It's a different cultivar! This one is *hard* Hongxin, that means the bark is woody rather than soft. It seems to only grow in Shimen. Jin Xuan und Cui Yu are cultivars derived from this one.

Western (8 XII 18) (in comparison to Dong Ding Hongxin): Nose is less sweet still, stonier. Slightly chloride taste, not as sweet at all. I think it has some fruitiness, but a dry / dusty one, like guava or dragonfruit.

While it is dark and complex, I'm not too fond of the chloride-ness.

Others say almonds, underwood.

Actually, tasting it on 1 I 19, I think this is a dry, intense, dark tea that's quite nice. Almost yan cha style?

Blind Western (14 I 19): dough-like, definitely not fruity at all. Hot brickstone in the sun; dried herbs like rosemary? as it chills it become more stone-y, still. Chloride taste, almost a sour quality; a bit like ganpu. As it chills more, a distinct sweet honey nose appears; and continues in the cup.

Enjoyed!

Blind Western (7 II 19): that's a bit odd: roasted flower water? stone, too. yes, clay pot and some malt, but less sweet. Dusty fucker.

Western (9 III 19): leathery, very dry fruits; mysterious. Cup dense and leathery; hot brickstone. Possibly a good tea, but I don't like it.

Blind Western (31 III 19): slightly fruity, slightly rotten; tasty nose. Chalky / chloride taste in mouth, leaves a chalky finish. A little bit of wood; quite dry, tingling though. As it chills, slightly less chalky, a bit more woody. Still, devoid of fruit or anything. A little bit leather, even. Not so fond of it.

Western (22 I 20): Very dark, dark berry fruity chocolate. Demure too, but almost a balsamic quality. Very supple, very amazing. Cup in the same vein, quite astringent, but broadly so. Petrified cocoa. Some chloride, still; but it's very impressive now.

Blind Western (23 I 20): Similarly malty, but also Cresta breakfast room. Not sugared, baked apples? No fruity whatsoever, woody and austere. Got it right, but remember it much more impressive.

This one from Dong Ding (凍頂, frosty peak), but it's only 600 to 1800m. The area is ideal for the growing of tea, with a temperate monsoon climate, strong morning sunshine, and persistent afternoon fog. (source). To identify: Dong Ding gives teas a very full body (Hojo Teas)

Very big balls

Western (compare to Wu Yi reference blend) (28 XI 18): Empty cup fascinating, almost rotten meat or sharp shit? Balsamic vinegar; same smell also on the leaves, and also on the nose. It's not bad, but fascinating. It's also in the mouth, leathery, slight sharp twist. Hardly any fruit, rather a fermented sweetness. As it cools down, leather and demure become more obvious. Very long presence, stretching out in the middle of the mouth towards the back.

Subsequent Gong Fu Cha: It becomes milder, loses the sharpness.

Maybe the sharpness is a fault, I couldn't find it in an other sample, but the other one I found plain boring.

On 8 XII 18, we tasted two Hongxins from Dong Ding at Menglins: Autumn and Spring. I found autumn more sweet, filling the mouth completely, some leather in the back. Quite astringent / compact in later brews, when it's lost its sweetness. Spring harvest was more centered to the front, not as sweet; and more interesting. Both have a dark buckwheat honey note.

Western (18 IX 19): Leathery, intense. Fruity, baked, sweet and majestic. Balsamic raisins and dried apricots. More leather as it chills, but remains strong.

Close to Shimen, but not near the coast, a bit south of Taipei.

Western (14 XII 18) (in comparison to Shimen Yingzhi Hongxin): Wet leaves and empty cup smell of nothing. Nose is vanilla and carrot stew, very light and sweet, a bit shallow, especially when compared to the roasted sweetness of the Shimen one. As it cools down, some greenery can be detected. Aroma is pleasant, light; a hint of chloride, metallic minerality, that is much more pronounced in the Shimen one. More vegetable brew as it chills.

Western (25 XII 18) (comparing Buddha's Hand Shiding 09 to Yingzhi Hongxin Baozhong 17 and Dong Ding Wuyi 16): Green, vanillated leaves. Same vanillated note in empty cup. Extremely light colour; nose is green, akin to chestnut note in some green teas. Watery and slight vanilla in the mouth. Bland and unpleasant. So bad I tossed it away on 25 XII 18.

They only say it's from a *heritage cultivar that no longer exists today. This red-stemmed cultivar was eventually replaced by the more popular qing xin cultivar*. From the tasting, I would think it's the soft one, but I can't say.

Western (1 I 19, in comparison to 03 Yingzhi Hongxin): Wow, the leaves smell incredibly old, like old pu er, but less stoney. Empty cup of 03 one very sweet and roasted, extremely pleasant. With the 60s one it's all old tea smell. There's something behind that, but I can't find it. A brief whiff of caramelised celeriac. There's the same distinct smell in the nose, is it nutty? Papery? In the mouth, old tea taste, old books; with a nutty, chestnutty?, underpinning. Long presence!

Blind Wester (8 I 19): Old attic smell, underwood. Same in mouth, very round, not bitter, but not gefällig, either. I think I get some dates, buckwheat honey. Clay.

Blind Western (15 I 19): I'd also add a certain basic quality to it, it's a bit unsatisfying as such.