What Oolong Are You Drinking

Semi-oxidized tea
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debunix
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Sat Apr 02, 2022 5:01 pm

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From a few days back:
a fine session with earthy and delicately fruity Balhyocha from Kim Jong Yeol (KJY), Butdangol Dawan (Forever Existing Temple Tea) via Tea Buy Korea, Noeulhangki = The Scent of Sunset.
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Enjoyed from Petr's tree bark pot, and a dreamily dripsicled yunomi by Cory Lum.

Deliberate* leaks from the lid toward the spout are so pleasantly fruity to sniff. It’s a weirdly wonderful feature, not bug, of Petr’s tree bark pots.
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* I manipulate my pour to make it a little dribble from time to time just to sniff
Andrew S
Posts: 704
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Location: Sydney, Australia

Sat Apr 02, 2022 6:03 pm

Last one from t he EoT competition samples pack - the da hong pao.

The dry leaves looked much more varied in terms of colour than the other samples, and had a greater mix between broken and whole leaves than the others, so I assume that it might be a blend of a few teas, but perhaps that just reflects the processing style; I really don't know either way.

Started with a mixture of dark fruits and woodiness which was a bit unbalanced, but the woody flavours subsided by the second and third infusions, and the tea gave up lighter stone fruits, some pleasant muskiness, a hint of grape, a nice bright mouthfeel, and a very long aftertaste and good durability, with a grounding and perhaps 'sombre' feeling for me (for want of a better way to describe such feelings). The lingering aftertaste is probably its best quality.

The samples were interesting to try, and were all very nice teas. None of them struck me as something that I have to order more of, but I enjoyed trying them. I probably won't seek out competition teas beyond trying more samples every now and then if I come across them in the future (though, at least in part, that reflects how I usually prefer having a large amount of just a few teas over having many different samples).

Andrew
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RayClem
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Fri Apr 08, 2022 2:12 pm

This morning I brewed a pot (three infusions) of Da Hong Pao from Best Leaf Tea. They list it as a premium tea, but this is my first experience with Red Robe, so I do not know how it compares with other versions.

I did enjoy the tasting experience. It was still full of flavor on the third infusion.

I look forward to tasting Do Hong Pao from the 2022 crop, but I might chose another vendor to see how they compare.
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Bok
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Fri Apr 08, 2022 8:29 pm

RayClem wrote:
Fri Apr 08, 2022 2:12 pm
This morning I brewed a pot (three infusions) of Da Hong Pao from Best Leaf Tea. They list it as a premium tea, but this is my first experience with Red Robe, so I do not know how it compares with other versions.

I did enjoy the tasting experience. It was still full of flavor on the third infusion.

I look forward to tasting Do Hong Pao from the 2022 crop, but I might chose another vendor to see how they compare.
Mind you DHP is a blend, so the possible variations are endless… :)
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Darbotek
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Sat Apr 09, 2022 2:30 pm

Sweet Scented Dong Ding from Tillerman with some Dr Incense Samadhi in the background. A killer combo that makes me feel like Hedonismbot.
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LeoFox
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Sat Apr 09, 2022 10:10 pm

Father's love from @Ethan Kurland

Such a luxurious tea!

viewtopic.php?p=42197#p42197



Edit: updated pics with some taken in better lighting. This tea deserves that. I'm surprised there are so few posts about this tea on here.

Ethan will probably make fun of me for mentioning things like black pepper, dried lemon rind, wolfberry, etc. In this case, I went into the kitchen cabinet to find these things to confirm the smells, hahaha
Last edited by LeoFox on Sun Apr 10, 2022 1:39 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Bok
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Sun Apr 10, 2022 7:51 am

It still surprises me how the approximate similar clay can brew so vastly different… this pot excels with this Dongding. Every time.
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trexero
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Sun Apr 10, 2022 1:30 pm

Cold-brewed a roasted Oolong today. Really interesting taste, although I preferred it Gong Fu Style. :)
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Ethan Kurland
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Sun Apr 10, 2022 6:07 pm

LeoFox wrote:
Sat Apr 09, 2022 10:10 pm
Father's love from Ethan Kurland

Such a luxurious tea!

Ethan will probably make fun of me for mentioning things like black pepper, dried lemon rind, wolfberry, etc. In this case, I went into the kitchen cabinet to find these things to confirm the smells, hahaha
I won't make fun of you, just remind you that most people have never tasted wolfberry. I only ate them once, but never again because after having wolfberries for a supper's desert, my stomach howled all night. (Joke from old television show, F Troop.) I think I taste much of what you do but don't find the words. Sometimes a bright, sharp taste like black pepper can be mint to someone else, & I would think tart fruit rather than lemon rind or zest, though we might be tasting the same part of the flavors. Lately I hesitate to identify much about teas even when words come to mind.

Perhaps I would like to think lead w/ different comments hoping that special means special; best value for $ means "grab the bargain on excellent tea"; or, a fact like 2 teas are about the same, e.g., top quality in a type of tea, yet somehow taste a little different & are different in price signficantly would be intriguing. I'd hope such words about teas would have those teas in many homes. However, how & why we individuals get excited or don't, is beyond my comprehension.

LeoK, thanks for words more accurate than mine & photographs which I don't take. Cheers
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LeoFox
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Sun Apr 10, 2022 6:52 pm

Ethan Kurland wrote:
Sun Apr 10, 2022 6:07 pm
LeoFox wrote:
Sat Apr 09, 2022 10:10 pm
Father's love from Ethan Kurland

Such a luxurious tea!

Ethan will probably make fun of me for mentioning things like black pepper, dried lemon rind, wolfberry, etc. In this case, I went into the kitchen cabinet to find these things to confirm the smells, hahaha
I won't make fun of you, just remind you that most people have never tasted wolfberry. I only ate them once, but never again because after having wolfberries for a supper's desert, my stomach howled all night. (Joke from old television show, F Troop.) I think I taste much of what you do but don't find the words. Sometimes a bright, sharp taste like black pepper can be mint to someone else, & I would think tart fruit rather than lemon rind or zest, though we might be tasting the same part of the flavors. Lately I hesitate to identify much about teas even when words come to mind.

Perhaps I would like to think lead w/ different comments hoping that special means special; best value for $ means "grab the bargain on excellent tea"; or, a fact like 2 teas are about the same, e.g., top quality in a type of tea, yet somehow taste a little different & are different in price signficantly would be intriguing. I'd hope such words about teas would have those teas in many homes. However, how & why we individuals get excited or don't, is beyond my comprehension.

LeoK, thanks for words more accurate than mine & photographs which I don't take. Cheers
It's a very nice Tea, Ethan- and one that to me, counts as one of the best roasted Taiwanese oolong generally available to the West.
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Baisao
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Sun Apr 10, 2022 6:53 pm

Ethan Kurland wrote:
Sun Apr 10, 2022 6:07 pm
LeoFox wrote:
Sat Apr 09, 2022 10:10 pm
Father's love from Ethan Kurland

Such a luxurious tea!

Ethan will probably make fun of me for mentioning things like black pepper, dried lemon rind, wolfberry, etc. In this case, I went into the kitchen cabinet to find these things to confirm the smells, hahaha
I won't make fun of you, just remind you that most people have never tasted wolfberry. I only ate them once, but never again because after having wolfberries for a supper's desert, my stomach howled all night. (Joke from old television show, F Troop.) I think I taste much of what you do but don't find the words. Sometimes a bright, sharp taste like black pepper can be mint to someone else, & I would think tart fruit rather than lemon rind or zest, though we might be tasting the same part of the flavors. Lately I hesitate to identify much about teas even when words come to mind.
I just completed a 6 hour dançong tasting with a friend and we discussed the problems with tea reviews and tasting notes.

Reviews are problematic for multiple reasons since vendors can cherry pick the best reviews and there’s no way to know if the reviewer’s opinion should carry any weight. I think this is obvious.

Tasting notes are also problematic for multiple reasons. If the seller says the tea has a fried plantain aroma, Lady Fanny of Omaha may be disappointed if she doesn’t pick up on the friend plantain aroma, resulting in a poor opinion of the tea, and possibly a bad review. Water alone can lock up some aromatics, not to mention (though I will) the effects clay, heat, technique, cup material, and cup shape will have on a tea’s aromatics.

Another problem with tasting notes is one of familiarity. I had one today with a hawthorn wafer flavor but it was something my guest had never tasted.

I think tasting notes from trusted sources are nice, but with the caveat that I someone may not pick up on what has been called out. Florent from TDJ comes to mind. I don’t always taste/smell what he does but I have no doubt these things are present only for me to discover.
Andrew S
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Location: Sydney, Australia

Mon Apr 11, 2022 5:19 pm

I played with Daxue Jiadao's jinmudan two days ago, and their handcraft jinmudan yesterday and today.

Out of their handcraft / non-handcraft combinations, this is the one that presented the biggest difference between the two styles for me. I found the handcraft version to be considerably more elegant, refreshing and complex, and less simple and 'heavy', than the non-handcraft version.

In contrast, I thought that the foshou and shiru handcraft / non-handcraft combinations presented slightly different sides to the same tea.

Now, I seem to recall reading somewhere that they're the same tea, just processed differently (though I may be wrong), so I'm interested to learn more about what the difference in processing entails and what others have experienced in that regard.

Andrew
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LeoFox
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Mon Apr 11, 2022 5:34 pm

Andrew S wrote:
Mon Apr 11, 2022 5:19 pm
I played with Daxue Jiadao's jinmudan two days ago, and their handcraft jinmudan yesterday and today.

Out of their handcraft / non-handcraft combinations, this is the one that presented the biggest difference between the two styles for me. I found the handcraft version to be considerably more elegant, refreshing and complex, and less simple and 'heavy', than the non-handcraft version.

In contrast, I thought that the foshou and shiru handcraft / non-handcraft combinations presented slightly different sides to the same tea.

Now, I seem to recall reading somewhere that they're the same tea, just processed differently (though I may be wrong), so I'm interested to learn more about what the difference in processing entails and what others have experienced in that regard.

Andrew
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teatray
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Wed Apr 13, 2022 1:37 pm

After an oolong break due to running out, Jade cultivar from T-M (again). I think it's yummy. When I got back into tea earlier this year, I thought I'd be making a large shincha purchase around this time, but then I discovered Taiwanese oolong, and just can't get it out of my head for now.
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Andrew S
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Sat Apr 16, 2022 8:29 pm

I'm enjoying some Wanfengsi (萬峰寺) wild old bush shuixian from Maple.

As he describes it, it's not really a yancha as such, since Wanfengsi is in Huangshitou (黃石頭), located North-West of Wuyi, but it is from old and (likely) wild bushes.

For me, this tea is all about elegance and purity; the upfront aroma and flavour are not nearly as important as the mouthfeel and the aftertaste. The shuixian character comes across in the flavour,. but there's a very elegant grape-like fruitiness that lingers for a long time in the aftertaste. The tea has a nice energy to it. and the mouthfeel is very pleasant, with a lovely tingling sensation. It's lasted plenty of infusions, and each sip encouraged me to brew it again and again.

It's a very nice tea, and it has shown me just how good (but different) yancha-style tea produced outside of Wuyi and outside of the protected zone can be. It's also a nice example of what I enjoy most in these kinds of teas; pleasant feeling, mouthfeel and aftertaste, and just a sense of 'purity' for want of a better expression.

Andrew
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