What Oolong Are You Drinking

Semi-oxidized tea
chofmann
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Thu Jan 25, 2018 11:15 pm

Bok wrote:
Thu Jan 25, 2018 10:04 pm
Had a Tieguanyin from China yesterday… well that did not go well. Nuclear green variety of TGY as fashionable on the mainland. Although this version was a better quality, I do not get the appeal, just to green for me, almost grassy Japanese. Reminded me a lot of Taiwanese Baozhong, really similar profile, less sweet maybe.
We received some TGY from China as a gift that I've been drinking recently and it has this exact same issue. Very green flavor, not to my (personal) liking at all. Some teas aren't meant to be grassy.
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Bok
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Fri Jan 26, 2018 12:13 am

Side by side drinking of 2017 Lugu farmer’s association Dongding N.2 with HY Chen’s Dongding. Revisiting actually, I had written about it before here: https://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f ... gu#p296295

As much as I like Chen’s teas, the competition one is a whole different animal, much more refined, yet reallt powerful. Hints of licquorice, honey, malty flavours, all very fresh but with a powerful aftertaste. Maybe not a fair comparison as it seems to that the base leaf material are high mountain leafs, so technically not a real Dongding as only leaves from Lugu would qualify as such.

Still the difference is quite big. HY Chen’s on the other hand has its very typical taste from the charcoal roasting. Can not really describe it properly but all his teas have it.
His teas are actually more similar to some traditional roasted TGQ I recently tried from TealifeHK.
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Victoria
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Fri Jan 26, 2018 12:17 pm

Bok wrote:
Fri Jan 26, 2018 12:13 am
Side by side drinking of 2017 Lugu farmer’s association Dongding N.2 with HY Chen’s Dongding. Revisiting actually, I had written about it before here: https://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f ... gu#p296295

As much as I like Chen’s teas, the competition one is a whole different animal, much more refined, yet reallt powerful. Hints of licquorice, honey, malty flavours, all very fresh but with a powerful aftertaste. Maybe not a fair comparison as it seems to that the base leaf material are high mountain leafs, so technically not a real Dongding as only leaves from Lugu would qualify as such.

Still the difference is quite big. HY Chen’s on the other hand has its very typical taste from the charcoal roasting. Can not really describe it properly but all his teas have it.
His teas are actually more similar to some traditional roasted TGQ I recently tried from TealifeHK.
What level of charcoal roast are these? When I tried Die Kunst Des Tees ‘Tian Xiang Hong Oolong’ from Nantou, I was also impressed by the depth and complexity of flavors brought out by the heavy roast and oxidation. More expensive though than HY Chen’s. My everyday of Chen’s is now his heavy roast DongDing.
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Tillerman
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Fri Jan 26, 2018 1:23 pm

Drinking a 2017 winter harvest Lishan from colleagues at Floating Leaves. This is very fine tea. It has a good, slightly sweet entry with balanced acidity in the mid-palate. Wonderful viscosity and a long, satisfying finish. Congratulations to Shiuwen for a great offering.
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OldWaysTea
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Fri Jan 26, 2018 2:51 pm

Tillerman wrote:
Fri Jan 26, 2018 1:23 pm
Drinking a 2017 winter harvest Lishan from colleagues at Floating Leaves. This is very fine tea. It has a good, slightly sweet entry with balanced acidity in the mid-palate. Wonderful viscosity and a long, satisfying finish. Congratulations to Shiuwen for a great offering.
I've only nice things to say as well about Floating Leaves. A while back I was enjoying her 2017 Spring Shan Lin Shi.

Today I'm having some of my 2017 Shui Xian. I've been happy with the mouth feel, roast, and fragrance, but been a bit distracted and over-brewed it; the finish is a bit rougher than usual.
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d.manuk
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Fri Jan 26, 2018 3:18 pm

OldWaysTea wrote:
Fri Jan 26, 2018 2:51 pm
Tillerman wrote:
Fri Jan 26, 2018 1:23 pm
Drinking a 2017 winter harvest Lishan from colleagues at Floating Leaves. This is very fine tea. It has a good, slightly sweet entry with balanced acidity in the mid-palate. Wonderful viscosity and a long, satisfying finish. Congratulations to Shiuwen for a great offering.
I've only nice things to say as well about Floating Leaves. A while back I was enjoying her 2017 Spring Shan Lin Shi.

Today I'm having some of my 2017 Shui Xian. I've been happy with the mouth feel, roast, and fragrance, but been a bit distracted and over-brewed it; the finish is a bit rougher than usual.
I seem to do that a lot
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Victoria
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Fri Jan 26, 2018 5:37 pm

Yes agreed, Floating Leaves Lishans are really rich, and buttery, with a thick mouthfeel, and a sweet lingering palate.
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Bok
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Sat Jan 27, 2018 10:00 am

Victoria wrote:
Fri Jan 26, 2018 12:17 pm
What level of charcoal roast are these? When I tried Die Kunst Des Tees ‘Tian Xiang Hong Oolong’ from Nantou, I was also impressed by the depth and complexity of flavors brought out by the heavy roast and oxidation. More expensive though than HY Chen’s. My everyday of Chen’s is now his heavy roast DongDing.
I would say more of a medium roast. Hong oolong, sounds more like a black tea though? Or is does it say Hongshui oolong, that would be another older name for Dongding.
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Victoria
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Sat Jan 27, 2018 11:44 am

Bok wrote:
Sat Jan 27, 2018 10:00 am
Victoria wrote:
Fri Jan 26, 2018 12:17 pm
What level of charcoal roast are these? When I tried Die Kunst Des Tees ‘Tian Xiang Hong Oolong’ from Nantou, I was also impressed by the depth and complexity of flavors brought out by the heavy roast and oxidation. More expensive though than HY Chen’s. My everyday of Chen’s is now his heavy roast DongDing.
I would say more of a medium roast. Hong oolong, sounds more like a black tea though? Or is does it say Hongshui oolong, that would be another older name for Dongding.
Yes right, my comparison wasn’t apples for apples, the Hong oolong is a “red oolong with heavenly fragrance” with high oxidation. I made the comparison because of richness, depth and complexity found in the Hong vs HY Chen’s already pretty rich high roast DongDing.

Was the Lugu farmer’s association Dongding N.2 substantially more expensive than HY Chen’s Dongding?
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d.manuk
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Sat Jan 27, 2018 12:32 pm

Shine Magical wrote:
Sun Jan 21, 2018 4:32 pm
Currently having Qingxin, from 90K Da Yu Ling - Tea Masters Blog.
I’m having this tea again, and still like it. It doesn’t have a strong taste, but it’s satisfying. I was able to get 7 steeps out of it @1,2,2,2,2,2,3 min

I read that the Qingxin varietal is often used for Bao Zhong teas. Which makes it hard for me to understand why Bao zhongs are called Bao Zhongs, and why this is called Qingxin. And why Da Yu Ling teas are called DYL, but this is called a Qingxin that is from DYL mountain.

I guess this one is a very specific way of categorizing the tea, and other teas are not as specifically categorized on vendor websites?
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_Soggy_
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Sat Jan 27, 2018 12:51 pm

Some Dong Pian Rou Gui. It is lovely. It is lighter and slightly buttery/floral. I completely overbrewed this the first time I had it(it was a mystery tea) and it is better this time around.
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Tillerman
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Sat Jan 27, 2018 1:29 pm

Shine Magical wrote:
Sat Jan 27, 2018 12:32 pm
Shine Magical wrote:
Sun Jan 21, 2018 4:32 pm
Currently having Qingxin, from 90K Da Yu Ling - Tea Masters Blog.
I’m having this tea again, and still like it. It doesn’t have a strong taste, but it’s satisfying.

I read that the Qingxin varietal is often used for Bao Zhong teas. Which makes it hard for me to understand why Bao zhongs are called Bao Zhongs, and why this is called Qingxin. And why Da Yu Ling teas are called DYL, but this is called a Qingxin that is from DYL mountain.

I guess this one is a very specific way of categorizing the tea, and other teas are not as specifically categorized on vendor websites?
The vendor has called the tea Qingxin (and it's certainly the Qinxing Wulong cultivar - don't confuse the cultivar, often called simply "Wulong" with the tea type oolong even though it is the same word in Chinese) to emphasize that it isn't, say, Jin Xuan (there is lots of high mountain Jin Xuan though I've never had one from DYL.)

You are correct, this cultivar is widely used to make Bao Zhong tea especially Wenshan Bao Zhong (they also make an Oriental Beauty from this during the summer harvest though I much prefer OB from Miaoli or Hsinchu)

Li Chih-Jen (a Taiwanese scholar) has offered a fascinating way of looking at the name Bao Zhong (包種.) Rather than rendering this as "packaged kind" or "wrapped kind", the usual ways of translating the name, he notes the the second character "種" is from the old dialect used in the region in the 19th century. Then, Zhong Zai (種仔) was the local name used to identify the Qing Xin Wulong cultivar and the character "種" has been taken from that. The character "包" does come from word "包裝" (baozhuang) "package." So Bao Zhong (包種) does not mean "packaged kind, but "packaged Qing Xin Wulong." Although it likely can never be "proven" this explanation is highly plausible given that Zhong (種) means "kind" or "type" only in a biological sense.

In any event, the Qing Xin Wulong cultivar was used in the production of Wenshan Bao Zhong for some 100 years before it was introduced to Da Yu Ling and other high mountain regions.
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d.manuk
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Sat Jan 27, 2018 1:39 pm

Tillerman wrote:
Sat Jan 27, 2018 1:29 pm
Shine Magical wrote:
Sat Jan 27, 2018 12:32 pm
Shine Magical wrote:
Sun Jan 21, 2018 4:32 pm
Currently having Qingxin, from 90K Da Yu Ling - Tea Masters Blog.
I’m having this tea again, and still like it. It doesn’t have a strong taste, but it’s satisfying.

I read that the Qingxin varietal is often used for Bao Zhong teas. Which makes it hard for me to understand why Bao zhongs are called Bao Zhongs, and why this is called Qingxin. And why Da Yu Ling teas are called DYL, but this is called a Qingxin that is from DYL mountain.

I guess this one is a very specific way of categorizing the tea, and other teas are not as specifically categorized on vendor websites?
The vendor has called the tea Qingxin (and it's certainly the Qinxing Wulong cultivar - don't confuse the cultivar, often called simply "Wulong" with the tea type oolong even though it is the same word in Chinese) to emphasize that it isn't, say, Jin Xuan (there is lots of high mountain Jin Xuan though I've never had one from DYL.)

You are correct, this cultivar is widely used to make Bao Zhong tea especially Wenshan Bao Zhong (they also make an Oriental Beauty from this during the summer harvest though I much prefer OB from Miaoli or Hsinchu)

Li Chih-Jen (a Taiwanese scholar) has offered a fascinating way of looking at the name Bao Zhong (包種.) Rather than rendering this as "packaged kind" or "wrapped kind", the usual ways of translating the name, he notes the the second character "種" is from the old dialect used in the region in the 19th century. Then, Zhong Zai (種仔) was the local name used to identify the Qing Xin Wulong cultivar and the character "種" has been taken from that. The character "包" does come from word "包裝" (baozhuang) "package." So Bao Zhong (包種) does not mean "packaged kind, but "packaged Qing Xin Wulong." Although it likely can never be "proven" this explanation is highly plausible given that Zhong (種) means "kind" or "type" only in a biological sense.

In any event, the Qing Xin Wulong cultivar was used in the production of Wenshan Bao Zhong for some 100 years before it was introduced to Da Yu Ling and other high mountain regions.
wow. very interesting. You seem to have a great depth of knowledge in this.
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d.manuk
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Sat Jan 27, 2018 1:51 pm

I'm now drinking Qingxin, from 93K Da Yu Ling - Tea Masters Blog for comparison to the 90K.
It's funny how much can change in a few meters. It's starting to transform into that revered high mountain taste, but is not there quite yet.

Is it strange that I might prefer the 90K? The 93 definitely has more flavor, but the somewhat buttery taste is covered up by that new introduction of flavor. Later steeps have more of that butter flavor, but with some bright grass notes as well.

Tea is so great, I wonder what I should have next today... :D
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Bok
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Sat Jan 27, 2018 6:55 pm

Victoria wrote:
Sat Jan 27, 2018 11:44 am
Yes right, my comparison wasn’t apples for apples, the Hong oolong is a “red oolong with heavenly fragrance” with high oxidation. I made the comparison because of richness, depth and complexity found in the Hong vs HY Chen’s already pretty rich high roast DongDing.

Was the Lugu farmer’s association Dongding N.2 substantially more expensive than HY Chen’s Dongding?
A bit but not excessive if I take into account an increase for being number 2. I was lucky to be given this tea, mostly you can not buy those teas on the market, like me you get them gifted from someone with better connections ;)

I also think the higher price is due to the more expensive base material which might be the case of your tea as well!
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