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chofmann wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 21, 2018 9:34 pm

Drinking a 'Yan Yun' oolong from HY Chen right now. Absolutely blowing my mind how good this is. Tastes like rocky marshmallows... kinda like Rocky Road ice cream, but without the chocolate. Apparently Chen only makes 7kg of this tea each year, entirely by hand. It is a 'yancha' style tea from his garden on Dong Ding in Taiwan.

Just looked through my HY Chen bin, and I unfortunately don’t have this special gift. It sounds very rich and curious. Sorry I couldn’t toast with you

I on the other hand steeped an Ali Shan Red oolong from Norbu; it had very pleasant and complex aromatics, and rich colorful maroon liquor, but this was sort of a tease, the liquor lacked body and depth. Enjoyable, but didn’t hold my attention long enough. Although, once cooled body was richer.

Ethan Kurland wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 21, 2018 4:32 pm

Janice, I had a couple of cups just like that from the same city. I think one of my sisters ended up with them. Of course, I haven't seen them in use. They always return to their old ways for tea, a coffee mug or a glass. Cheers

Celadon glazed pottery is supposed to be a traditional craft of the area. I didn’t have time to visit all the kilns but when I looked at their work online this one’s glazes looked the most beautiful. The teapots themselves were too thick and too large for my tea brewing needs so I stuck to open stock.

Victoria wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 21, 2018 10:03 pm

chofmann wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 21, 2018 9:34 pm

Drinking a 'Yan Yun' oolong from HY Chen right now. Absolutely blowing my mind how good this is. Tastes like rocky marshmallows... kinda like Rocky Road ice cream, but without the chocolate. Apparently Chen only makes 7kg of this tea each year, entirely by hand. It is a 'yancha' style tea from his garden on Dong Ding in Taiwan.

Just looked through my HY Chen bin, and I unfortunately don’t have this special gift. It sounds very rich and curious. Sorry I couldn’t toast with you

I on the other hand steeped an Ali Shan Red oolong from Norbu; it had very pleasant and complex aromatics, and rich colorful maroon liquor, but this was sort of a tease, the liquor lacked body and depth. Enjoyable, but didn’t hold my attention long enough. Although, once cooled body was richer.

Once we get our shipment in from Chen, we'll have to find a way to get you some. I know you're a big fan of Chen's teas.

Drinking Zhengyan RouGui 2017 from Cha Ceremony. For some time now, I have been hearing about them and planned to make an order. Their offering is on the higher end though on the more decently priced side (this one was $1.2 /g). A very fine RouGui. Brewed 4g in 50ml gaiwan. First three infusions are very powerful and full bodied. Very clear spicy cinnamon chocolate flavor. Very nice session.

chofmann wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 22, 2018 2:11 pm

Victoria wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 21, 2018 10:03 pm

chofmann wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 21, 2018 9:34 pm

Drinking a 'Yan Yun' oolong from HY Chen right now. Absolutely blowing my mind how good this is. Tastes like rocky marshmallows... kinda like Rocky Road ice cream, but without the chocolate. Apparently Chen only makes 7kg of this tea each year, entirely by hand. It is a 'yancha' style tea from his garden on Dong Ding in Taiwan.

Just looked through my HY Chen bin, and I unfortunately don’t have this special gift. It sounds very rich and curious. Sorry I couldn’t toast with you

I on the other hand steeped an Ali Shan Red oolong from Norbu; it had very pleasant and complex aromatics, and rich colorful maroon liquor, but this was sort of a tease, the liquor lacked body and depth. Enjoyable, but didn’t hold my attention long enough. Although, once cooled body was richer.

Once we get our shipment in from Chen, we'll have to find a way to get you some. I know you're a big fan of Chen's teas.

I'd you have some to spare, I'd love to try some as well. Will you be selling this one?

The plan is to sell it, and it won't be cheap unfortunately. We will be getting 2kg of the 7kg that Chen makes annually. Given the low supply, we are trying to figure out the best way to sell it only to people who we know will appreciate it. Pricing still TBD, but, as usual, we aim to price it exactly how Chen prices it, which will probably be ~$1 / gram. Given the (relatively) high price, we will probably sell it by gram with a 5g minimum, as opposed to our typical 1, 2, 4 ounce bags. That way people can get exactly the amount they want. I'll post more on the vendor thread once we get it in stock!

chofmann wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 22, 2018 6:14 pm

The plan is to sell it, and it won't be cheap unfortunately. We will be getting 2kg of the 7kg that Chen makes annually. Given the low supply, we are trying to figure out the best way to sell it only to people who we know will appreciate it. Pricing still TBD, but, as usual, we aim to price it exactly how Chen prices it, which will probably be ~$1 / gram. Given the (relatively) high price, we will probably sell it by gram with a 5g minimum, as opposed to our typical 1, 2, 4 ounce bags. That way people can get exactly the amount they want. I'll post more on the vendor thread once we get it in stock!

It's hard not to appreciate chens teas. I'll keep an eye out for your post.

Drinking a high roast Bai Rui Xiang from Wuyishan! Sent directly to my China address by a friend of a friend: his family are in the tea business up there. I didn't know what to expect, but this is a lovely tea with lots of flavor, huigan and the flavor lasts on the palate for a good, long time. Really a nice tea and my first time trying this varietal. The moment I dropped the leaves in the hot shuiping I knew I had something good! I'll definitely be getting some in for the site as I'm very happy with the price/quality ratio!

About a month ago, I realized someone in the Instagram tea world is actually my friend's sister, and she lives in HK! Reached out to her and it looks like we'll be doing regular tea tastings together. She was the one who put me in touch with the guy in Wuyishan and I love the tea he sent over! Will be drinking the Bai Rui Xiang with her on Friday since she wants to try it. Apparently we're going to drink 2018 Mingqian silver needle, about 8 tieguanyins and then finish off with Wuyicha. I don't know how we're gonna manage all of that tea between us, but we'll certainly try!

tealifehk wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 24, 2018 2:18 am

Apparently we're going to drink 2018 Mingqian silver needle, about 8 tieguanyins and then finish off with Wuyicha. I don't know how we're gonna manage all of that tea between us, but we'll certainly try!

If you drink all of that together, you will be married within 6 months. Good luck.

Ethan Kurland wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 24, 2018 11:41 am

tealifehk wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 24, 2018 2:18 am

Apparently we're going to drink 2018 Mingqian silver needle, about 8 tieguanyins and then finish off with Wuyicha. I don't know how we're gonna manage all of that tea between us, but we'll certainly try!

If you drink all of that together, you will be married within 6 months. Good luck.

lol, unlikely we'll get through all that

Having Zhuo Yan Baozhong from Wenshan, Taiwan by Tea Masters.
After ordering a very terrible Baozhong from a vendor on here, this tea is a breath of fresh air even though it's not perfect.
I like Wenshan Baozhongs as they seem to have a fuller and maybe more "spinachy" flavor.

I still have about 40 teas left to drink from my 2017 Tea Masters order...

Having a HY Chen light roast Dongding. Have to say I think it is on the weak side, somehow the more roasted his teas are, the better. the lighter one does not hold up as well in comparison to others. The light roast also had something I found unpleasant in his bug bitten teas. Can not really put my finger on what exactly it is... Testing to let it air out in rough clay jar in addition to the normal resting period in porcelain, see if it makes a difference.

Shine Magical wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 25, 2018 9:17 am

I like Wenshan Baozhongs as they seem to have a fuller and maybe more "spinachy" flavor.

That is a good adjective for Baozhong! I am still on the lookout for a traditional high roast Baozhong, but it seems these days the green stuff is the market demand.

Bok wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 25, 2018 9:52 am

Having a HY Chen light roast Dongding. Have to say I think it is on the weak side, somehow the more roasted his teas are, the better. the lighter one does not hold up as well in comparison to others. The light roast also had something I found unpleasant in his bug bitten teas. Can not really put my finger on what exactly it is... Testing to let it air out in rough clay jar in addition to the normal resting period in porcelain, see if it makes a difference.

completely agree that his roastier teas are better, although I've met quite a few people who prefer the light roast. I suppose in the end, it all comes down to personal preference...

Baozhong has been a frustrating tea for me mostly. When first getting into the teas that we discuss on this forum, I was buying from many vendors online without much of a plan. I luckily obtained wonderful aged baozhong. Never found good aged baozhong again.

Got some baozhong that was not aged or roasted about a year ago that was very good & very low priced. After writing about it etc., found that it was not the same just six weeks later. Such a quick drop in quality!

Dong ding has disappointed me as well.

I like to keep open but after some years, I think it is smart to realize that some teas are too likely to disappoint me. Moreover, I wonder if one does happen onto a great__________ , that it may be great but not so unique.