Today, traveling gaiwan stays put. Woke up this morning to a ton of snow so I thought to myself, “shoops or yan cha?”.  Yan cha won out for now… I’ll drink puerh later. The tea I went with this morning is a Wuyi Yan Cha from White2Tea called Qilan Fire. For those who are unfamiliar, Yan Cha is a style of oolong tea from Wuyi mountain in Fujian, China. These teas are typically more heavily oxidized and have a nice earthy, mineral quality to them. Great for a snowy morning.

I like this tea.  Right off the bat, it has rich, roasted, almost dark chocolate notes that quickly fade away into sweeter, softer, fruity notes.  I’m almost tasting plum or pear.  It is full bodied and oily.  It coats the palate but still leaves the mouth feeling slightly minty. It is on the one hand strong and substantial and on the other hand, it is subtle and soft.

The soup is a very light color which was a little surprising.  I’ve had this tea before, but don’t remember the brew being so pale.  Despite that, the yan cha character really sticks with you and there is some definite hui gan (a pleasant and returning sweetness).  It is a pretty light yan cha and the leaves are looking pretty green by the end of my session.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable tea and it hit the spot this morning. I tend to prefer my yan cha a little bit stronger, but I can’t complain.  Right now I’m a happy camper. Thanks for reading! Until next time…

Cheers!