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The flavors you list are not what I have tasted from aged oolongs (e.g., vanilla & tobacco). Interesting!

Is this roasted?

Cheers

Observation: The teapot looks a little smaller than it is because Bok's hand is in front of the photograph. Also Bok's hands are somewhat larger than average size. 100 ml pots are small but not so tiny as photographs may lead one to believe. I've been enjoying 2 sessions of gaoshan daily lately & en...

Rickpatbrown Biluxi is one of the next lower elevations under Dayuling, where it is still allowed to grow tea. Usually you won’t find info on these locations as sellers prefer to just label them Dayuling and price it accordingly. I think it’s not worse and often better than Dayuling. If the sellers...

My Spring 2020 dayuling: This season's oolong presents a challenge to me because usually I find ideal parameters for how I like gaoshan with 3 or 4 sessions. I feel that I am very close but have not found the perfect way yet. (My younger sister who drank with me after lunch thinks I am there but she...

I have been drinking 3 teas everyday. I will write about aroma for the 3 that I have been drinking for the teas that I have been drinking lately. I hope it leads to some discussion of aroma. Shanlinxi: The dry leaves almost no scent at all. I don't notice any when I pour hot water on those leaves as...

I cannot speak for all oolong from Taiwan. I write about the 3 that I have. . They are all from high altitude farms & lightly oxidized. Here is my impression., Generalizations: 1. This Spring small differences in steeping time makes a bigger difference than usual. The "greenness" of lightly oxidized...

.... Gyokuro can remind me of raspberries, but the level to which I appreciate gyokuro is not associated with my ability to slice my tasting experience so that I can mentally isolate that aroma, just as my ability to appreciate a music performance is not about being able to hear it as individual no...

Addition to list of teas available from me via private message: DAYULING, Spring 2020: Harvested later than much of this Spring's crops & not hurt by frost, it is top quality. Prepared Western style these leaves harvested & rolled by hand are good for several infusions. Varying steeping times can hi...

1. "Although it is impossible to eliminate all subjectivity from the tasting effort, focusing on structure is the most objective way I know of to evaluate tea. Using structural criteria, one should be able to determine whether a tea is 'fine' or 'poor' even if one does not like the tea being evalua...

Cool water to boiling for 1.7 L bonavita: 500 ml -- 2 minutes; 750 ml--3 minutes; 1 L --4 minutes. This is faster than the 1 L version; moreover, I had not heated 1 liter of water in the smaller kettle for years as it seems to put a strain on it. In fact for the last year of the 7 1/2 years that I u...

Youzi & faj,

Thanks for your replies. I tried using a stovetop kettle for several days. I can get by without better, but I don't want to.

I just ordered a 1.7 L bonavita from Walmart. It will be more awkward to handle but probably not so much that I would not adjust to it.

Cheers

Announcement: Some dayuling of this Spring 2020 is better than DYL from last year.

Sampling & testing has confirmed that some well-situated farmer/producers who timed what they do differently than others have excellent DYL.

I have procured some & will write more about that in a week or so. Cheers

Thanks for another concise, well-written blog that is informative & interesting. What you write about balance leads me to think about how I am able to enjoy a tea that has a flavor that I don't like usually (it has "green" or "vegetal" flavor which to me is usually unpleasant bitterness). I had not ...

I have owned my 1 L Bonavita for 7 1/2 years. For the last couple of weeks it has not been reliable. I need to buy another electric kettle. I am considering buying the 1.7 L version because I when I want an initial infusion of a session, I often am impatient for it. I hope that heating only about 1/...

Additions to available teas ( on list several posts above this one): Gaoshan Spring 2020 from Taiwan: In 50-gram vacuum packs: SHANLINXI: From slightly higher altitude than previous years (now around 1800 meters high) this is very much the same & very slightly better (for my palate). Slightly floral...