What Oolong Are You Drinking

[RinsedSloth]

"Emperor" Dong Ding for a cold saturday morning.

First of all don't have any previous experience with dong ding so can't really compare and tell what is unusual.

The rolled balls surprised me how golden and bright they were, smelled already sweet with just a bit of roast.

Moving to the dry rinse it really struck my nose with an aroma of biscoff, those louts biscuits that leave an intense sugary flavour right after.

Thought it was going to move into the cup and it really did, a sweet brown rock candy note began to coat my mouth, it was utterly sweet, maybe to much for my taste too but also liked how clean it was, lot of flavour and pleasant indeed.

The second steep faded away that sugary note to become more fruitier, almost like a banana bubblegum, but closing the glencairn revealed some coal aromas that accompanied well the sweet notes.

As with the yancha noticed how the flavours were going to reveal a more aromatic liquor while losing body but having the aftertaste through the session, intense and sweet made that the least problem, it is my favourite things to experience with oolongs.

I think it had some roast, not a lot but just right, don't think it needs muting at all but going with the jianshui and this ratio was good idea, likes the heat and went perfectly for the beginning.

It is not something I would drink always but it a solid choice for people who want something sweet and no bitterness, really pleasant.

[Ethan Kurland]

A note of appreciation inspired by tea reviews from oolongfan & rinsedsloth. Well-written posts from members we've been reading for years (such as debunix & Victoria, are not a surprise but remain a pleasure; &, now we can look forward to wonderful, extensive descriptions of tea from newer members=more reasons to stay involved.

Thank you, all of you for taking the time to post.

[Youzi]

RinsedSloth
How's the glencairn for tea? Just today the idea came to my mind, and suddenly I find your post, the only one mentioning the glencairn glass, on this forum

I found that keeping the cup warm is crucial for experiencing the aroma of the tea, to the fullest.

My initial problem with the glencairn seems, that it's quite thin, seems to cool down quite fast.

What are your findings?

Hello Youzi! You should really experiment with it, interesting experience and liking it very much. It is becoming a fad in my circle, pretty helpful that I already had one at home because of how much I like my scotch.

Having tried a taiwanese aroma cup and this cup makes me notice a huge difference on how well it does concentrate the aromas, you also can keep on smelling while in the cup. As you said it is a pretty thin glass but when it is too hot the aromas are difficult to get, really overwhelming, so letting it cool a bit gives you the full picture with quality. The only downisde is that the shape is not great for drinking big amounts at once, more designed to taste little sips from the dram but not uncomfortable so you can still use it as a regular cup like I do and the bottom is perfect to hold it while hot.

I would love to hear your thoughts about it if you decide to try

It's superior to any cup I've tried before, almost the perfect vessel for drinking tea. The Aromatic experience is miles away from what I experienced so far. My only problem with it, that it easily cools down, so it doesn't have that "Empty Pitcher" aroma strong enough. If there'd be a Cup which would allow me to smell the tea, and also the "Empty Pitcher" aroma, then it'd be heaven!

Other problem I found is that the base is a bit small for me to hold onto, so I always burn my hand a little, when I pick the glass up.

[yettea]

Having the wuyi big red robe tea from PURE CHINESE TEA
The aroma hit me as soon as the water covered the leaves and warmed them – wood, smoke, nuttiness. The liquor a dark amber with a sweet nose, a velvet mouthfeel and a cocoa coffee hit of inviting darkness. By the fourth infusion (30 second initial with increases of 15 seconds), the flavour had lightened up to nuttiness, but with the lingering taste that promises to remain with you, and I started to get quite giddy – perhaps I should have had my session after lunch rather than before. I managed to get 5 steeps that I was happy with, but I do like my oolongs strong.

[teabooksart]

Brewed some Dachi Tea Frozen Summit (which I believe is a Dong Ding) last night during class. Probably one of my favorites from the sampler I received from them. It's sweet and roasty with surprising longevity (both in number of steeps and lingering palette)

I forgot to get a photo of the dry tea but here are the shots of the subsequent steepings:

First steeping after first rinse


First steep


Third steep


Sixth steep


At this point, I was very tired so I can't remember how many more after this I brewed - maybe two? Possibly three? I love watching the tightly rolled leaves unfurl and fill the shiboridashi. It always makes me happy.

[debunix]

It's one of my favorite parts of brewing grandpa style in a large cup or bowl: watching the leaves unfurl. It's mesmerizing, this process of rehydrating and seeming to bring them back to their living forms, all the while extracting the best of them to experience as our tea. Now I know what my second tea of the morning will be: more of Tillerman's Alishan, in Tony Ferguson's Copper Red Ash chawan. This photo is not from today's session, but it's representative of watching this unfurling

[RinsedSloth]

A note of appreciation inspired by tea reviews from oolongfan & rinsedsloth. Well-written posts from members we've been reading for years (such as debunix & Victoria, are not a surprise but remain a pleasure; &, now we can look forward to wonderful, extensive descriptions of tea from newer members=more reasons to stay involved.

Thank you, all of you for taking the time to post.

It is my pleasure to share my notes to give a little insight to what I am drinking, hope I can be of help to anyone reading to try one tea or become interested at least. Having lots of fun while I do it as a training to help myself describe them better and of course enjoying the tea. Thanks for reading

It's superior to any cup I've tried before, almost the perfect vessel for drinking tea. The Aromatic experience is miles away from what I experienced so far. My only problem with it, that it easily cools down, so it doesn't have that "Empty Pitcher" aroma strong enough. If there'd be a Cup which would allow me to smell the tea, and also the "Empty Pitcher" aroma, then it'd be heaven!

Other problem I found is that the base is a bit small for me to hold onto, so I always burn my hand a little, when I pick the glass up.

I am really glad it is working well for you, having a blast too from the perceived aromas from it! I have to agree with the empty pitcher aroma, dissipates quickly and doesn't stick but still using a pitcher so that is no problem for my case.

____________


Today I am having some nice Tie Luo Han.

Dry leaves smelled pretty aromatic, love covering the measuring bowl with my hands and stuffing my nose in there to smell the glorious aroma.

The first steep had a different texture than the rest, it was thick and strong bodied, you could feel satisfied from it. It was peaty but the parfum note left it long from being smoky or too roasted, this one is just a medium roasted tea. I love to brew it with my wendan but today did with the jianshui as didn't want any muting for it.

After the steep could feel it staying in my throat, you can't go past it and inhaling with the nose brought a real wave of tranquility to me.

Second to fourth steep became much weaker in texture but the aftertaste was still there like the first steep. The liquor began to bring more morphing aromatic notes ranging from musky to wettened wood.

At the end did a couple more steeps and ended the session with the lovely first steep, burst of flavour like always and the lovely aftertaste for a good amount of time. Sessions that last past the liquor are perfect to me.

Just what I needed after a hard day at work, roasted teas at night are a real pleasure.

[Victoria]

What a crazy week, unusually grey and rainy here along the coast with covid19 empty streets. Have been warming up with @Tillerman’s fleet of oolong all week (still lining them up for leaf/profile comparison ) and during the evenings a few aged oolong; an ‘87 Tieguanyin from Taiwan and Origin Tea’s 2010 Competition Dong Ding. They are both powerfully aromatic, rich and thick with a sweet malty herbaceousness. Wow, what a powerhouse due these two are

[klepto]

I wanted to try some of the higher quality yancha and bought some from Wuyi Origins and Postcard teas. So far I tried Rou Gui and Qi Lan, both were really good. Rou Gui has some cacao like notes but it is actually wild cinnamon. Qi Lan was very enjoyable, the lingering taste on the palate had me going for many steepings.

I have a lot to try and I have a haul coming from Tea Urchin as well.

My order from Wuyi Origin is:

Wild Lapsang Souchong 2019 (I heard that this unsmoked lapsang is delicious)
Qi Lan 2019
Bai Ji Quan(White Rooster Crest??)
Shui Jui Gui(Golden Water Turtle)
Rou Gui - Fruity

My Postcard Tea samples:
Master Xu's Rou Gui (Shui Lian Dong) 肉桂 2019
Master Xu's Rou Gui (Tian Xin Yan) 肉桂 2018
along with other Phoenix oolong teas

It will take me some time to get through all of this but I will enjoy myself .

[Victoria]

@klepto will be interesting to hear your thoughts on all your RouGui orders. Thinking about it, so far my favorite (still available) ones are SpaceCat from LazyCat, and GoldMedal from Old Ways Tea. In the past I really enjoyed Half Hand Made from Essence of Tea, Cassia Extraordinaire from Tea Hong, and Niu Lan Keng RouGui from Four Seasons Tea in Toronto.

At the moment sipping on a DaYuLing sent by HY Chen. Wow so buttery smooth, viscous, sweet, and aromatic. Yes, delicious.

[klepto]

klepto will be interesting to hear your thoughts on all your RouGui orders. Thinking about it, so far my favorite (still available) ones are SpaceCat from LazyCat, and GoldMedal from Old Ways Tea. In the past I really enjoyed Half Hand Made from Essence of Tea, Cassia Extraordinaire from Tea Hong, and Niu Lan Keng RouGui from Four Seasons Tea in Toronto.

At the moment sipping on a DaYuLing sent by HY Chen. Wow so buttery smooth, viscous, sweet, and aromatic. Yes, delicious.

I've been meaning to try Old Ways Tea, how is their quality? I found out that I love yancha's. The aromas, complexity, and fruity tastes are great, the other night I was drinking some and the tea was flying out of fairness cup so fast that I was shocked.

[karma]

Back home with my parents due to the virus, so I had to leave some of my teas and teaware at my house. Drinking Nantou Dark from Song Tea today. https://songtea.com/collections/oolong- ... antou-dark

Definitely a little over priced at .50/g (was a gift), but a really pleasant roasted ball oolong with strong notes of toffee and almonds and milder notes of espresso beans and pecan pie. The toasted bread/graham cracker notes start to be more present after brew 2 or 3, and I find myself liking it less, though still well enough. The tea has a really nice tendency to stick around in your mouth for the day after you drink it.

[karma]

klepto will be interesting to hear your thoughts on all your RouGui orders. Thinking about it, so far my favorite (still available) ones are SpaceCat from LazyCat, and GoldMedal from Old Ways Tea. In the past I really enjoyed Half Hand Made from Essence of Tea, Cassia Extraordinaire from Tea Hong, and Niu Lan Keng RouGui from Four Seasons Tea in Toronto.

At the moment sipping on a DaYuLing sent by HY Chen. Wow so buttery smooth, viscous, sweet, and aromatic. Yes, delicious.

I've been meaning to try Old Ways Tea, how is their quality? I found out that I love yancha's. The aromas, complexity, and fruity tastes are great, the other night I was drinking some and the tea was flying out of fairness cup so fast that I was shocked.

Old Ways Tea was my introduction to yancha and I found their sampler pack very informative as a "round tour", and while I don't have much to compare it to, the teas tasted very good. Perhaps later I will discover that that their teas are not of as high a quality as some, but I am certainly satisfied with the quality at the present (perhaps overly -- they've been amazing!).

[klepto]

klepto will be interesting to hear your thoughts on all your RouGui orders. Thinking about it, so far my favorite (still available) ones are SpaceCat from LazyCat, and GoldMedal from Old Ways Tea. In the past I really enjoyed Half Hand Made from Essence of Tea, Cassia Extraordinaire from Tea Hong, and Niu Lan Keng RouGui from Four Seasons Tea in Toronto.

At the moment sipping on a DaYuLing sent by HY Chen. Wow so buttery smooth, viscous, sweet, and aromatic. Yes, delicious.

I've been meaning to try Old Ways Tea, how is their quality? I found out that I love yancha's. The aromas, complexity, and fruity tastes are great, the other night I was drinking some and the tea was flying out of fairness cup so fast that I was shocked.

Old Ways Tea was my introduction to yancha and I found their sampler pack very informative as a "round tour", and while I don't have much to compare it to, the teas tasted very good. Perhaps later I will discover that that their teas are not of as high a quality as some, but I am certainly satisfied with the quality at the present (perhaps overly -- they've been amazing!).

I love Shin Jui Gui(Golden Water Turtle), so far it is my favorite but I haven't tried them all and all the variations. I've enjoyed all yanchas so far. I will order some from Old Ways Tea after my war chest is not so full. Right now it is jam packed. I don't mind spending more if the quality is verified. I know what medium quality tea looks and tastes like, but I haven't seen any tea that looks alive or the liquor itself is glistening .

[Bok]

Having a tête à tête with the teapot that started my descent into the Yixing abyss... a 60s Biandeng already accumulating a lovely patina. Brewing some traditional Dongding and doing it well