Shan Shui Teas

http://www.shanshuiteas.com

This is a vendor I found looking for some new baozhongs one day, and was especially impressed with their inventory. They had a number of things that I had not heard of before, nevertheless seen anything like. They specialize in wulongs from Taiwan, and have some particularly interesting stuff. They have two basic grades: superior and premium. Superior grade means that the tea is made year-round. It's a good quality, but not particular to any single season. It's pretty consistent, year round. Premium, on the other hand, means that particular one is seasonal, so each batch may be quite different, and is of exceptional quality. Obviously the Premium teas cost more, but after getting used to the prices for top grade teas overall, they're actually pretty reasonable.

Rather than write about each tea individually, I thought it would be worthwhile to provide notes on everything that I got from this store, giving a "review" of both the vendor and the teas.

The first thing to note was that when I ordered the teas, I ordered most of them in tins. Within a few hours, I got an email letting me know that everything was ready, but they didn't have the big tins and wanted to know if it was okay to send without and reimburse me for the price difference of the tins. I asked if he had smaller ones, and he threw in enough to store all of them without charging me anymore. Everything was then shipped promptly and received quickly. We also had a brief exchange, in which he was very friendly and open. Having worked in customer service positions for longer than I care to admit, I was quite impressed! So, now on to the teas...

Premium Winter 2006 Yinya

This is my favorite, so it's the one I will describe in greatest detail. The Yinya is basically a bao zhong, but they include silver tips. The wet leaves are nice and thick, which would be due to the winter environment. In some ways it's kind of an ambivalent bao zhong, being both deeper, smoother, and sweeter, but also with some greener characteristics in the taste. This is one of the best Formosa (Taiwan, for the novice that may not know) wulongs I've ever had. It's very floral, sweet, smooth, and well defined. The aroma is very floral (albeit light, as with most Formosa wulongs), and has the characteristics of the high grade high-mountain wulongs and bao zhongs. It is distinctive from most that come from Taiwan, mostly as it has a slightly different orchid aroma than most. The aftertaste is quick to bloom into a floral sweetness, with a very mild drying effect that makes your mouth water more - a rare quality usually found in only the highest grade teas. It's also relatively forgiving, although over-steeping may eliminate the nuances and aftertaste.

It's definitely a treat, and a must-try for bao zhong lovers. Absolutely divine. Half of me wants to drink this every day, the other wants to savor it.

Premium Winter 2005 Lanyun
This is simply a very fine and light bao zhong. Shan Shui explains that the name is used to distinguish bao zhongs that exhibit a particular orchid aroma, and it shows. It is lighter than most, with a very pale liquor. I usually like my wulongs a bit thicker and more flavorful, but this one has an outstanding balance that I've not found elsewhere. This is one that I save for quiet moments, as I only got a small amount.

Superior Cuiyu (Spring 2006)
This is a more typical rolled Formosa wulong, but it definitely has it's own unique character. It comes in rolled pellets that are a bit smaller than most from the region. As Hobbes notes in the comments, it's actually grown at a lower elevation, which actually explains a lot. In some ways it's like a Huang Jin Gui (which is actually from Anxi, China), but with Formosa dimensions. Shan Shui describes it as having more of a green tea flavor profile, and I can nod along to that. It doesn't have the sharpness of a green, but it does have that light flavor that is well defined. While this one does have an orchid aroma, it's a different kind of orchid that I've not found before. It's an orchid with very well defined character with very different dimensions. While others are very much just "round", giving you the impression of the top of a circle, this one gives you more the impression of a vase with a bulb at the bottom. It has a sweet, floral, medium thick, and round body with thin high-notes that have a lot to do with the aroma. The high notes are not bitterness in anyway (as it would be with a green tea), but do give a fresh green taste. It does have a very very slight and nuanced toasty/grainy/nutty flavor, that is more like that of a green tea such as yun wu -- I think that is what gives it the similarity to a green tea. This one is also an excellent value for the money. Highly recommended for everyday drinking for Formosa wulong lovers, or green tea lovers that want a good introduction to Formosa wulongs.

Superior & Premium Summer 2007 Baihao
I didn't realize what baihao ("white filament" or "white tip") was until I got it (also known as "Oriental Beauty" or "Eastern Beauty", also written in Chinese as "Dongfang meiren", per Brian from Shan Shui, and sometimes called "Champagne Oolong"). It's a Formosa wulong that is large pieces of mostly flat leaves with some rolled about half way to what you see with a bao zhong. It is quite a bit more oxidized, but has some less oxidized leaves as well, and the ones from Shan Shui include a fair amount of white tips.

To give some background, I had been drinking the one from SpecialTeas (which was simply called "Formosa Fancy Oolong"), and considered that a "staple" tea to drink in the morning, before I was awake enough to really appreciate the taste of finer teas. It's grainy, fruity, and slightly floral, all in an understated way. Kind of like a fine black tea, in some ways, but lighter and much smoother, and without the bitterness or acidity. The higher-grade baihao from SpecialTeas was much the same, but each of the flavors would bloom and jump out at you individually, but in rapid succession. Quite nice. The lesser quality has the same qualities, but are much more muted and blended into a more even flavor with less complexity.

These ones, from Shan Shui, were distinctive in that they contain a fair amount of white tips and much more carefully processed leaves. The flavor is somewhere in between the two from SpecialTeas, but with their own distinctive sharpness. The Premium is definitely nicer, with greater complexity, but I do miss the blooming sweet flavors that I had before. The Premium is definitely a higher quality, but otherwise relatively similar to the superior.

Unfortunately I don't have a whole lot to say about this one, as it's not one of my favorites. I probably won't get it again, but that is purely my own individual tastes. I can very definitely see why some people like the baihao, but I simply like the wulongs with lighter oxidation, thicker mouth-feel, and more fragrant floral aroma and taste. The way I've come to see it is that if you approach it with the same expectations as a relatively plain black tea, then you will quite likely enjoy it. If you like baihao, then you would very likely appreciate this one. Unfortunately my lack of appreciation holds me back from really appreciating the nuances and complexities of it, and giving a description that is up to my own standards. It's palatable, even pleasant, I just can't get into it. Maybe someday.


Conclusion

With my experiences so far, I am highly impressed with this vendor and their teas. I am very happy to have what I got in my collection, and look very forward to trying some of the other things they have. Shan Shui teas may not have the biggest selection, but what they do have appears to have been carefully chosen to include some of the best, and distinguish the vendor from others in what they carry. I do highly recommend this vendor, and I definitely plan to return!