I’m still really busy so I picked another yancha for today’s session. These sessions don’t take that long and allow me to fully focus on the session itself. The tea I picked for today is a Qi Lan Teasenz sent me about a month ago. The other yancha teas were really good, so I hope this one is as good. I’m flying through the samples, which is a shame because I’m having a lot of fun tasting them.
Qi Lan
This Qi Lan is a yancha (or rock oolong) from right outside the scenic and protected area in Wuyishan. This means it’s a ‘banyan’ tea. The fact that this tea is not from inside the park makes it more affordable. I’ve had some other banyan teas that had a really good price-performance ratio, which is always nice. A really expensive tea doesn’t automatically mean that it will be a good one even when it’s from inside the park.
Don’t know where to buy tea online? I made a list of over 300 online tea shops and I keep updating it regularly. You can check it over here.
I like the fact that this tea is sold as banyan and not as zhengyan. Most rock oolong teas are sold as zhengyan, which means they are supposedly from inside the protected area. A lot more yancha is advertised as being from inside the park than what is produced each year. This shows that there is a lot of misinformation and fakery. Keep your eyes open and make sure you are getting what you pay for!
Tea Tasting
- Water 99°C
- 3.2g for a 80 ml gaiwan
I see dark brown leaves with a dark reddish hue. Some are large but most are medium-sized. The aroma has some strong baked notes to it in combination with butter and floral notes of orchids.
Infusion 1(10 sec): this is a good infusion with a floral and buttery aftertaste. The initial impression is floral, followed by a pleasant sourness that makes the sides of my tongue water. It slowly changes into a more buttery sweetness in the aftertaste that has a floral touch to it.
Infusion 2 (15 sec): the roast is coming through for a bit, but it quickly fades. The light sourness is still present so it makes the sides of my tongue water again. This one is definitely floral. It’s less sweet and buttery, but a lot more floral. The aftertaste is floral and long-lasting. Orchids all the way!
Infusion 3 (20 sec): this one is a bit more mellow. I’m getting pleasant and floral notes. The aftertaste is refreshing and floral and lasts for a while. It’s weird that the infusion feels mellow and refreshing at the same time, but it’s a pleasant sensation.
Infusion 4 (25 sec): this one is really mellow and floral. The floral notes have some traces of a butteriness and even some baked notes are noticeable. The aftertaste is floral and is very long-lasting.
Infusion 5 (30 sec): another pleasant and mellow infusion. It has a floral flavour profile without any fresh and sharp notes. The aftertaste is prominent and lasts long.
Infusion 6 (40 sec): this is still a floral infusion, even though the flavours are fading a bit. Good infusion to end the session with.
Conclusion
The Qi Lan was not as sweet as the other ones, but it was definitely more mellow and floral. There were some sweet, baked and buttery notes in the early infusions and it became more mellow towards the end in combination with straight-up floral notes of orchids.
This was a good tea but quite different from other yancha teas I have tried before. Really interesting experience to have this kind of floral notes without any kind of sweetness towards the end.
If you want to try this one, click here.
