Ma Tou Yan Rou Gui (Horse Meat) (馬頭岩肉桂, Mǎ Tóu Yán Ròu Guì, "Horse Head Cliff Cassia") - In the grand tradition of naming teas, especially oolongs, after bizarre or unappetizing things (see: Duck Shit), the name Horse Meat comes from an abbreviation of this tea's full name, Mǎ Tóu Yán Ròu Guì, which means "Rou Gui from Horse Head Cliff." Mǎ Tóu Yán Ròu Guì is a mouthful, so in Chinese it gets abbreviated to Mǎ Ròu 馬肉 ("Horse Meat"), which takes the first character of the location and the first character of the tea breed. This is because Ròu Guì 肉桂 literally translated means "Meat Osmanthus" and refers to a cinnamon-like plant called Cassia. Ròu Guì is an ancient breed that has emerged in recent years as one of the most sought after high-end Wuyi Oolong breeds, and the finest Ròu Guì comes from Horse Head Cliff. The terroir or dì wèi 地味 ("earth taste") of Horse Head Cliff brings out the natural minerality and birch bark and cinnamon notes of the breed.
Wuyi Oolongs are subject to somewhat capricious trends in tea market, whereby new breeds will become popular, and farmers will quickly graft the new breed onto their old rootstock to be able to capitalize on the demand. For this reason, many of our favorite Wuyi Oolongs from the past decade have become commercially extinct--while the mother plants still exist, our sources aren't producing them in sellable quantities. This was the fate of some of our classic offerings including White Cockscomb and Haunted Plum.
Fragrance notes for Horse Meat include fresh baked pastries with a little bit of honey on the dry leaf, with some distant fruity notes that push the fragrance toward something like warm apple pie. A cooked cherry sweetness emerges on the wet leaf and mixes with the crushed granite minerality characteristic of Wuyis, presenting a soft, silky mouthfeel that really coats the tongue. The huí gān 回甘 ("returning sweetness") fills the mouth and lingers. The Qi is powerful and permeating, spanning the region from the head to the chest, and has the comforting quality of a warm embrace.
3 Reviews
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Horse Meat
I tried a sample of this tea after tasting several "Rock" style Oolongs (curiously, one was grown in Michigan, but that was simply called a "Black" Oolong). The leaves are dark and twisted, yet with a chalky sheen that distinguishes it from other Wuyis. It had a deep, toasty, bark-like scent. I utilized the "returning cup" trick, and drank the wash. The wash is pure roast, with a slight custardy sweetness underlying it all, while the first and second steeping combined that with a deep woody undertone. However, the roast taste for me quickly dissipates in subsequent steepings, and was replaced with this rubbery/brassy tasting liquid that lacked any of the pleasant sweetness, or dimension of the first couple of steepings. This phenomenon is not unique to this oolong, in fact, that's how I would say the progression of flavor is similar for nearly all the oolongs I had. But, in comparison to the others, the "rubbery" phase came in sooner. I only had a sample, so I didn't have many attempts to figure out the best way to steep this, but overall ... I would consider the taste rather mediocre compared to the other oolongs. Compounding the issue, is the fact that this is a very pricey tea. I was almost tempted to rate this two stars with that in mind. However, the tea was pleasant to drink overall, it certainly wasn't of poor quality, but I was hoping for something spectacular considering the great expense.
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Spot on Description
Very delicious, complex tea. It's got a wonderful woody vanilla note that plays along well with layers of baking spice. I got ~8 good infusions out of my first session with it and wanted to push it further but it was getting late and I had to finish up before it started to noticeably weaken. Brewed it gong-fu style eyeballing about half the 10g sachet in a 120ml Gaiwan. I'm not sure if this is the tea everyone got for the "tea of the month club" for Feb / Mar, but I'm pretty sure that's why this ended up in my order, and I'm very glad to have tried it. It's definitely outside of my everyday drinking price range, but I wouldn't be sorry to drop a little one of these in a bigger order as a special little treat knowing just how good it is!
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This is the best tea I have ever had
This tea is incredible. It smells like pie crust, custard and candied ripe fruit. The taste carries a lot of bread and crust notes and is enjoyable to say the least.
