What Oolong Are You Drinking

[debunix]

Morning tea & play with drips and ripples, Tie Guan Yin from Yunnan Sourcing, and the Flower of Forgetfulness....floral, rich, delicious, and fun

190924 Morning TGY DSCF0309 ppd IG.jpg (255.93 KiB) Viewed 8387 times

190924 Morning TGY DSCF0349 ppd IG.jpg (270.66 KiB) Viewed 8387 times

[Bok]

Last night sipping on Lazycat’s Laocong Shuixian. This tea comes out really nice in my 60s Biandeng. A good lesson in that different clay really can make a noticeable difference. I had tried this tea a few times already in porcelain, and various Yixing pots of the same approximate shape and volume, but different clays.

[Bok]

Almost 50y old Dancong in a modern Chaozhou teapot. Just lovely, the clay brings the best out of this tea... kind of unlike any other aged Oolong I ever had, hard to describe.

I detect hints of Mezcal. I had it decades ago for the first time in its native land Oaxaca, long before it became a “thing”. No idea if it still tastes like that...

[tjkdubya]

IMG_20190929_152154.jpg (237.39 KiB) Viewed 8269 times

IMG_20190929_160831.jpg (166.67 KiB) Viewed 8269 times

Wuyi Origin 2019 boutique rougui. It's now just 6 weeks since the third roast was finished, so it's far from settled. But time to check up on it again and see where it is. Double brewing, 4g in 55ml gaiwan, and 6g in 90ml zini, 96C both.

I think I will be happily enjoying this 3x roast version for the next few years. Looking forward to sampling the 4th roast next month...

[tjkdubya]

Last night sipping on Lazycat’s Laocong Shuixian. This tea comes out really nice in my 60s Biandeng. A good lesson in that different clay really can make a noticeable difference. I had tried this tea a few times already in porcelain, and various Yixing pots of the same approximate shape and volume, but different clays.

I would love to try that tea in a 60s pot...

Nice handmade cloth. My eyes keep going there.

[Victoria]

Wuyi Origin 2019 boutique rougui. It's now just 6 weeks since the third roast was finished, so it's far from settled. But time to check up on it again and see where it is. Double brewing, 4g in 55ml gaiwan, and 6g in 90ml zini, 96C both.

I think I will be happily enjoying this 3x roast version for the next few years. Looking forward to sampling the 4th roast next month...

Sounds like a great side by side session @tjkdubya. Which steep did you prefer, in porcelain or zini pot? You must have quite a bit to last a few years, is aroma and flavor profile classic; rich, complex and spicy? That beautiful cup with graceful outer curving lip looks a lot like a Yohei Seifu. Caught my eye.

[Bok]

I would love to try that tea in a 60s pot...

Nice handmade cloth. My eyes keep going there.

The cloth is from taobao

Funny thing is that this tea is better in my 60s hongni than my older ROC teapots. So older is not automatically better. Individual pairing is still necessary.

[tjkdubya]

Wuyi Origin 2019 boutique rougui. It's now just 6 weeks since the third roast was finished, so it's far from settled. But time to check up on it again and see where it is. Double brewing, 4g in 55ml gaiwan, and 6g in 90ml zini, 96C both.

I think I will be happily enjoying this 3x roast version for the next few years. Looking forward to sampling the 4th roast next month...

Sounds like a great side by side session tjkdubya. Which steep did you prefer, in porcelain or zini pot? You must have quite a bit to last a few years, is aroma and flavor profile classic; rich, complex and spicy? That beautiful cup with graceful outer curving lip looks a lot like a Yohei Seifu. Caught my eye.

Thanks @Victoria. In the zini, this recently roasted RG already feels ready-to-enjoy and well-developed. I think the body and the complexity will (can?) develop further with the upcoming final roast if we're comparing to a "classic" profile, but the wonderful RG spice bouquet is there, the yanyun is there, and happily a noticeable old bush taste (though I don't know the age of these bushes).

Seems this tea has good bones, and plenty to enjoy beyond the "wow, RG" of the first few steeps. This porcelain-zini comparison was an attempt to look past the roast and see where this tea might be headed. Good signs so far. As for "enough for a few years..." Yes, at once a month pace

The zini is nothing precious... Late 90s from Chawangshop. Quite cheap and brews good tea as far as I can tell.

I think you're referring to the smaller cup? On the nicer end of mass produced Jingdezhen, but such a nice form. It doesn't compare to the gaiwan though, which you might be able to tell has a slight bluish cool tint. It's also molded, but using body and glaze materials consistent with more traditional JDZ that has to be reduction fired.

The larger cup is Meiji-era Imari white

[Victoria]

Thanks Victoria. In the zini, this recently roasted RG already feels ready-to-enjoy and well-developed. I think the body and the complexity will (can?) develop further with the upcoming final roast if we're comparing to a "classic" profile, but the wonderful RG spice bouquet is there, the yanyun is there, and happily a noticeable old bush taste (though I don't know the age of these bushes).

Seems this tea has good bones, and plenty to enjoy beyond the "wow, RG" of the first few steeps. This porcelain-zini comparison was an attempt to look past the roast and see where this tea might be headed. Good signs so far. As for "enough for a few years..." Yes, at once a month pace

The zini is nothing precious... Late 90s from Chawangshop. Quite cheap and brews good tea as far as I can tell.

I think you're referring to the smaller cup? On the nicer end of mass produced Jingdezhen, but such a nice form. It doesn't compare to the gaiwan though, which you might be able to tell has a slight bluish cool tint. It's also molded, but using body and glaze materials consistent with more traditional JDZ that has to be reduction fired.

The larger cup is Meiji-era Imari white

Hi @tjkdubya I was referring to your larger porcelain cup, the one you say is Meiji-era Imari. It looks a lot like Seifū Yohei IV (Seizan: 1872-1946). Here are a few images of my, Seifu , and another image here.

Tonight, I am have Old Ways Tea LaoCong ShuiXian, 2017 charcoal roast. It is so much better steeped in a 60ml early ‘80s, Neiwailinjiang shuiping. Previously, I tried it in a 100ml porcelain Kyo-yaki houhin and the body was thinner. The smaller shuiping hugs the leaves nicely, whereas the houhin left a wider top area exposed so didn’t extract as well.

I’ve been thinking of ordering from Wuyi Origin, although at the moment I’ve been going through yancha samples from Old Ways Tea and have LazyCats SpacaCat RouGui which is awesome. OWT has some solid ones especially Gold RouGui, medium roast and LaoCong ShuiXian.

[tjkdubya]

Hi tjkdubya I was referring to your larger porcelain cup, the one you say is Meiji-era Imari. It looks a lot like Seifū Yohei IV (Seizan: 1872-1946). Here are a few images of my, Seifu , and another image here.

Oh it's nothing as nice as that! I found it rummaging around in Kyoto. Three of these left, presumably from an original set of five, and I bought just this one which was the least flawed. Those Seifu Yohei cups are beautiful...

Here's a better look at my cup:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsxSkrvBH5W/?igshid=152fmnvpwzog1

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsxVKs9BcgO/?igshid=i61w4xyiq6j3

I'll have to try OWT one of these days. Seems they source from various farmer family and friends back in Wuyi?

[tjkdubya]

Wow this one sold out quick. @Tillerman will there be a re-stock of the premium Alishan?

[Tillerman]

Wow this one sold out quick. Tillerman will there be a re-stock of the premium Alishan?

I'm afraid the grower is sold out of the current harvest so the next I will have will be the Winter 2019.

[tjkdubya]

Wow this one sold out quick. Tillerman will there be a re-stock of the premium Alishan?

I'm afraid the grower is sold out of the current harvest so the next I will have will be the Winter 2019.

Thank you for sourcing this!

[Bok]

Late night Alishan high mountain from an unknown provenance. Comes out very nice in this (possibly) Dicaoqing clay, although the name for it did not exist yet when this pot was made

There is something to be said about round shapes and lots of space for expanding leaves...

[swordofmytriumph]

Been a while since I’ve posted anything, summer was busy, didn’t have as much time for tea as I would have liked.

Drinking Alishan Laoshi tea winter 2018 from Tillerman. Wonderful soft flavor, sweetness at the forefront, the roasty flavor in the background isn’t harsh at all, honestly it tastes like something that has rested at least a year longer than it actually has.