What Oolong Are You Drinking

[Baisao]

Also, you state here and elsewhere that stale tea is more appropriate for gongfu brewing relative to fresh tea. That is a spicy statement that needs some justification.

It appears this was not addressed in the belabored discussion of milk products in the oolong thread.

[mbanu]

We'd need a new thread, which would need a catchy title.

"Belaboring the flavoring" would be too vague, although I do love that belabored and gongfu are different ways to say the same thing. Besides, some teas need belaboring even when they are new.

"Waking up tired teas" would be too broad, as there are a few different things a person can try.

"Gongfu and old tea", maybe, but that would probably just become a thread about pu'er.

Certainly a fun topic, though.

[Andrew S]

Another DXJD sample that I've neglected for a while.

This one gives an impression of dark fruits, certainly darker than the dry leaves suggested, with a pleasant and long aftertaste. It feels like this yancha is all about the style of oxidation, with not as much emphasis upon the strength of the roast as the ones that I normally have.

I look forward to their next range of yancha, even if that means even more small samples that I take forever to get around to trying.

And there is a good chance that this pot will become a friend to lighter styles of yancha; it has done a good job with them so far. It might even encourage me to try more from that genre.

It's funny how a nice pot can encourage you to drink more of a certain kind of tea.

Andrew

[mbanu]

"Roasted oolong" from Upton Tea. Tastes like a nice yancha, my guess is that it was sold under dodgy pretenses, but they recognized that the flavor was good so bought it anyway, giving it the appropriate "buyer beware" label.

This one?
https://www.uptontea.com/chinese-oolong ... /p/V00366/

That's the one -- maybe I'll give it another go tomorrow, see if my opinion has changed. From what I remember it doesn't taste like a tieguanyin, but it's not bad.

After another try, I definitely wouldn't peg it as a tieguanyin -- maybe a good tea for fooling others during tasting games.

[TeaTotaling]

Can anyone here recommend oolongs (ideally dancong but not necessarily) that are similar to Wuyi Origin's Old Bush Mi Lan Xiang from Li Zhai Ping village?

I'm not a fan of greener oolongs and it seems to be increasingly more difficult to find ones that are not too green in this style.

I liked the 2021 MLX from Tea Habitat.

Which village? There are two

There is only one 2021 MLX. Guangdong.

Looking through the selection certainly got my heart racing! Great tea, my favorite.

[Bok]

Coincidentally, having Dancong myself… 30ml Shantou lion pot.

[TeaTotaling]

Coincidentally, having Dancong myself… 30ml Shantou lion pot.

Great choice, and nice pairing! Dancong is strong, yet elegant, like a lion.

[TeaTotaling]

All this talk of Dancong had me craving some of it’s nectar. So, I dipped into the stash and pulled out some 2020 “White Rose Kisses”.

Liquid gold Floral as the name suggests, but certainly not feeble. Refined and delicate on the palate with a powerful electric energy. No astringency and no bitterness. However, I can feel the weight in my stomach. Overall, very satisfying with a strong mineral foundation.

A good Chinese Oolong is what I crave. I will be flooding Imen with some business in the near future, that’s for sure.

[Andrew S]

A sample of wild Pinglin baozhong, brewed casually this morning, after being brewed with a bit more focus a few days ago.

Not a style of tea that I drink often, just because I prefer darker teas, and lighter ones would probably go stale in the meantime if I kept too many of them lying around.

This one felt bright but calming, especially for the style, and had a long, pleasant aftertaste with a nice interplay between dark fruits, creaminess, nuttiness and a hint of herbs. It tasted elegant.

Andrew

[LeoFox]

I was surprised the every day rougui would sell out before the every day shui xian from daxuejiadao!

I kept my mouth shut until now when I have a decent stash of the stuff

[Bok]

I was surprised the every day rougui would sell out before the every day shui xian from daxuejiadao!

I kept my mouth shut until now when I have a decent stash of the stuff

True that. It was hiding in plain sight. Punching way above its weight…

[tjkdubya]

The 2017 Wild LCSX is worthy of being a vintage tea. Was obvious we'd want enough to sell for the next few years, at least. The 2020 Baiyun, we only got enough to test the waters last year, but happy to say the 2021 Baiyun is looking even better.

Suffice it to say, our supply for many of our yancha is limited not by the source running out, but our grabbing too little initially. It may be counterintuitive but more initial customers we have grabbing a particular tea, more we can source. Every word of mouth recommendation helps us greatly given the relatively tiny size of our project.

[tjkdubya]

To put it succinctly, don't worry about keeping your mouth shut just because you really like something! We are very far away from having that kind of fortunate problem.

[mbanu]

Finished off the Tieguanyin-in-disguise from Upton mentioned before. That was the last of my oolongs that doesn't need the gongfu treatment. Probably for the best, I need more practice, anyhow. A fun trick-tea, I think -- when teatime with others becomes practical again, it might be worth a re-order to see what others think.

[mbanu]

Had some Foojoy organic "Shui Hsien Wuyi Oolong" that was getting pretty tired (bought from a vendor who doesn't seem to sell much, then several months being neglected for other teas), so I decided to give it a go with gongfu brewing. A fine second life for an old tea.

More of the same. Almost like getting a new tea.