Welcome to this month’s “Master Tasting Collection #9” selection box. This month, we are excited to present the Blind Tasting Set of “Rock Tea”. We have chosen Da Hong Pao Tea and Rou Gui Tea as the topic of this Blind Tasting Set. When talking about these two classic and renowned kind Rock Tea, we may usually think that they are all from the renowned Wu Yi Mountain. But this is not always the case, some so called “Wuyi Rock Tea” is actually from other region out of Wuyi Mountain. When comparing Rock Tea from Wuyi Mountain and other region, you’ll find some significant differences on the flavor, aroma, mouthfeel,etc. We aimed to let tea lovers learn how to distinguish Rock Tea from “Wuyi Mountain region” and “Other Region” from this tasting box after tasting each of the curated Rock Tea. In this tasting box, you will find 4 packs of Yan Cha (“Rock Tea”), each pack contain 25g of loose tea. There are one pack of Da Hong Pao Tea and Rou Gui Tea from Wuyi Mountain Region, and one one pack of Da Hong Pao Tea and Rou Gui Tea from other region. Each of the packing is numbered with “001” and “002”, you can guess whether they are from Wuyi Mountain Region or not. Da Hong Pao from Other Region(25g) Rou Gui from Other Region (25g) How to do the Blind Tasting Session?
Let’s start the blind tasting session! Guess which of the below 4 “blindfolded” Rock Tea is from Wuyi Mountain and which is not!
CLASSIFICATION OF YAN CHA “ROCK TEA” REGION Wuyi Mountain Region is classified as the area of “Zheng Yan” , “Ban Yan” and “Zhou Cha”. The special terrior of this mountain area creates a distincti flavour of Rock Tea, which is called as “Yen Yun”(Cliff Rhyme). The natural environment of the mountain area is very rocky with many cliffs, which create a good environment and iron-rich soil for plant growing, especially for Tea. “Zheng Yan” “Zheng Yan” translated as the “Center Cliff”, it means the core area within the protected area of Wu Yi Scenic area. It refers to the “Three Keng(Pits) and Two Jian(Creeks)” and some surrounding prominent area. It is considered as the most ideal area for growing Rock Tea, the cliff creates good shielding, soil is having good level of acidity, penetration, and mineral. The tea grown in this area is limited in quantity and relatively high in quality. Aroma is strong, layered and long-lasting. Mouth feel is very rich but also soft and smooth. And the tea is being sold at very high price. Some example of “Zheng Yan” area: “Ban Yan” “Ban Yan” means Half Cliff. It is the area adjacent and surrounding the “Zheng Yan” area within the Wuyi Scenic Area. This area is also having good natural environment for growing tea, but soil is relatively heavier than those in “Zheng Yan”. Most of the Wuyi Rock Tea comes from “Ban Yan” area, the area is larger and having higher harvest amount than the “Zheng Yan” area. Some example of “Ban Yan” area: Yan Zi Ke, Bi Shi Yan, Qing Shi Yan, etc. “Zhou Cha” “Zhou Cha” translated as “Surrounding Cliff”. It means the lowland area alongside of the river and highway. It is the largest area within the Wuyi Mountain area. The quality of tea is considered as relatively lower than the above two areas. Other Region It refers to the growing area outside of the Wuyi Mountain region. The varietal, making process and technique is basically the same as the rock tea being grown in the Wuyi Mountain Region. Because of the relatively less favourable growing environment, the Rock Tea grown in this region is lack of the special “Yan Yun” (Cliff Rhyme). It is usually relatively lower in aroma with shallow mouthfeel and cannot last for many steeps. Example of area out of Wuyi Mountain Region : Jian Yang
Three Keng (Pits): Niu Lan Keng, Dao Shui Keng and Hui Yuan Keng
Two Jian (Creeks): Liu Xiang Jian and Wu Yuan Jian
Other Prominent area: Tian Xin Yan, Ma Tou Yan, Da Keng Kou, Hui Yuan, Xia Bin Yan, etc.
