What Oolong Are You Drinking

[Tillerman]

A very interesting cup this morning. It is a dancong leaf processed in the Wuyi style by my tea friend Cindy Chen's family.

I am very pleased to find that the Wuyi roasting does not mask the the distinct dancong character which is powerfully present (I personally find most good dancong to be wonderfully powerful teas.) The liquor is a little darker than for a "normal" dancong. The tea has great weight in the mouth and a very long persistent finish. The Wuyi roas is evident but very balanced.

This tea is a wonderful surprise - it is very good and a fine example of some of the benefits of experimentation.

Thank you Cindy.

That sounds really interesting. Is it Ta Fu hou 塌富后 dancong that is on their web site?

No, it isn't. It was a sample that Cindy included with my last order; I have no idea how much she may have. As I said, it was very interesting and a powerful tea. I would definitely get more if possible.

[Tillerman]

A very interesting cup this morning. It is a dancong leaf processed in the Wuyi style by my tea friend Cindy Chen's family.

I am very pleased to find that the Wuyi roasting does not mask the the distinct dancong character which is powerfully present (I personally find most good dancong to be wonderfully powerful teas.) The liquor is a little darker than for a "normal" dancong. The tea has great weight in the mouth and a very long persistent finish. The Wuyi roas is evident but very balanced.

This tea is a wonderful surprise - it is very good and a fine example of some of the benefits of experimentation.

Thank you Cindy.

That sounds really interesting. Is it Ta Fu hou 塌富后 dancong that is on their web site?

No, it isn't. It was a sample that Cindy included with my last order; I have no idea how much she may have. As I said, it was very interesting and a powerful tea. I would definitely get more if possible.

I liked this tea so much I just ordered some. The cultivar is "Fan shu xiang" (番薯 香) - sweet potato scent. The tree (a single tree?) reputedly is over 150 years old. Cindy gave me quite a lesson on sweet potatoes in Chaozhou in the tougher times before she was born (1984 - gawd I'm old! - my son was born in 1983)

[Bok]

Recently I had the good fortune of being treated to HY Chen’s Rock style Oolong by a tea friend. For those who do not know, it is a Dongding cultivar oolong, but processed in the way of a Wuyi Yancha.

Although I would not say it bears much resemblance to any Wuyi tea I have tasted, it is not a Dongding either, so rather unusual and special. Would definitely drink more of it

I guess the terrain and leaf itself is imparting more flavour on the tea than the actual processing of the tea. A laudable and interesting effort nonetheless.

What contributed to the pleasure are well was the lovely kintsugi-ed Hongni shuiping from the 60ies (not mine unfortunately)

[Victoria]

Recently I had the good fortune of being treated to HY Chen’s Rock style Oolong by a tea friend. For those who do not know, it is a Dongding cultivar oolong, but processed in the way of a Wuyi Yancha.

Although I would not say it bears much resemblance to any Wuyi tea I have tasted, it is not a Dongding either, so rather unusual and special. Would definitely drink more of it

I guess the terrain and leaf itself is imparting more flavour on the tea than the actual processing of the tea. A laudable and interesting effort nonetheless.

What contributed to the pleasure are well was the lovely kintsugi-ed Hongni shuiping from the 60ies (not mine unfortunately)

I agree Yan Yun is a very special treat from HY Chen. He really is adept at roasting and transforming tea leaves. Not sure why you think the leaf brings more to the flavor than his hands on processing, although I do agree that the terrain and favorable environment bring a lot to the equation. The roast is skillfully transformed into notes of sweet camphor, expansive, a luxury.

[Bok]

Not sure why you think the leaf brings more to the flavor than his hands on processing

What I was referring to is that it can not be close to a Wuyi Yancha by replication of processing, as in my opinion the inherent flavour of the used leaves is fundamentally different. Qingxin cultivar will always taste very different from a Wuyi cultivar, no matter what the tea maker does.

[Ethan Kurland]

..... Not sure why you think the leaf brings more to the flavor than his hands on processing, although I do agree that the terrain and favorable environment bring a lot to the equation..

Victoria, You often bring up the profound ?s I have not had the tea being discussed; but I want to discuss the ? more generally.

What matters most, the leaves themselves or the how the leaves are processed? Is that the ??

I have had roasted teas that were given the best treatment: picked by hand, rolled by hand, traditionally roasted. There were differences that one is led to believe are due to the quality of the leaves which were all the same cultivar but grown at different heights (as low as 1300m & as high as 2400m). More than a year has passed since I have had a few of these teas at home all at once. As time has passed, I feel more confident that the differences are not so great, much smaller than the difference in prices, for sure. In this way, one can think process matters more than the material processed.

But comparing roasted tiequanyin from Northern Taiwan to the roasted teas from Lishan, the difference is huge. This comparison leads one to think material matters more than processing. Although the best roasted TGY might please greatly, it would do so much differently than other roasted cultivars.

I don't think the ? has an answer; moreover, an individual's answer may change over time.

I am having some roasted tea sent to me, without knowing whether it comes from Lishan or Shanlanxi nor from 1300m high or 2400m. I was told it is perfect for my palate & budget. The most important ? becomes, does my supplier really understand me.

Cheers

[chofmann]

As time has passed, I feel more confident that the differences are not so great, much smaller than the difference in prices, for sure. In this way, one can think process matters more than the material processed.

But comparing roasted tiequanyin from Northern Taiwan to the roasted teas from Lishan, the difference is huge. This comparison leads one to think material matters more than processing.

I know this probably goes without saying, but I think sometimes it can get lost in all the analysis - Processing isn't simply a matter of following a set of steps, but also how appropriately they are carried out. i.e. you can follow the step to 'dry the leaves', but there is a huge difference in flavor if you dry it to x% moisture vs. y% moisture. A huge issue that many farmers have is they 'rush' some of the processing steps and end up with subpar tea.

Said another way... two farmers can start with the exact same leaf material and make the same sort of tea following the same process guidelines, but end up with a very different end product.

To this end, I personally believe that the processing & roasting ability is the number one factor for a quality tea. Leaf material definitely impacts flavor heavily as well, but more in a subjective way than a 'quality' way.

To help confirm this, I had the same farmer produce teas from different materials. The cheaper material tea wasn't quite as good as the more expensive material, but it was still much better than many more expensive teas of the same type, from better material, that was produced with less skill. Similarly, I've had Mao Feng green tea produced from the wrong material but with good skill, and while it doesn't quite taste like Mao Feng, it still tastes very good (i.e. high quality, just wrong type of flavor).

[Ethan Kurland]

choffman, +1 to your comments which I think was good of you to post & important to discussion

My comparison of roasted oolong teas was of the leaves, for the same work was done for all of them. However, I should have noted that the quality range of leaves was from very good towards the very best. Moving up in quality from very good leaves to greater degrees of excellence, usually means quite small differences in quality to my palate. Especially for medium to highly roasted oolong from Taiwan that I have drunk a lot.

As Bok & I have admitted. Perhaps one needs to learn to discern the difference between the best & very good roasted oolong over a very long period of time. Perhaps I will never get it. Especially for aged & roasted oolong.

Contrary to what I just wrote, in the last year, I have found paying the high prices of foushoushan & dayuling not to be a waste of money. Fortunately, enjoyment of FSS has not spoiled me for cheaper gaoshan; also the FSS provides more infusions which brings cost per cup out of the totally extravagant range. Somehow I found that the 2 tiny yixing pots that I own, make my purchase of the DYL sensible also, because it is not just another gaoshan but another experience, as DYL is my "tea-session" experience. It allows me to appreciate transitions over many small infusions much more than any other tea that I have.

(I had that experience with pu, but not with any I currently own.)

[_Soggy_]

Working from home all day with some Baozhong earlier from FL and now some LiShan from FL as well. Both quite nice. Not getting tons done, but it is a relaxing day.

[d.manuk]

Today I finished my last bit of Semi wild Baozhong (Wenshan, Taiwan) from Tea Masters. Quite a nice tea. It tastes a lot more refined than a previous Wenshan Baozhong I've had. The previous one was more spinachy and misty in flavor, that I quite honestly enjoyed and was hoping to buy again but was sold out. This one reminded me honestly a bit of a gaoshan. Definitely nice but very different in nature.

I broke into a bag of 2017 DaYuLing 93k that I bought out of desperation because the vendor had sold out of the 2018 DYL. I have such buyers remorse of not purchasing earlier in the season, I had placed the order in August
The tea is fine but it's old and not that great. I had this same tea last year and it was obviously better then. At this moment in time in late 2018, I definitely prefer the Baozhong over it.

[debunix]

How was the 2017 tea stored? I expect freshness from these green oolongs to last most of a year if vacuum sealed at the site of origin.

[Ethan Kurland]

How was the 2017 tea stored? I expect freshness from these green oolongs to last most of a year if vacuum sealed at the site of origin.

I think in very specialized storage, tea can be stored in large quantity quite well for some months. Control of humidity & temperature & how much air leaves are exposed to, or protected from, can be very exact & thorough. Various teas are held in what in English seems to be called drawers. From there to vacuum packs that soon are in a consumer's own refrigerator should lead to long life until a pack is opened.

With some cheap boazhong that I was told may not hold up, this was not the case. Tea from packs opened about 6 weeks after purchase, did not brew as well as tea from packs opened just 2 or 3 weeks after purchase, quite noticeably.

[luchayi]

Today ya shi xiang middle roast
Peach and almond taste

[RinsedSloth]

Today I've tried the Classic Hong Kong Shuixian Grade 2 from Tealife.hk

This was my first sx and found the roast just perfect. It had some notes that reminded me of a hongcha, just a bit of astringency and none bitterness leaving me a really fruity huigan that reminded me of mango or cherry, perfect to be a daily drinker while I wait for my sheng to be completely rested.

[debunix]

Enjoying a session with Da Hong Pao from Wing Hop Fung. When they were closing their Chinatown store, I happened to stop by, and the staff suggested I buy two large unopened bags for a steep discount. I did, and the two large bags that seemed to hold endless quantities are now just over half gone. It's got a pleasing rock/mineral taste, very mellow otherwise, and nice for an afternoon when it was just cool enough to enjoy hot tea.

Sadly no rain yet here in LA despite beautiful heavy dark clouds. So my tea is all the wet I'm going to encounter today....