Friday, August 8, 2008

Jin Fo Golden Buddha Yancha

"Golden Buddha is a new Wuyi oolong cultivar developed only ten years ago." -Red Blossom


The smell of the dry leaf is already enticing: sweet graham, which passes over into the aroma of the tea. Also noted is an aroma difficult to pin down: a dry to bitter caramel aroma. The taste is new for me, being quite different from all yanchas I've had. At first I notice a delicate, yet dominant sweetness like caramel accompanied in the mouth by more than a share of floral complexity. Followed afterwards by the sweet graham. There's a lingering aftertaste. In fact, I can still taste it after 2 minutes.


The roast must have been a very light one. Most of the yanchas I've had have been medium-fired and carry a heavy roast flavor throughout the first few steeps. This tea must have had a lighter roast because of the floral's ability to come out early, and the relative lack of a heavy roast character.


The florals come out more, and the sweet graham dissipates as the steeps go on. 3rd is well-balanced, but the flavors mesh and mellow out. By the 4th, they've started to dissipate. The tea dies around the 6th.


When I first sipped, I thought I loved this tea very much. But as the session wore on, the floral became more than I like to have in tea. Then, it started dying by the 4th infusion. Not long enough for me I'm afraid.

2 comments:

Salsero said...

Have you tried TeaCuppa's De Ye? That's a light, less roasted yancha that is different, but ultimately, I think, more interesting.

I have also had the Jing Jin Fo which did not impress me either. It may be that this tea class and I don't get along, or there is a secret I am missing. ABx might be able to provide the key to unlocking this tea's secret potential.

Thanks for posting.

Unknown said...

Hi Wesley, enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQRlyvnfyCw

:)