8 grams.  For drinking a lot of one tea with breakfast that's fine, but I won't get as far in review rounds for doing that.  And moderating infusion strength relates to using flash infusions, instead of adjusting brewing timing.

The flavor is lighter and brighter in this.  Again it seems more floral to me, but part is something else, a little citrusy, maybe along the line of lemongrass as much as true citrus, but I could see this as tasting like lemon (dried peel more than the fruit, I think).  It's intense.  I love that effect, of a strong sheng really hitting hard, but people accustomed to other tea types might not.  The feel effect on my mind is hitting hard already, for wrapping up drinking four infusions worth, which really could've been 8, brewed much lighter.

I'm using goji berries that were soaking to clear my palate between rounds.  For wispy light rounds clearing the flavor would be a mistake, not necessary or helpful, but these are a bit strong.  I would recommend eating goji berries daily for health effect, offsetting aging impact and helping with eye and skin health, but then what do I know. 

Tả Củ Tỷ, round 3:   finally light enough to be in a normal infusion strength range, using more of a true flash infusion.  I can relate to strong brewed sheng but it's not ideal for review interpretation.  

Fruit range seems to show up more brewed this way.  There is still bitterness, warm mineral, and vague earthy tones, but a yellow watermelon sort of fruit aspect enters in.  If there is floral range it's on the warm and rich side, but if so it's a bit vague, easy to interpret as something else instead.  

The feel is really nice, full and smooth.  Neither of these has seemed astringent and harsh, as younger sheng can be, but they both give up no intensity at all.  Sweetness and bitterness balance really well.

Giàng Pằng:  bitterness is much more pronounced in this.  It's like that dandelion flower or stem effect; strong, with a corresponding flavor matched to it.  Bright and light floral range stands out more, and what I'm interpreting as a light fruit aspect, which could as easily be regarded as related spice.  It all balances well, but the bitterness isn't for people who aren't already on that page.  

That pairing of a specific type of bitterness and heavy floral towards fruit flavor should be quite familiar from some Yunnan version examples.  The vegetal edge, which I've described here as like flower stem, may not be as common.  I reviewed a version not so far off this that I bought in a Bangkok shop last year, somewhat bitter, sweet, and floral, from a location I don't think I ever mentioned or knew related to it being written in Thai on the label.

TCT, GP, #4:  probably a good round to skip notes; both are not so different, and as usual this runs long, and become repetitive.  10 cups of these is a lot though, so the next round might be the last for notes.

TCT #5:  this is transitioning nicely, even if I'm not going to be able to communicate that clearly in a changing flavor list.  It balances better and better.  To me it's nice that the bitterness is so moderate (relatively speaking; this is bitter as straight aspirin compared to any oolong, and the other more so), and that the sweetness offsets it.  It seems to evolve more towards a warm floral tone, which is rich and full enough that it also reminds me of fruit range.  Oddly the complexity of flavor range makes it hard to separate out 2 or 3 inputs that are causing those effects.  There's a lot going on, which could seem to come across as integrated and uniform, but when you try to describe it it's quite complex.

GP:  this warms in tone a bit, drifting closer to the other.  Bitterness is still more pronounced, but that eases up.  Floral tone is even more pronounced than for the other version.  It would be nice to specify a flower type, but that always has been a limitation for me, remembering how a couple of dozen different flowers smell for baseline reference.  There's one aspect that I've experienced in Yunnan sheng that's catchy, maybe a set of flavors that tend to relate to each other in a certain way, a honey sweetness, combined with a citrus effect, and certain floral range.  It's like a naturally matching set.  

Round 6:  The TCT version is better than ever, pleasant and not challenging at all brewed lightly.  Floral and fruit tones really pop, with fullness and depth supporting those.  A bitter edge hangs in there for the other, the GP version, which lingers as bitterness and residual sweetness, even brewed lightly.  It's pleasant.  For people avoiding bitterness it would be too much, for sure, but for those who love that pairing of bitterness and trailing sweetness it's just the thing.

For combined tasting you can't separate which has the stronger body feel or heady buzz effect but these were clearly strong teas.

Conclusions / comparison to vendor descriptions: 

It will be interesting to go back and check on Steve's interpretation of these and see how he placed them (since I add those after taking notes, during editing).  I feel like my descriptions aren't all that clear or descriptive.

The Viet Sun sales page descriptions work, with a couple of differences in interpretation.  For the Ta Cu Ty "The flavor is punchy with vegetal mossy and deep forest floral notes" really works well; that early warmer and earthier flavor was hard to capture, but reference to moss and deep forest floral goes there, even if it's really about two different themes emerging early and later, per my interpretation.  

Bitterness seemed more pronounced to me for the Giang Pang is described, but "heavily sweet and floral with a melon fruit range and vegetal forest/ almost leathery notes" kind of matches.  There is one part that can be taken as challenging, here referred to as vegetal and almost leathery, which I've compared to plant stem taste input.  The rest balances that nicely, making it seem less like a negative inclusion and more of an integrated set.

It's hard for me to guess about aging potential for these, mentioned in relation to describing the Ta Cu Ty version as aggressive.  Both might be even better after a year or two of settling, but I'm not sure how they would change as moderately transitioned versions (6-8 years), or as fully aged (15-20).  A related comment and tangent about intensity might help place that.

For as intense and aggressive as these have been I would expect the next 3 or 4 rounds to be as good or perhaps better than the earlier experience.  That doesn't relate to high bitterness or astringency, oddly, just overall intensity.  Fall teas are know for being a bit less intense than spring versions, one limitation of the type range, but that's not how these worked out.  

There's a decent chance that the trees weren't challenged by harvesting a substantial amount of summer material to make black tea, as can occur with plantation or somewhat natural growth versions in more developed areas, enabling them to continue to produce leaves naturally high in compounds relating to flavor.  But then again what do I know.

Comparing these to the Son La version I've drank half a cake of over the last year parts of the range is consistent and familiar, even if aspects and style vary quite a bit.  I really like that tea; something about it I can connect with.  Both of these could match it in terms of intensity, in two different senses, but the way those aspects balance is so nice for me.

those old-style buildings are common in lots of local schools

Viet Sun Lai Chau Deep Forest Green

I'm trying a Viet Sun Vietnamese Lai Chau Deep Forest Green tea.  That's almost enough description already.  

It's from 2022; I must have received this with an earlier order and not got around to trying it.  Even though almost no one drinks year and a half old green tea it should be fine.  It will be interesting to guess how it might have changed. 

This is the web page description for the 2023 version, now out of stock:

The tea trees in this area are growing to heights of 10+ meters in the deep forest at 2200m+ in elevation. The rich biodiversity and natural growing conditions really make their way into the cup.

This tea brews up slowly into a rich, clear golden soup. The flavor is unique and complex. Reminds me of forest flower honey, herbs and wild grasses. Just a touch of astringency, no bitterness, thick mouthfeel, rich huigan and relaxing qi. A great option for warmer days and when you are looking for a unique green tea experience.

Another interesting aspect of this tea is the aging potential. I have tried teas from past years and they get sweeter and richer over time. The honey notes become more prominent as well.

Interesting that last part was included.  This did seem to age positively, at a guess.  That or it was really fantastic to begin with and it just didn't lose as much as one would expect. 

Review:

#1:  a little subtle, but coming along nicely.  At this stage it reminds me of Thai Nguyen character:  vegetal and mineral intensive, with significant umami, and just a hint of fresher floral range.  This is brewed a bit hotter than I would imagine would be optimum, but I'm too lazy to sort out a way to cool the kettle heated water.  It seems appropriate for Vietnamese green tea, given the local custom of using boiling point water to brew that there.  A bit of extra challenging feel or flavors is fine.

The vegetal character is interesting, between green bean and kale.  It's fresher and lighter than that sounds, and more pleasant; other range balances it, including a toasted rice / nutty input comparable to Longjing.  And there is a lot of difference between fresh, well-prepared green bean and a frozen and overcooked version. 

#2:  freshness and brightness picks up, partly from it gaining intensity while still being brewed very light.  Depth of mouthfeel and aftertaste increase; it's interesting for those to be noteworthy in a green tea.  Umami is pleasant in this for integrating with the rest.  In Japanese teas where that aspect stands out most it can really overpower the rest, and here it balances with it.  The flavors are shifting but I'll add a new list next round.

I might feel this in my head already; that's also interesting.  I don't get effects from tea as clearly as many others report, and I've already eaten breakfast, which would slow that onset.

#3:  other flavor range is picking up but it's hard to identify.  Maybe general floral tone?  Vegetal input has moderated quite a bit, but the underlying mineral tone and umami is still pronounced.  Umami might be giving way slightly, but not diminishing like the vegetal range.  Deeper warm tones like toasted rice or macadamia nut balance the rest.  The general effect is a clean, complex taste.  Sweetness level is fine, in the right range.  

For a green tea drinker this could be a really unique and pleasant experience.  Since I just drink those for a change of pace, or to write about them, it's still pleasant for me, but it's not my main preference.  

I might tap out early for this being enough tea after another round; that's strange.  This is pretty strong tea, since I don't usually get that much effect from the same amount of sheng pu'er.  That one wild origin Thai tea favorite hits really hard, but I usually only have it when I feel like having that experience.  In a recent tasting experience with neighbors one tried that and said that she was expecting a slap in the face but that it came across like a kick in the face.  In a good way, maybe?

#4:  more of the same, I guess.  This tea is intense enough that I would really need to drink some water or eat something between rounds to reset to get a clearer impression.  The intensity is building up as I go, not the infusion strength each round, but the effect compounds somehow.  I had some goji berries soaking to eat as part of breakfast; I'll eat those after trying this round.

I think Vietnamese people must adapt to this and seek it out, maybe even in a stronger form than this, related to them drinking even stronger brewed green tea, mixing it in a pot and letting infusion times run for many minutes, or half an hour.  I could've brewed half as much of this tea and it would've worked better.  Green tea isn't usually this intense.

#5:  this will have to do it; I'm not in the mood to get blasted on caffeine and theanine.  It is transitioning; those general, vague floral tones are picking up.  It might be more like a lavender input now.  The rest is so complex that it could be interpreted in different ways.  Seeing this as tasting like melon could work, or the richness one could interpret as being buttery.  

My wife tried it and thought something came across as a roasted effect, a rich and warm tone.  Flavor is comparable, but it surely didn't get there by way of a roasting process.  Part of what resembles a receded vegetal edge might come across as spice, along the line of lemongrass or holy basil.  It's nice that it has so much complexity.

Conclusion:

A pleasant, complex green tea.  It works for me.  I'm trying extra rounds later in the day while editing the notes and they're just as positive.

It raises the question what this would've been like nearly two years ago when first made.  Surely some degree of freshness dropped out, and bright intensity, and it picked up some depth along the way.  That's not what one is usually seeking out in green tea but it works in this.  It's not faded, musty, off, like cardboard, or tied to any other broad range one might expect from not-new green tea.  

It's tempting to try to guess why this tea might age better than some other green versions.  Who knows?  Maybe because it wasn't relying on that one fresh and floral theme as a main aspect range early on; maybe it had good depth back then.  Maybe it wasn't kill-greened at a really hot temperature and some enzymes or compounds stayed more active and less transitioned.  Or maybe this was unusually bright, floral, sweet, and intense back then and it has lost most of that, but it had so much going on that it hasn't lost it all.

It has been interesting, and just what I was looking for, a break from the tea types I've been experiencing a lot of recently.