Looking for recommendations

Semi-oxidized tea
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xmeowcatx
New user
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Mar 27, 2021 10:59 pm

Sat Mar 27, 2021 11:12 pm

Hello, I have been a casual tea drinker all my life but have recently decided to explore more deeply into the world of tea. I recently purchased a whole bunch of teas from Old Ways Tea and also sampler box from Song Tea and Ceramics and I found out a couple of things about myself, first that I don't really like heavily oxidized teas like blacks and yancha, except for maybe dahongpao although I am willing to keep trying new ones. I am still working my way through them but I have found three I like and I was wondering whether people would be willing to make me a recommendations for other similar teas? I've also read a few criticisms of their prices being high although I've really enjoyed their teas, I did see one review on this forum where the person enjoyed their tea at first but stated that they have found other better tea overtime. I've put them down here with a few of my tasting notes I wrote while drinking it if that helps.

https://songtea.com/collections/oolong- ... 3456403544
No bitterness, roughness, or astringency, occasional moments of almost saltiness, heavy mouthfeel, vegetable taste that is very similar to maybe a sugar snap pea. Especially in the first infusion, similar to a vegetable broth, almost savory. Also a bit like spinach. I don’t taste the fresh peppercorn.

https://songtea.com/collections/oolong- ... ens-sequel
Tasty, lots of roasted flavor. I get some juicy apple flavor in the middle of tastes, and I get this green cornhusk flavor a bit at the end of some sips (might not be the same as what Song Tea is describing because they refer to the “nuttiness” of cornhusk). I enjoyed this one too although I'm wondering if there's are better teas out there in this $1/g price range.

https://songtea.com/collections/white-t ... ld-guanyin
Very floral and aromatic balanced by a subtle bitterness, delightlful and light.

Thanks for all your help!
GaoShan
Posts: 322
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2021 12:06 am
Location: Toronto, Canada

Tue Apr 06, 2021 1:34 am

It sounds like you might like Taiwanese roasted and/or unroasted oolongs. You might want to sample some of the offerings from Floating Leaves or Tillerman Teas. If you like Dancongs, I've had some good results from Wuyi Origin.

I hope that someone more experienced will come along with recommendations. :)
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Benjamin
Posts: 23
Joined: Sat Apr 17, 2021 7:44 am
Location: Taiwan

Wed Apr 21, 2021 6:47 am

xmeowcatx wrote:
Sat Mar 27, 2021 11:12 pm

https://songtea.com/collections/oolong- ... 3456403544
No bitterness, roughness, or astringency, occasional moments of almost saltiness, heavy mouthfeel, vegetable taste that is very similar to maybe a sugar snap pea. Especially in the first infusion, similar to a vegetable broth, almost savory. Also a bit like spinach. I don’t taste the fresh peppercorn.


Thanks for all your help!
Lishan teas and many higher altitude "Gaoshan" teas typically carry some amount of that "savory" quality you mention. Some do it better than others. I would recommend Lishan teas if you have a vendor you like with a reasonable price. Here in Taiwan I don't really bother with Dayuling or certain highly marketed areas as the price isn't worth it for what you get. Often great tea, but for considerably less money the Lishan and Shanlinxi teas can be just as good if you can find some decent stuff.

For western vendors in regards to Gaoshan, I would say to try a small amount from a few different places rather than settle on one too early just because it was nice. A lot of gaoshan is good, and a smaller amount of gaoshan is very good, so it's definitely worth doing a few side-by-side brews to compare different vendors (keeping the price point in mind when judging the teas of course) before settling on one for future purchasing. One of the "problems" with gaoshan is that the average stuff is so palatable that many either don't seek out the really good stuff. This is a pretty okay problem to have though :lol:

An additional reason I mention trying a small amount specifically is that while gaoshan teas can keep reasonably well in their vacuum sealed packaging, it isn't necessarily the sort of tea you want to order in bulk and hoard. Better to buy with the seasons and drink it relatively quickly once opened. Some vendors might offer 75g vacuum sealed packages, which would be preferable to the standard 150g bags you might typically see (this is the standard in Taiwan, as four 150g bags make one "jin" or 600 grams) and if you open a 75g you're not really going to have any problems finishing it while it's still in its prime.

I wouldn't rule out higher oxidized teas forever as you'll probably find your tastes change after a few years in the hobby, but as long as you're trying out different things every once and a while stick with what you enjoy. :)
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