Yellow Mountain (Huangshan) and the historic Huizhou trading hub are home to a greater variety and quality of tea than almost any other region of China. The regions' consistuent seven counties are home to some of the nation's most famous green, red, and dark tea. In this sampler, you can taste most of them, from the most common green tea in every local man's tumbler, to the most premium selections.
This is an action packed 60 grams of tea to satisfy the curiosity of those who wanted a more complete picture of what tea looks like within in one terroir region.
10 Grams Caramel Red
This is a kind of red tea that is becoming ever more scarce in China. High temperature baked red teas were common in the 1990's, but have gradually fallen out of favor. With notes of cocoa, dark chocolate, and malt, this tea is not the normal yammy tea of the past decade nor is it the floral-fragrant red tea that is vogue now. It is a continuity of the simple red tea that was produced that has been Huangshan's Sanyang Township without interruption for the last decade.
10 grams Dafang Green
This tea was likely the inspiration for the polished flat shape we now associate with Dragon Well. Three days by foot to Hangzhou, Sanyang Township's Laozhupu Village continues to sell this robustly nutty but vegetal tea to the coastal metropolis that is Hangzhou, albeit almost always disguised as Dragon Well. It is not much to look at, but the tea's notes of toasted soy and celery make for a pleasant brew that has kept customers coming back from centuries.
10 Grams Mud House Dishuixiang
Perhaps the most exotic tea in the bunch, this is the exact rough but fragrant green tea made in the Daguyun core growing area that is shown in the video below. The Ke family have made this completely on their own, and it shows. A favorite now among local people, especially rural residents, this tea brews up unapologetically thick, strong, smoky, and vegetal. It is a perfect complement to the oily and spicy local cuisine.
10 Grams Premium Dishuixiang
However appropriate for the local palate, there have been efforts to class up this tea. Using the same cultivar from the same growing region, Jing, a friend of SweetestDew, offers a more premium version of this tea. Here you can enjoy the same fragrance and vegetal thickness without the rougher edges. This is a tea for more serious enjoyers of the green stuff.
10 Grams Swirled Keemun
Using the same electric shaping-wok as Dishuixiang, this tea from Master Zheng is a great example of modern Keemun. In flavor, it is relatively sweeter, but with nutty and squash notes not present in the more traditional Gongfu variants. It is a single origin, single batch red tea as is more common with smaller producers. Consequently, it does not brew up quite so strong, or with that same composite flavor, but it still has some of that beloved Keemun power.
10 grams Huangshan Maofeng
A lighter late season green tea, this is a traditional Maofeng to brighten up any day. With a slightly bent leaf shape, a clear yellow-green soup, and a delicate but crisply floral flavor, this is an affordable but exceptional version of Yellow Mountain’s most famous green tea. Wok-fried, cold-kneaded, and finished over charcoal, there could not be a more standard Maofeng. Although not the most famous growing region, the local “Da Yezhong”heirloom cultivar is also present in Xinxikou Township where this Maofeng was made.
Check out the video below to get a look at the Dishuixiang and the people who make it.
