What Oolong Are You Drinking

[Andrew S]

A nice hong shui high mountain tea from Taiwan, to make the most of a brief moment of blue skies before yet another thunderstorm is supposed to hit.

Deep flavours, coating mouthfeel, persistent aftertaste, but still very vibrant and refreshing.

I may be the only person to brew high mountain tea in zini, though...

Andrew

[Bok]

A nice hong shui high mountain tea from Taiwan, to make the most of a brief moment of blue skies before yet another thunderstorm is supposed to hit.

Deep flavours, coating mouthfeel, persistent aftertaste, but still very vibrant and refreshing.

I may be the only person to brew high mountain tea in zini, though...

Andrew

Be reassured, there are plenty who do so… in the land of high mountain tea, many use Zini for these teas. Maybe it’s because they don’t read Stephanes Blog and are unaware of what they are supposed to use haha.

[Andrew S]

Morning shui xien, nothing special.

The weather has finally calmed down, so I might try something more interesting later in the week.

Andrew

[teatray]

2021 Spring First Garden Harvest Baozhong from Tea Masters

Only the second baozhong I ever tried. Not too sure what to expect or how to prepare. First try of this product a week ago with boiling water wasn't particularly great. Brewing with yuzamashi now (immediate pour, so ~85-90°C) revealed a much nicer, flowery bouquet, but the smell of the empty cup is not the best. I wonder if I should try giving it a quick rinse next time? Definitely an enjoyable session though, the first such with this type of tea for me. (4.7g/150ml/2min)

[Bok]

@teatray in Taiwan Baozhong is brewed with off-boil water, normally no lower temp required. If the tea doesn’t taste nice at full heat it’s not a good enough quality. If you lower the temp you’ll just get a watered down version of the same thing - which might be more palatable as it won’t show the faults of the tea.

[teatray]

teatray in Taiwan Baozhong is brewed with off-boil water, normally no lower temp required. If the tea doesn’t taste nice at full heat it’s not a good enough quality. If you lower the temp you’ll just get a watered down version of the same thing - which might be more palatable as it won’t show the faults of the tea.

Thanks, will try again this way (maybe the improvement came b/c it sat unvacuumed for a week...). Just to clarify, off-boil means kettle right off the boil, pretty much 100°C (near sea level)? Do I skip prewarming the pot in this case?

[LeoFox]

teatray in Taiwan Baozhong is brewed with off-boil water, normally no lower temp required. If the tea doesn’t taste nice at full heat it’s not a good enough quality. If you lower the temp you’ll just get a watered down version of the same thing - which might be more palatable as it won’t show the faults of the tea.

Thanks, will try again this way (maybe the improvement came b/c it sat unvacuumed for a week...). Just to clarify, off-boil means kettle right off the boil, pretty much 100°C (near sea level)? Do I skip prewarming the pot in this case?

I notice you drink a lot of different greens at the same time. Unless you have a very good way to store opened bags of green, you are setting yourself up for disappointment -especially for sencha and most green oolong from taiwan. The rate at which the tea transforms/goes stale can be shockingly fast. My own practice is to never have more than one bag open at a time - and to drink it every day until it is gone.

There are exceptions of course.

For bz, it is typical to drink them within a few months of harvest. As it grows stale, it can develop a certain off putting aroma that would require a rinse. Again, exceptions exist.

Typical way of brewing is to do at least 6g/ 100 ml in a lidded pot. I personally use around 7 and shift depending on the tea

[Bok]

teatray in Taiwan Baozhong is brewed with off-boil water, normally no lower temp required. If the tea doesn’t taste nice at full heat it’s not a good enough quality. If you lower the temp you’ll just get a watered down version of the same thing - which might be more palatable as it won’t show the faults of the tea.

Thanks, will try again this way (maybe the improvement came b/c it sat unvacuumed for a week...). Just to clarify, off-boil means kettle right off the boil, pretty much 100°C (near sea level)? Do I skip prewarming the pot in this case?

Pretty much yes. Never skip prewarming the pot, unless you want to buy new teaware…

And Leo is right, it’s not advisable to have too many greens open unsealed. Degradation can set in a in a matter of less than a few weeks. I try to finish a bag in a matter of days, a week.

[Baisao]

@teatray, all good advice above regarding baozhong.

Expect to find a very floral aroma with baozhong. Usual floral notes for baozhong are honeysuckle, gardenia, and “orchid”. There should be a spice flavor in the throat, like allspice. The aroma as the empty cup cools will change from floral to sour, like umeboshi.

I use cooler temperatures than are orthodox so your temps are in line with what I use. However, I am probably using more leaf to avoid having a watery flavor. There’s reason behind my madness.

Remove the lid between steeps to prevent getting a cooked flavor. The steam in an empty pot is more damaging to the leaves than full boiling water.

If you drink a lot of teas that don’t age well, like myself, I recommend drinking them quickly and filling your Mylar bags with inert gasses.

Lastly, in reference to another post, you don’t need to preheat your pots for Japanese loose leaf. It’s preferable that you don’t as the temp drop is part of the “formula” when making Japanese loose leaf. Contrary to Chinese & Taiwanese teas, most Japanese teas are not intended for high temperatures. Notable exclusions to this are zairai and bancha, which can take very high temp.

[GaoShan]

I recently finished two baozhongs, a 2021 Farmer's Choice from Floating Leaves and a 2020 Heritage Baozhong from Taiwan Tea Crafts. Both were pretty good, the first having lilac/honeysuckle/orchid florals and the second having these florals plus a prominent egg custard finish (maybe this is the "off note" @LeoFox is talking about?). I'm sure my parameters were wrong: 6 g in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 10, 15, 20, 25, etc. seconds. I look forward to getting my hands on some more baozhong this year.

I've been drinking Ethan's Longfengxia for about a week and am noticing that it's getting greener, though the coconut, pastry, and floral notes are still lovely. So yes, green oolongs can change very quickly.

[Bok]

I'm sure my parameters were wrong

There is no wrong.

It all depends on one's preferences and hardware/software(tea equipement/tea/water).

[GaoShan]

I'm sure my parameters were wrong

There is no wrong.

It all depends on one's preferences and hardware/software(tea equipement/tea/water).

LOL, that's true. I prefer to get more steeps from my tea, even if each isn't as wonderful. Good tea is expensive and I like to make the most of it. I'll even do overnight cold steeps of my spent green oolongs, which often turn out rather well.

What steeping times would people suggest for baozhong?

[Bok]

What steeping times would people suggest for baozhong?

Often we just throw it in a bowl and add hot water and laddle it out with a spoon – so brewing time pretty much: forever

[GaoShan]

What steeping times would people suggest for baozhong?

Often we just throw it in a bowl and add hot water and laddle it out with a spoon – so brewing time pretty much: forever

Ah! Maybe I should try bowl brewing when I have baozhong again. I'll have to do it in a soup bowl, though, since I don't have a chawan.

I imagine that having instant access to abundant, affordable oolong is a major benefit of living in Taiwan.

[Bok]

I'll have to do it in a soup bowl

That's what is used... soup bowl and soup spoons... no fancy schmancy chawan or whatever. Any porcelain bowl will do.