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Victoria wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 12, 2019 11:45 am

. Did you clip your open bag, to close, or leave it completely open? Mine was closed with one of those bag clips for several months. Much better now.

I used bands to keep the bag closed tight. I think it is as effective as the clips when one is careful.

Norbu Red Alishan: complexly fruity, spicy, sweet, earthy. Can't get enough of it.

debunix wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 16, 2019 1:58 pm

Norbu Red Alishan: complexly fruity, spicy, sweet, earthy. Can't get enough of it.

Have you tried the Alishan Black (Red Oolong) from Floating Leaves? If so, how does the Norbu compare?

@Dresden. Floating Leaves Alishan Black is very nice tea. However, it is a black tea (or red tea); it isn't an oolong (although it is finished in the ball rolled fashion.) Red oolong, often referred to as hong shui is a true oolong tea that is made with higher oxidation levels than used for "fresh" (or green) oolong tea. The oxidation level is usually around 35% and the tea is often (but not always) roasted.

Tillerman wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 22, 2019 7:19 am

Dresden. Floating Leaves Alishan Black is very nice tea. However, it is a black tea (or red tea); it isn't an oolong (although it is finished in the ball rolled fashion.) Red oolong, often referred to as hong shui is a true oolong tea that is made with higher oxidation levels than used for "fresh" (or green) oolong tea. The oxidation level is usually around 35% and the tea is often (but not always) roasted.

Thank you for the clarification!

Dresden wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 21, 2019 8:18 pm

debunix wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 16, 2019 1:58 pm

Norbu Red Alishan: complexly fruity, spicy, sweet, earthy. Can't get enough of it.

Have you tried the Alishan Black (Red Oolong) from Floating Leaves? If so, how does the Norbu compare?

Haven't tried any other 'red Alishan'. I love Norbu's so much and it is often enough available that I have stocked up with several sealed pouches each time I order and that's all I need.

Floating Leaves Traditional Dong Ding A for me today

Although Baozhong harvest seems to have been small and not always ideal, I am having a real nice one!

I normally do not like or buy Baozhong, too floral and light for me. This one I got gifted from a friend who is studying it in their tea class. It is really, really nice, reminds me more of a high mountain Oolong, yet with that typical Baozhong note, added with some HM punch.

The leaves have some amazing dark green and almost blue hues, need to take a picture of it... in this case it makes sense that the French call Oolong Thé Bleu. Although the real reason for that is another (ambiguity in meaning of the word Qing, which means both green and blue, in fact for the longest time green and blue were not separate colours, fascinating article I read somewhere).

This makes me more excited for the BaoZhong tasting set I have yet to open--they arrived middle of a busy week followed by out-of-town weekend, so no chance to enjoy them properly until this later this week.

Meanwhile, some Competition Grade Tie Guan Yin Oolong tea of Gande Village via Yunnan Sourcing, cool brewed for a hot day, and refreshing and light. I think I'll finish this session and have another the same way.

@debunix hope there is one as nice as mine among them! Had it again and it so good, you can practically not overbrew it. I just left it sit in the Gaiwan and it just turned intense, yet not bitter or unpleasant in the way a tea of lesser quality would. Good to have nice tea friends

enjoying the last of this DYL from @Ethan Kurland


it was good tea, thank you

Pedant, thanks for the kind words. Glad that you enjoy that DYL.

I will let this Spring's DYL rest about 2 - 3 weeks more before opening a 40-gram pack. Then I'll write about it. When determining whether to purchase it, Spring 2019 dayuling did not seem much different than last season's (Winter).

Starting the day with Oriental Beauty. I have posted that flavors opened up greatly once I put some of it in a ceramic caddy. This remains the case, as it is pleases with forthright fruitiness & a light touch of spice.

Lingering aftertaste of the O.B. is a simpler sweetness. Not a cloying, overly strong sweetness, but quite a strong one; it informs me why sometimes I like to drink tea that does not linger in the mouth: The aftertaste is different; &, sometimes one does not want to be distracted from the initial flavor(s).

@Ethan Kurland your Oriental Beauty sounds so good. I look forward to having some .

Sipping on @Tillerman’s winter Weshan Bao Zhong by Weng Wan Dashi. I got this one by mistake in an order so thought I’d give it away since Bao Zhong is usually a little light and delicate for me. Well not this one! It has rich aroma and is full flavor with buttery floral freshness. Kind of like LiShan but lighter, greener and more floral, yet still has plenty of body. Nice salivation too. Perfect for summer. Thanks David .

P.S. just saw @Bok’s comments above. Seems we were both equally surprised by how good Bao Zhong can be. Wonder what makes the dry leaf such a dark green blue? Spent leaves look more like regular slightly oxidized high mountain oolong even though Bao Zhong is from Pinglin.

Today I set up a half-dozen little porcelain gaiwans with a little light roast TGY, Red Alishan, and Bai Mu Dan. I added hot water (off the boil for the oolongs, 180 F for the white tea, heating up as little water as possible in the teapot to not add so much heat to the house), covered them, and let them sit. I've been pouring them out one by one into a large chawan, diluting with a lot of cool water, and enjoying delicious cool refreshing tea through the hot day. Yum. Another way to 'cool down' on a hot day.

I commented on a Lishan oolong that was aged 5 years in my vendor thread but will review it more thoroughly here. Called Father's Love these organic leaves get a lot of attention. Harvested & rolled by hand, medium oxidized, & then put in bamboo baskets for roasting over charcoal for 2 - 3 days by people who reposition the baskets every 20 - 30 minutes to get leaves that give the desired flavor of roasting without the taste of char--we should get WOW!.

When one knows that top quality leaves were chosen for a lot of attention and the attention was given to the leaves, as well as time (aging) which leads to a high price, one can have unreasonable expectations. High expectations can be very specific. For me, I've always wanted the best tea to be very complex which can mean that I can taste many flavors at once or eventually as I drink one infusion after another. Of course, all the drinking should be enjoyable as well as interesting. I wanted some kind of transitional/informative experience.

Before I'd like to identify specific flavors & recognize specific changes through the rounds... oy veh! What silly ideas.

So this aged oolong, Father's Love, was a tea that I liked, praised, & respected, & abandonned for 2 years because I got frustrated that I could not name the specific underlying flavors the gaoshan would have had before roasting, aging, etc.....

Now, I just enjoy it. Moreover, besides adjusting my attitude, I find the smooth, great impression made by the tea is interesting & enjoyable in proportion to the price of the tea (e.g. it's worth the $) when one spaces out his sips. I had been too greedy. Now taking my time, the taste of the tea, is its own special heavy-roast flavor that does not get rough, overly heavy, or boring. It is a tea for a perfect long, slow-paced tasty session.

I had been told that one needs to develop his palate to appreciate some teas. Perhaps one needs to develop habits that allow his palate to work. (In this case enough time between drinks.) Allowing my palate to work, allows the tea to work = delicious.