I bought small samples of Hojo's Lapsang Souchong Hua Xiang and Lapsang Souchong Qi Zhong, but haven't tried them yet.
Yesterday I had the 2015 Yanxun Xiaozhong from DXJD and it was super smokey, even after ten years of age. It wasn't tannic or bitter, just full of clean pine smoke. I couldn't really taste the base tea, but I'm sure the quality was good. However, I like unsmoked lapsang a lot more.
Lapsang Souchong
Looking forward to your thoughts on the Qi Zhong. I generally do not drink red teas, this one is exceptional. The only time I tolerate abit of smoke in a tea is if its naturally acquired from ageing sheng pu.GaoShan wrote: ↑Mon Mar 03, 2025 6:48 amI bought small samples of Hojo's Lapsang Souchong Hua Xiang and Lapsang Souchong Qi Zhong, but haven't tried them yet.
Yesterday I had the 2015 Yanxun Xiaozhong from DXJD and it was super smokey, even after ten years of age. It wasn't tannic or bitter, just full of clean pine smoke. I couldn't really taste the base tea, but I'm sure the quality was good. However, I like unsmoked lapsang a lot more.
I had red teas from DXJD a few years back. I must admit that the smoked lapsang (2021) I found quite bad, it was all smoke, no taste of the tea underneath.. I was expecting much more, since lot of people here like the shop. Da chi gan was better, but still average for the price.. I’m sure their top yancha is worth trying. But for lapsang, Wuyiorigin, Chawangshop and TXS tea are imo much better.
Many of Wuyi Origin's lapsangs are fruity, while the ones I've tried from DXJD are smooth and elegant. I haven't had enough of these teas to be able to infer the tree age or quality of the material, but based on DXJD's other offerings, I have a feeling they're solid. Having said that, the Wild Lapsang from Wuyi Origin is among my favourite teas because it's so fruity and affordable, even if other lapsangs might be fancier. I'm happy to have a lapsang I like that doesn't break the bank.filipes wrote: ↑Mon Mar 03, 2025 9:53 amI had red teas from DXJD a few years back. I must admit that the smoked lapsang (2021) I found quite bad, it was all smoke, no taste of the tea underneath.. I was expecting much more, since lot of people here like the shop. Da chi gan was better, but still average for the price.. I’m sure their top yancha is worth trying. But for lapsang, Wuyiorigin, Chawangshop and TXS tea are imo much better.
Which lapsangs have you enjoyed from TXS? They had a lot of them last time I checked.
Gu wang keng lao cong black tea. It had the smooth and elegant character, forest notes.. if it was a little light in taste. Not lapsang, but also memorable was Tongmu Jin jun mei. I don’t know if Jin jun mei should be so sweet (I don’t think so), but this sweetness was different galaxy. But they are quite expensive, probably not a great value for money, I think Wuyiorigin is much better at that.
Thanks! I like fruitier lapsangs and think DXJD does a good job with the elegant/smooth/foresty lapsangs, but will consider picking these up if I order from TXS. And I agree, Wuyi Origin provides great value for money.filipes wrote: ↑Mon Mar 03, 2025 3:06 pmGu wang keng lao cong black tea. It had the smooth and elegant character, forest notes.. if it was a little light in taste. Not lapsang, but also memorable was Tongmu Jin jun mei. I don’t know if Jin jun mei should be so sweet (I don’t think so), but this sweetness was different galaxy. But they are quite expensive, probably not a great value for money, I think Wuyiorigin is much better at that.
I'm glad that more and more people know qi zhong. I think if you like this kind of tea, maybe you can try wild black tea.
Wild black tea - that’s quite a wide term. Do you have anything specific on mind? If any vendor can be trusted, I probably have had a few very good lapsang teas that were growing in “wild” tea gardens - forgotten and left to grow freely for decades. What do you think makes a wild tea extraordinary or different from curated tea garden?
Wild has 2 meanings. The kind of tea that is of minimal intervention, grown in natural conditions, harvested once or every few years, is designed as 'yefang'. You can think of yefang as 'forest' tea. Qizhong means native variety, as opposed to the more commercialized varieties. They tend to be slower growing/less productive hence they are fewer available on the market.
Anyway Im going to try Zhengshantang's JJM. Let's hope it will not disappoint. I've had famous brands like Xigua which were not good, to say the least.
Anyway Im going to try Zhengshantang's JJM. Let's hope it will not disappoint. I've had famous brands like Xigua which were not good, to say the least.
It’s their signature product, so probably should be good.
So tea growing in natural conditions (in the forests of TongMu), among other plants, without much intervention is labeled as yefang. I would think this would be very difficult to harvest with small yield, so very expensive and hard to get. It would be interesting to compare the taste to a good tea from curated tea garden.
So tea growing in natural conditions (in the forests of TongMu), among other plants, without much intervention is labeled as yefang. I would think this would be very difficult to harvest with small yield, so very expensive and hard to get. It would be interesting to compare the taste to a good tea from curated tea garden.
Yes, also depending on the context of the term used (what tea producing region and tea type) wild will mean either of the 2. Yefang is not used in puerh, but a similar idea exists to distinguish between 'forest tea' and 'gardens tea', or tea that takes a few hours on foot to reach vs tea that is grown in the village backyard. However, the term has been used to distinguish certain taiwanese gaoshan teas (like yefang shanlinxi) as more semi-wild compared to the more plantation style tea grown in neat gardens. Of course, we can say yefang tends to be richer and minerally, since there is a healthy ecosystem that contributes to its growth as opposed to competing vigorously with adjacent bushes for already nutrient limited/depleted soil, on top of all that aggressive pruning.filipes wrote: ↑Fri Apr 25, 2025 10:49 amIt’s their signature product, so probably should be good.
So tea growing in natural conditions (in the forests of TongMu), among other plants, without much intervention is labeled as yefang. I would think this would be very difficult to harvest with small yield, so very expensive and hard to get. It would be interesting to compare the taste to a good tea from curated tea garden.
In puerh, wild varietals would be called "yesheng" rather than "qizhong", which can be grown plantation/tai-di style so that doesn't mean its better than standard varietals. While in Longjing, Qunti zhong would be like a "qizhong" since its a native varietal as opposed to the modern longjing 43 varietal that is faster growing. Qunti zhong is harvested yu qian, not ming qian. Hence, I've mentioned in another post why the fixation of 'mingqian' isnt always the best. In puer as well, the forest teas are harvested later than plantation teas (late spring vs early). But I digress haha.
Zhengshantang's JJM 2025 (18 April was the release date) is so full, creamy, thick, luxurious in the mouth that makes me think that its all about the texture. The fragrance is fine-tuned, very clear and singular, and has a gentle rose-like flavor (not maltiness) - not the tart fruity you find in other hongcha. When one drinks JJM, this is what one is looking out for, its not about flavor or how sweet it is, but the fine yet smooth texture of its tea liquor. Good ZSXZ is smooth but not fine, whilst many other bud-only teas are fine but astringent/rough. To test its quality, I power steeped the 9th steep to 5mins and tasted no harshness or dilution. Many other hongcha will be full of flavor intermingling with the harshness of astringency but flat. Honestly, I doubt I can drink other hongcha after drinking this.
*Also note that the tea soup is super light in color, even when long brewed. A sign of quality.
*Also note that the tea soup is super light in color, even when long brewed. A sign of quality.
That tea sounds lovely! Did you get it from Lapsangstore? I was considering them in my search for Bi Luo Chun, but they seem expensive and I don't know enough about them to judge their reputation. I'm a fan of black tea with little malt and no astringency, which is why I gravitate toward some Taiwanese high mountain hongcha and lapsangs. $3 per gram is a lot, though...Sunyata wrote: ↑Fri May 02, 2025 2:51 amZhengshantang's JJM 2025 (18 April was the release date) is so full, creamy, thick, luxurious in the mouth that makes me think that its all about the texture. The fragrance is fine-tuned, very clear and singular, and has a gentle rose-like flavor (not maltiness) - not the tart fruity you find in other hongcha. When one drinks JJM, this is what one is looking out for, its not about flavor or how sweet it is, but the fine yet smooth texture of its tea liquor. Good ZSXZ is smooth but not fine, whilst many other bud-only teas are fine but astringent/rough. To test its quality, I power steeped the 9th steep to 5mins and tasted no harshness or dilution. Many other hongcha will be full of flavor intermingling with the harshness of astringency but flat. Honestly, I doubt I can drink other hongcha after drinking this.
*Also note that the tea soup is super light in color, even when long brewed. A sign of quality.
I've also been reading your posts about wild tea. Can yefang tea really be found near Tongmu? It seems like every inch of Wuyi would be cultivated.
May I ask how you source it? The vendor seems to post here but apparently in an attempt to extract much higher prices from int'l buyers. Any good way to get their tea from a shop or package forwarder (asking from Europe)?