Vicony Teas Company, Da Fang Tea

Da Fang Tea is named after its creator - Da Fang - a Buddhist monk who lived in a temple at the top of Lao Zhu Feng Mountain during the late Song Dynasty. It became a Tribute tea during the Qing Dynasty and was, at one time, one of China's Top Ten Tea.

The last of the six samples furnished by Vicony Teas Company for review. Of the previous five, I absolutely loved four of them. The other one the leaf is amazing. I like the taste, but not love it. Still, it is obviously a high quality tea. I continue my Chinese tea education with this one today. I am expecting wonderful things.

The dry leaf is pale green/yellow. This appears to be two leaves and a bud pressed very flat. There is not a lot of aroma coming off the dry leaf.

I took a large scoop of leaf, about 3g, and placed it in my press. 12oz of water was brought to steaming in my kettle and poured over the leaf. I steeped for a little less than two minutes. Recommended time is 1-2 minutes.

The moment the water hit the leaf I began to smell buttered vegetables. I love that smell in Chinese greens. Most of the leaf clung to the surface, while a few danced in the water below. The brew is pale yellow. The wet leaf looks small, young, and delicate.

The first sip, while the cup was hot, was a bit flavorless. As the cup cooled a buttery sweetness emerged. This feels milky as you sip. At one point I detected a very mild bitterness way underneath the flavors that was a nice touch. There is a lingering pleasant aftertaste that I found slightly drying.

The smell of the wet leaf in the second cup was more like the fresh air at the lake. Nice and refreshing. The second cup is even lighter in flavor. This is new. I am getting a sticky lip feel at the front of the sip with this green tea. Normally, I associate that trait with sheng puerh. Interesting.

Ok, this is really messing with my head and fascinating me at the same time. Now that the second cup is cooling it tastes and feels like I am drinking a warm cup of milk. This isn’t a milky oolong. How is it doing that? The sip starts a bit sheng like, then to lightly bitter green, and on to milk late in the sip. A beautifully complex cup.

The third cup at 3 minutes, morphs yet again. The sticky lip feel and the milkiness are gone. This has now developed earthy notes and has become sweeter. A palate cleansing bitterness still pops in and out at random. This is all light and subtle.

The main thing I would point out about this tea is that when Vicony’s description says this tea is mellow. They are not kidding. There is nothing ‘in your face’ about this tea. It is a very quiet, humble, little tea. This is an excellent tea for curling up on the couch with a good book and sipping quietly. A lot of western tea drinkers were raised on big bold Assam type black teas. They often don’t understand or appreciate delicate understated teas. That is a shame. Teas like this one really have a lot to offer if you open yourself up to the experience. I really enjoyed this one. Thank you Vicony Teas Company for sharing this, and the other awesome teas.

Visit Vicony Teas Company web site.

Vicony Teas Company, Jin Jun Mei Waishan

Also known as Golden Junmee, Jin Jun Mei, the newest member of Lapsang Souchong, was created in 2005. Jin Jun Mei is made of only tea buds. Delicately twisted leaves with a high concentration of golden tips distinguishes this tea from other black teas. The quality of the tea really shines through in this absolutely gorgeous black tea.

The fifth of six samples provided by Vicony Teas Company. They are a Chinese wholesaler. Vicony Teas have so far proven to be top notch. Let’s see if that trend continues.

The samples came well protected and double boxed. Inside, each tea was in their own clear plastic bag. The only information on the sample bag was Vicony’s article number. This one is labeled LAM23. This is a new addition to the lapsang family. It is a black tea made entirely of buds.

The dry leaf is very cool looking. It is quite fine. The color ranges from very dark brown (almost black) to the lightest tan. The colors are wrapped around each other and it reminds me of my wife’s crochet thread. It kind of glows under the light. The scent is sort of cocoa but its fruity, almost like a pineapple.

I prefer not to look up the steeping directions when they are not typed on the label. I do this because I assume others won’t look it up either. Most people have a standard method for preparing each type tea. This one is a black so I used a large scoop, lightly boiling water, and a two minute steep. Normally I would go three but this might be a very smoky tea and I am choosing to stay on the cautious side. (I follow the directions later in the review)

After the first steep the leaf still appears fairly tightly twisted. The brew is caramel in the press and darker in my mug. There is a strong aroma of cocoa and malt.

The sip is very malty. It evokes images first of cocoa and hay, then root beer (of course with out the sassafras). You can definitely catch a Yunnan Dian Hong similarity. I expected this to be heavily smoky but that is not the case. There is a very light smoke underneath the tea flavor that enhances the experience with out drawing attention to itself. This has a natural sweetness to it, like honey, though it will stand up to sweeteners being added. There is no bitterness, even with long steeps. Milk is not required to tame it but I think it would stand up to a light splash. The aftertaste is sweet and cooling.

The second mug was steeped for only one minute. Western brewing technique of black tea tends towards leaving the pot until it walks off on its own. Short steeps sound wrong to us, but this tea delivers a very flavorful cup at one minute (as it turns out even 1 minute is considered a long steep). When very hot, it has a nutty taste. As it cools, it becomes malty. The smoke is much more noticeable, but remains well behaved, adding to the sip. The malt, honey, and the smoke combine to give this a bit of a bread taste. A very nice cup.

I steeped the third and final cup at three minutes. There was still plenty of flavor and strength in the cup.

Day 2, I could smell the light smoked honey all day yesterday. I did not spill any on me, and I washed my hands multiple times. I have no explanation. Even late in the evening, sitting at home watching TV, I could smell it. I must have this tea again!

This time I went by the instructions. Same amount of leaf and boiling water. The difference, I only used the recommended 10 second steep time! 10 seconds? Yep, and it is really good this way. You smell the smoke rather than taste it, though it is light. You taste malt and honey. There has been another flavor note present the whole time that I can’t identify. It is sort of sweet potato but not exactly. Finally, this feels thick and silky as you sip.

So what is the difference between long western steeps and short Chinese steeps? Flavor-wise not a lot. The long steeps did feel heavier and caused a mild amount of stomach discomfort. I am guessing that would be the tannins in the tea. The short steeps did not leave me with the same uncomfortable feeling. According to Vicony, you should be able to steep up to 6 cups by slightly increasing the steep time with each successive cup. That is a lot of tea for one spoon of leaf. I steeped four cups before my kidneys begged for mercy. The tea was still going strong.

This is an excellent Chinese black tea with a strong enough flavor that your coffee drinking friends should be able to appreciate it. Your tea drinking friends will appreciate the lack of bitterness with a pleasant lingering sweet malt aftertaste.

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Vicony Teas Company, Bohea Tea Da Chi Gan

Da Chi Gan means "Big Red Sweetess" in Chinese. The Bohea Da Chi Gan is made of tender tealeaves, harvested from the Guadun, Tongmu Guan, the core producing area of Bohea Lapsang. Somewhat different to the orthodox Lapsang Souchong, the Bohea Da Chi Gan wasn't dried using smoldering pine fire so it is sweet and full-bodied with charming aroma but not so smoky. Once you try it, you will get to know why so many famous people in history fell in love with Bohea teas.

This tea is of Wuyi Fujian origin and is listed on Vicony’s website as Art.No: BOH05 My sample was provided by Vicony Teas Company for review.

The leaf as you can tell from the picture is of nice length. It is dark, and twisted. It has the very familiar look of many of the good Chinese black teas I have tried lately. When I sniff the dry leaf it has a hint of chocolate.

After my review I found the brewing instructions online. The company recommends 2 grams of leaf (1 tsp), boiling water, and only a 15 second steep. Up to 10 steeps are possible.

Since I didn’t look up the instructions beforehand I winged it. I used 1 scoop of leaf, 12oz of water brought to a light boil, with a 3m steep in my press.

The wet leaf expanded nicely with the scent of chocolate and malt. The brew is deep golden in the press but looks caramel in my white mug.

The sip is chocolate, malt, and wheat. As the cup cools I detect the lightest hint of smokiness in the cup. My 3 minute steep did not hurt this cup at all. There is no bitterness. No bite. No heavy tannin. It is just good.

This more than reminds me of Teavivre’s Bailin Gongfu black tea. In fact I wish I had some of my Bailin sample left for a side by side comparison. They literally taste the same to me but originate from different locations. That they taste so much alike is a good thing as Bailin Gongfu is one of the highest rated teas on Steepster. This is really an exceptional black tea.

I steeped three cups with the leaf and each was as tasty as the first. I am pretty sure it would have gone a fourth cup. Maybe I could get even more cups following the directions but I am more than happy with the results.

Vicony Teas Company, White Bud Puerh

The White Bud Puerh Tea is composed entirely of pure white buds that were hand harvested from tea plants grown in Yong De county of Lincang Prefecture near China’s border with Myanmar. It was harvested in the Spring of 2010 and was processed at a small facility in this rather remote area of Yunnan.

This is the third of the Vicony Teas Company samples I have received for review. This Yunnan Silver Needle White Tea is a sheng puerh. It is listed as Art. No: BYP12 on Vicony’s website. The leaf on this looks like a normal loose leaf silver needle white tea. Very white and very fresh. It has only the mildest scent.

I used my wooden spoon to measure out a healthy scoop of the leaf. I used 12oz of near boiling water and my press. The first steep was 2 minutes. The leaf danced in the press, hanging from the surface of the water. The brew is very clear with nothing floating in it. The color is a dull green. So far there is not a lot that even hints this is puerh other than the slightly darker brew color. There are no scents I normally associate with sheng or raw puerh. In fact it has little scent. Just a hint of fresh hay.

I lift the cup and sip. Ahhh, there it is. At first you catch notes of melon and cucumber but as subdued glimpses really. This gives way to the wonderful leather taste I usually reserve for shu puerh. Actually, I am not sure I have ever tasted it in a sheng puerh. As the cup cools the melon really comes alive and blends with the leather. The result is pure joy. Now it is developing a natural sweetness. I feel a nice coolness on my breath. This is really seriously good.

Cup two was also steeped for 2 minutes. It differs from the first in some respect. The leather is less pronounced but still obvious. This has become even sweeter and slightly more like white tea in taste. The melon / cucumber notes are more prevalent. The more the cup cools the more it takes on a grainy flavor – something like wheat.

Cup three continues with the grainy taste. The leather has disappeared.

On cup four the grainy taste has turned to pure malt. Each cup has grown darker. This one is golden in the press and caramel in the cup.

This white puerh is not the flavor blast that puerh fans often expect. On the other hand this is one of the most complex puerhs I have ever tried. It has zero bitterness. It is a lighter more delicate cup that white tea fans will greatly appreciate. After only one session with this I am hooked. This should be in your tea cupboard!

Vicony Teas Company, Premium Taiping Houkui Tea

Taiping Houkui Tea joined the celebrity circus in 1915 when it won the gold medal in Panama Pacific Exposition and became the youngest of the Chinese Top 10 Teas since then.

Its leaf measures up to 60 mm; it is the largest sized leaf tea among the famous green teas. It produced infusion with delicate orchid fragrance and a mellow taste which lasts up to four brewing. In a glass, the leaf gracefully sways in the water which is described as the ‘Phoenix dances’.

This is my second tea supplied by Vicony Teas Company. It is listed on their website as Art No: SHK03. This Premium Taping Houkui Tea was produced in the Xinming township, Taiping county at the foot of Huangshan Mountain of Anhui Province. Taping Houkui is also known as Monkey King Tea.

I grabbed this one because the leaf is so interesting. It looks a bit like dried corn husks. The leaf is wide and very long – it measured a lot longer than the description – and yellow/green in color. I have had strips of bacon that weren’t this big. This looks brittle and dry but smells fresh and green.

It was hard to decide how much leaf to use. I finally just grabbed a small handful and put it in my press – the more vertical pieces were projecting above the rim. I added water well below boiling and let it steep for almost two minutes. I did not have the recommended brewing instructions with me, so this was a guess (Turns out I was close, they recommend a bit longer steep time).

The brew is green. The wet leaf has an aroma I imagine is like ocean water. Though admittedly I have never smelled ocean water.

The sip also evokes images of ocean water. It seems oddly salty. I have never experienced that in tea before. At the beginning of the sip the taste has a cave like earthiness. What I mean is this is very mineral tasting and a bit like mushroom. It has a long lingering bitterness in the aftertaste. In between there is a moment when this tastes like raw white potatoes. There is a lot of vastly different things going on with this tea. As the cup cools the flavors do meld together more and you don’t notice the transitions as much. I also noticed the liquor feels thick almost syrupy, especially as it cools.

In some sense this slightly reminds me of Dragonwell but only very remotely as it does have a very mild hint of butteriness to it. This definitely is not naturally sweet to my tastes.

On the second cup I shortened the steep time and this seemed to eliminate the bitterness, otherwise the taste was pretty much like the first cup. I actually found myself missing the bitterness as I liked that element in the taste. On the third cup I went back to a two minute steep. This was probably the most balanced cup, though the first remains the most interesting. This tea had an added benefit of leaving my lungs feeling more open and had a cooling affect on my breath.

My review was not matching what I was read by others in their experience with taiping houkui tea. They experience more of an orchid flavor with a sweet aftertaste. With knowledge in hand I tried this tea a second day using a longer initial steep of three minutes. This did not seem salty to me this time, however the rest of my previous tasting experience still seems accurate. I believe what I am describing as cave, mineral, and mushroom, is what others describe as floral and orchid.

Next I paired this with a ham and turkey sandwich on wheat with a side of grapes. This tea worked perfectly with that combination. In fact it developed a bit of smoked flavor that I would not have noticed otherwise. An excellent combination.

Camellia Sinensis never ceases to amaze me. How can that many different flavors and that vast an array of different leaf appearances come from one plant? This one is so different in an odd, but even more oddly, likeable way. I think most tea drinkers in the western culture would pass right over this one with out giving it a fair chance. My initial reaction is this is not likely to become a favorite of mine but I can’t wait to try another cup with different parameters to see what happens. Thanks to Vicony Teas for the opportunity to experience something interesting and different.

Vicony Teas Company, Superfine White Peony Tea

White Peony Tea undergoes very little processing. Made from just the unopened silvery buds and the small, top one or two leaves it is picked in spring and gently withered to yield a refreshing, easy-drinking tea, full of soft fruit flavors and melon notes with a lingering sweet aftertaste.

This sample was provided by Vicony Teas Company. In exchange they asked for an honest review. Something I always attempt to do no matter how I acquire the leaf.

This is listed on Vicony’s website as Art.No: WPT01
White Peony tea is also known as Pai Mu Tan Tea
This one originates from Taimu mountain, Fuding, Fujian
The shelf life is listed as no limit if stored well. Like puerh it gets better with age.

As best as I understand it, Vicony is a wholesaler, supplying teas around the world to tea retailers. You can’t go buy an ounce of Vicony tea but you may well have sipped tea they were responsible for shipping to your local tea shop or online vendor.

The tea leaf of this white peony is truly gorgeous. This is the whitest looking dry leaf I have personally ever seen. It is long, and though it is delicate, it doesn’t feel that way. It feels solid. This is listed as superfine which is the best quality leaf. While not necessarily indicating better flavor, it is an indicator of the appearance of the leaf. This fits the description.

White tea is a bit difficult to measure without a scale. I used a very hefty scoop of leaf in my press. I used less than boiling water and a one minute steep.

The liquor is so pale in golden color as to be nearly clear. If you are used to tea bag teas this will really throw you because you won’t believe it has steeped long enough – but it has. The wet leaf still shows a lot of extremely white leaf. This is not your typical grocery store white tea. It smells like fresh hay with fruity overtones.

The sip is a thing of beauty. Immediately, I am tasting cucumber. If you drink loose leaf white teas and have caught this before you understand it to be a wonderful thing. If you have yet to experience cucumber it may sound odd or even off putting. Trust me, this is the good stuff. There are some nice fruity notes. Melon comes to mind when sipping this tea. This has a long lasting sweet aftertaste. I know the decription of the tea listed at the top of this review says the same thing. Trust me again, these flavors are truly what you experience when sipping this. I love white tea. Its delicate flavors softly ask you to slow down and pay attention. This is a very good example of this type tea.