What Oolong Are You Drinking

[oolongfan]

Bok - My knowledge of Factory 1 pots, especially the more decorative ones, is pretty limited. Thank you for sharing yours - it is stunning.

I also love the 450 cc pot. It delicate graceful looks do not betray its capicity. At first I thought it was an 80cc-100cc pot.

[d.manuk]

I'm drinking Da Yu Ling 93k Winter 2018 harvest from Tea Masters.
Normally I wax poetic about Tea Masters Blog teas because the teas I enjoy from him are my favorite teas in general, though there are quite a few that I've had from his collection that are disappointing and I just don't write about them. This tea is one of those. He originally sold Da Yu Ling 101k and 99k and they were delicious, but those gardens no longer exist. So I've tried the 93k last year and this year and now the winter havest as well and I can say for certainty that this tea garden/producer does not make tea I enjoy. The taste is very muted so I have to push the tea very hard to give off flavor, and even then the first steep is very... nonaromatic and quite frankly still lacking in flavor. The second brew tastes mildly soapy and cardboard, and there is some fragrance to the brew this time but it is soooo far away.

[Tillerman]

I'm drinking Da Yu Ling 93k Winter 2018 harvest from Tea Masters.
Normally I wax poetic about Tea Masters Blog teas because the teas I enjoy from him are my favorite teas in general, though there are quite a few that I've had from his collection that are disappointing and I just don't write about them. This tea is one of those. He originally sold Da Yu Ling 101k and 99k and they were delicious, but those gardens no longer exist. So I've tried the 93k last year and this year and now the winter havest as well and I can say for certainty that this tea garden/producer does not make tea I enjoy. The taste is very muted so I have to push the tea very hard to give off flavor, and even then the first steep is very... nonaromatic and quite frankly still lacking in flavor. The second brew tastes mildly soapy and cardboard, and there is some fragrance to the brew this time but it is soooo far away.

As I noted in a recent blog post, there are only 5 growers left on DYL and only two on the point. The grower/factory at 95K controls about 40% of current production. "The old grey mare....."

[Bok]

I'm drinking Da Yu Ling 93k Winter 2018 harvest from Tea Masters.
Normally I wax poetic about Tea Masters Blog teas because the teas I enjoy from him are my favorite teas in general, though there are quite a few that I've had from his collection that are disappointing and I just don't write about them. This tea is one of those. He originally sold Da Yu Ling 101k and 99k and they were delicious, but those gardens no longer exist. So I've tried the 93k last year and this year and now the winter havest as well and I can say for certainty that this tea garden/producer does not make tea I enjoy. The taste is very muted so I have to push the tea very hard to give off flavor, and even then the first steep is very... nonaromatic and quite frankly still lacking in flavor. The second brew tastes mildly soapy and cardboard, and there is some fragrance to the brew this time but it is soooo far away.

Have you tried his Biluxi? That is now the next highest thing to DYL (often sold as such). I just had some from one of my sources yesterday and think it is pretty good stuff. This winter harvest is supposed to be very good across the high mountain range, less yield, but better quality.

[OCTO]

Had the honour of having some really nice Winter Harvest Biluxi compliments from a very kind soul

Last nite I took a bold step to brew this wonderful tea in a glass GaiWan and tested them against some really nice porcelain ware from JingDeZhen and DeHua.

Results were amazing and you will need a good quality white porcelain GaiWan to truly bring out its little nuances that makes this tea amazing.

Cheers!!

[Victoria]

Wow @OCTO beautiful green leaf and rich golden liquor. Is Biluxi similar in profile to Dayuling and LiShan; sweet buttery smooth lingering palate?

[d.manuk]

I'm drinking Da Yu Ling 93k Winter 2018 harvest from Tea Masters.
Normally I wax poetic about Tea Masters Blog teas because the teas I enjoy from him are my favorite teas in general, though there are quite a few that I've had from his collection that are disappointing and I just don't write about them. This tea is one of those. He originally sold Da Yu Ling 101k and 99k and they were delicious, but those gardens no longer exist. So I've tried the 93k last year and this year and now the winter havest as well and I can say for certainty that this tea garden/producer does not make tea I enjoy. The taste is very muted so I have to push the tea very hard to give off flavor, and even then the first steep is very... nonaromatic and quite frankly still lacking in flavor. The second brew tastes mildly soapy and cardboard, and there is some fragrance to the brew this time but it is soooo far away.

Have you tried his Biluxi? That is now the next highest thing to DYL (often sold as such). I just had some from one of my sources yesterday and think it is pretty good stuff. This winter harvest is supposed to be very good across the high mountain range, less yield, but better quality.

Pretty sure he doesn’t sell Biluxi unless it goes by another name

[OCTO]

Wow OCTO beautiful green leaf and rich golden liquor. Is Biluxi similar in profile to Dayuling and LiShan; sweet buttery smooth lingering palate?

@Victoria yes. Paired with a tall profile GaiWan from JDZ, it brings out the upper registry fragrances. It’s a borderline aroma... but once you get it, it’s an entirely new horizon. Something a seasoned high mountain oolong connoisseur would appreciate.

Cheers!!

[Bok]

@Shine Magical
Have a look at this blog post: http://teamasters.blogspot.com/2018/12/ ... t.html?m=1

Maybe not in the current selection, but seems to at least have had it at some point.

[Bok]

Wow OCTO beautiful green leaf and rich golden liquor. Is Biluxi similar in profile to Dayuling and LiShan; sweet buttery smooth lingering palate?

I would say the three are almost the same and not many people will be able to tell the difference, assuming you get good quality of each. It’s all the same mountain range.

[Chadrinkincat]

Decided to try out a new F1 flat duanni pot with a canned 80’s Wo Hop oolong. This tea isn’t anything special but it’s surprisingly decent with this pot. It smooths out the rough edges and enhances the aged roasted grain flavor.

[oolongfan]

Chadrinkincat - lovely pot, I am envious

I have been behind in my tea posts..so here goes:

HY Chen Oolongs from Leafy Green

Dong Ding - Heavy Roast This was fabelous. Roast notes are soft and harmonious. They do not obscure the tea but rather compliment it, Lovely plum notes mingled with semi sweet carmel notes & soft hint of charcoal. Fabelous

Dong Ding - Unroasted Wow I am in love. This was a sample included in my order by Leafy Green, after they had seen my interest here in trying the unroasted Dong Ding Leafy Green was spot on, this is somewhere between a green and black tea, Lovely orchid vegetal notes. a hnt of parchment or sweet straw, the latter comes out as a lovely atringency on the back end. There is a honey richness to this that reminds me a little of the bug bitten., especialy later brews as the tea begins to integrate and become round. Blown away by the quality of the tea.

Bug Bitten - Lovely rich honey notes, a hint of unsweetened fortune cookie, lovely hints of straw like astringency at the end to balance all this sweet richness. What a treat.

Ali Shan Jin Xun - Powerful. Orchid-day lily, vegetal notes. This was very powerful in a fabelous way compared to its peers. I loved this. Again the quality of the leaf and tea is so apparent.

Yan Yun This was a unique treat. Started out first rinse tea perfume and orange blossom but quickly became roasted marshmellow s'more like quality...but without all the overdone sweetness of the confection. Lovely toasted marshmellow, tea note, wth lovely tongue tingling charcoal notes - that as always, are delicate and balanced. This was amazing.

[d.manuk]

I'm having a more relaxed tea session than I normally do. Still having gongfu with semi wild Baozhong, but I'm... *gasp* drinking it with breakfast. I totally overbrewed it to start, but since I'm drinking little shots of it while eating, it's totally fine. I need to remember to relax more with my tea drinking sometimes.

[debunix]

=

I totally overbrewed it to start

This is a good time to dilute a bit with fresh hot water....I do it all the time, or at least when the overbrewed tea is in a vessel with room for a little more water.

I'm having a more relaxed tea session than I normally do......*gasp* drinking it with breakfast.

My favorite tea session of the day, on most days, is the first one, when the cats are especially snuggly, and I'm not yet rushed to dash off to work.

[Victoria]

I ordered a few of @Tillerman’s oolong this week after really liking his very fresh buttery sweet 2018 Winter LiShan, that I tried at the LA Tea Festival. Along with LiShan I ordered; Tian Chi High Mountain Oolong Winter 2018, Wenshan Bao Zhong Winter 2018, and Dong Ding (Laoshi) Winter 2018. The DongDing is produced by his teacher in Taiwan, Chen Huan Tang. Wow, this DongDing rocks, it is super aromatic roasted malty sweetness, nuanced complex spicy sweet evergreen/pine/herbaceous and muscat notes. Finding it hard to describe -except that it is excellent. The flavor and aroma are warming, and linger for a long while. It’s great to find top quality roasted DongDing.