What Oolong Are You Drinking

[teatray]

Halfways through my (first) yancha order from Wuyi Origin. Finished (aged) Lao Cong Shui Xian 2013, Bai Ji Guan 2023, Rou Gui 2023, some more to go. Pretty good tea, esp. the first two were excellent (lots of leaf in a small porcelain teapot, brewing by feel but weighing the leaf). This is the first time I'm truly enjoying a yancha haul, but maybe I was in the process of acquiring the taste for the previous ones (from other vendors). Though, considering that the prices are reasonable and the tea is fun, I wish I did start here. The BJG was fascinatingly finnicky: either superb or meh, depending on parameters not too far apart (or, who knows, leaf variety in the pack?).

Glad you are enjoying it! It took me a while to learn how to brew Yencha. I probably blew through an embarrassing 4 or 5 sessions before I realized flash brewing is the way to go for me. Now my philosophy is pouring the first 1-3 steeps as FAST as humanly possible to avoid bitterness and preserve the fruity, floral notes (10 second steep, max). PS - Bravo in the "other" wuyi thread.

Yeah, also doing shorter initial infusions (though not quite as short as 10s for me), but also putting some more leaf (by weight) than what I prefer for TW oolongs. There weren't many fruity notes to preserve in the old LCSX (more like wood, cinnamon, onions), but it was the same. Experienced drinkers here say that you shouldn't brew yancha too many times, but I found these last ones particularly long lasting (with very long infusions towards the end, the resulting cold brew still sweet & rich).

[Andrew S]

I'm enjoying my second session of a small sample of an AiJiao yancha from HuiYuanKeng.

I've been trying to get into the habit of writing down some notes when I try new teas, and it's been quite useful when I revisit them, especially if the samples are only small and I won't get to try them more than two or three times.

My notes from the first session said to push it harder, and that was definitely some good advice from past me. I'm getting plenty of grapes and jellybeans in this session, and a very nice long aftertaste along those lines.

Andrew

[debunix]

grapes and jellybeans

Curious: I get the grapes reference, that sounds quite tasty. But I don't think of a 'jellybean' flavor, perhaps because I was introduced to JellyBellies at an early age--a cousin started carrying them in her shop long before they were staples of every sort of candy and gift store. So I can think of my favorite JellyBelly flavors, but not really of a single 'jellybean' flavor. Can you expand a little on that?

[Andrew S]

grapes and jellybeans

Curious: I get the grapes reference, that sounds quite tasty. But I don't think of a 'jellybean' flavor, perhaps because I was introduced to JellyBellies at an early age--a cousin started carrying them in her shop long before they were staples of every sort of candy and gift store. So I can think of my favorite JellyBelly flavors, but not really of a single 'jellybean' flavor. Can you expand a little on that?

It's probably not a very useful description to anyone but myself, but perhaps I could say that it tasted more like a grape-y jellybean than the act of eating some actual grapes (but not in an artificial way, just a delicious way).

I've got one session of that tea left before it's gone forever - hopefully I can repeat the experience.

Andrew

[debunix]

I hope you get the same experience or better this time too

[Ethan Kurland]

Not all grape jellybeans taste the same. Australian ones may be quite different than jellybeans in California.

[Andrew S]

Not all grape jellybeans taste the same. Australian ones may be quite different than jellybeans in California.

And the last time that I had jellybeans could have been about two decades ago... they may well taste better in my memory than in reality.

Same tea today, but different teapot, different water, one different cup, and a different time of day. Cherries come out more in the straighter modern cup, and plums come out more in the wider old cup - plus some (actual) grapes after a while, and a touch of cocoa powder (both the flavour itself and the gently powdery mouthfeel).

Perhaps this is a reminder that when we describe a tea, we are often just describing an individual tea session or a particular way of brewing it, and not all that the tea itself can offer.

Anyway, a nice farewell to a nice tea.

Andrew

[TaiguliRebel]

Siam Oriental Beauty, 2023 Spring; received as a sample gift. Cha Nang Ngam

IMG_20240331_173022.jpg (197.83 KiB) Viewed 875 times

[Andrew S]

Beginning a slow, steady exploration of dancong - one of the many categories of tea which I've pretty much completely ignored so far due to misconceptions and bad early experiences.

I've had to re-adjust my expectations and preferences towards using far fewer leaves than with yancha, and aiming to emphasise aromas and flavours over mouthfeel and aftertaste (or at least, not to forget about them). I seem to be getting decent results with that lighter approach (although I probably used too many leaves in this session). I've even been trying the teas in a gaiwan, and actually timing my steeps for once.

It'll be a little while until I feel comfortable about actually having an opinion on the tea itself, as opposed to trying to brew it without too much maltreatment.

Andrew

[Darrel]

2013 aged Qi Dan from OWT.

[GaoShan]

I'm working my way through a spring 2023 Longfengxia from Ethan (6 g, 120 ml, 195F, 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 45, etc.). This tea is very soft, with flavours that are hard to pin down. I get some nice orchid florality, cream, apricot, and beautiful, slightly overripe peach. It lasts for seven or so steeps. It's very nice, though I still have a soft spot for Ethan's coconut-heavy spring 2021 LFX.