100 times roasted oolong
Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2023 10:10 pm
I've got a sample of roasted oolong from my friend. It's supposed to be 100x roasted. Not 88 times , not 98 time , no any other odd number, but exaclty 100 times 
It does make me wonder :
1) how many ( even gentle ) roasts would take to the leaf in stage of being just charcoal dust taste like without preserving any original notes of the actual leaf?
2) how one can distinguish by teaste ( or visual ) if leaf was roasted 40 times light or 20 times medium or 10 times medium-heavy , without having actually those 3 side by side to compare ? I mean, is it possible to learn such a pattern ?
3) the sample I've got had this cocoa , nuts roast notes with hint of alcohol notes ( like rum or something , which I know form wet stored shu puerhs ...those can develope , as some people call bourbon notes, it's kinda stingy , but very subtle at the background ) ..but what is this signify in oolong tea?
From Yunnan oolong producer I've learned that after 3 roastings , usually nobody want's that tea here anymore. Now , of course one could argue saying : their roasting methond is wrong ( although it is TW producers doing oolong biz here ) , or Yunnan people don't like roasted stuff ( which is kinda truth, they call it " hu wei " ...burned taste , not good ) .
As I saw on one video , the 1 roasting cycle actually takes 3x roast with some rest between , so the question is , if somebody says 12x roast , is it like 4 of those cycles or actually 12 cycles ( 36x roast ) ?
Anyway, just wonder what is the our T-comunity take on that one.
Cheers!
It does make me wonder :
1) how many ( even gentle ) roasts would take to the leaf in stage of being just charcoal dust taste like without preserving any original notes of the actual leaf?
2) how one can distinguish by teaste ( or visual ) if leaf was roasted 40 times light or 20 times medium or 10 times medium-heavy , without having actually those 3 side by side to compare ? I mean, is it possible to learn such a pattern ?
3) the sample I've got had this cocoa , nuts roast notes with hint of alcohol notes ( like rum or something , which I know form wet stored shu puerhs ...those can develope , as some people call bourbon notes, it's kinda stingy , but very subtle at the background ) ..but what is this signify in oolong tea?
From Yunnan oolong producer I've learned that after 3 roastings , usually nobody want's that tea here anymore. Now , of course one could argue saying : their roasting methond is wrong ( although it is TW producers doing oolong biz here ) , or Yunnan people don't like roasted stuff ( which is kinda truth, they call it " hu wei " ...burned taste , not good ) .
As I saw on one video , the 1 roasting cycle actually takes 3x roast with some rest between , so the question is , if somebody says 12x roast , is it like 4 of those cycles or actually 12 cycles ( 36x roast ) ?
Anyway, just wonder what is the our T-comunity take on that one.
Cheers!
