Lets talk about Da Yu Ling

Semi-oxidized tea
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Brent D
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Tue Apr 03, 2018 4:33 pm

Enjoying that FSS as well. I think I didnt let it sit long enough before trying it after it arrived. At first I was a bit disappointed. After about a week of sitting in a container it really opened up. A wonderful sweetness to the finish. Extremely enjoyable. I have been testing this with porcelain, clay and silver. I am finding my silver pot really makes this tea shine. It prolongs the finish without muting the initial creamyness that clay seems to take away for me.
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d.manuk
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Tue Apr 03, 2018 6:15 pm

I also think that Da Yu Ling is my favorite type of tea, aside from extremely aged sheng that's had decent storage. Of course, not all teas that are called Da Yu Ling by vendors have hit the spot for me, but I've had a handful of good ones by now to know what to expect.

I've had a few Da Yu Ling from 90K, 95K, 99K, and one 101K. I would say there is a big difference even between 95K and 90K in terms of complexity. Maybe this is just due to a difference in processing rather than elevation; my tasting sample size is still somewhat small. But it still worries me and makes me sad as OP has pointed out. The 101K can no longer be bought from my source.
Ethan Kurland
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Wed Apr 04, 2018 6:39 pm

Brent D wrote:
Tue Apr 03, 2018 4:33 pm
... I am finding my silver pot really makes this tea shine. It prolongs the finish without muting the initial creamyness that clay seems to take away for me.
Well, that is a surprise! I never consider silver. I think I refused some old silver pots (large ones) when someone has died and relatives are giving things away. Glad you like the FSS.
I opened a packet of dayuling. From a farmer/producer from whom I obtained the "same" DYL about 2 years ago, I assumed I must treat it the same as I did seasons ago. WRONG. This DYL doesn't require yixing & quick infusions to avoid some flavors that I dislike. In fact it seems better when prepared in wide glazed teaware. (Better aroma & visuals.)

Nice to be reminds about 101 etc. Not mentioned to me recently, I had forgotten. Things change. DYL that changed greatly through infusions provided some unique pleasure, but also terrible frustration. One infusion might have a hint of minerals that was perfect & the next infusion tasted like awful medicine. This DYL does not change so much for me infusion to infusion. It is better than more ordinary oolong & really does not cost more per round of tea because it provides so many infusions. Cheers all
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esontea
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Mon Apr 30, 2018 11:35 am

hello I am DYL 95k tea farmer in Taiwan.

Because of the thicker leaves of Taiwanese mountain oolong,
I recommend to pour the water into the pot immediately after boiling with clay or porcelain teapot.

In addition to DYL and Lishan, there are some tea producing regions such as Fushoushan and Huagang with high altitude. However, due to the different geographical and geographical conditions, the unique pinecone fragrance in DYL is distinguished.Even in DYL, the taste of tea with different K-numbers is different.
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Baisao
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Tue May 01, 2018 12:45 am

esontea wrote:
Mon Apr 30, 2018 11:35 am
hello I am DYL 95k tea farmer in Taiwan.

Because of the thicker leaves of Taiwanese mountain oolong,
I recommend to pour the water into the pot immediately after boiling with clay or porcelain teapot.

In addition to DYL and Lishan, there are some tea producing regions such as Fushoushan and Huagang with high altitude. However, due to the different geographical and geographical conditions, the unique pinecone fragrance in DYL is distinguished.Even in DYL, the taste of tea with different K-numbers is different.
I had a 95k three years ago that was the best I’ve had in 15 years of drinking gaoshan cha. I’ll admit that my tastes have changed over the years and I prefer mid-oxidized charcoal roasted oolongs more, but it’s still a treat to have a truly great high mountain oolong, especially a dong piang, every once in a while.
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esontea
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Tue May 01, 2018 4:13 am

Baisao wrote:
Tue May 01, 2018 12:45 am
I had a 95k three years ago that was the best I’ve had in 15 years of drinking gaoshan cha. I’ll admit that my tastes have changed over the years and I prefer mid-oxidized charcoal roasted oolongs more, but it’s still a treat to have a truly great high mountain oolong, especially a dong piang, every once in a while.
you could take tea to roast in a small tea roaster so that the high-mountain oolong be turn into Charcoal-flavored tea.
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Victoria
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Tue May 01, 2018 9:28 am

Baisao wrote:
Tue May 01, 2018 12:45 am

I had a 95k three years ago that was the best I’ve had in 15 years of drinking gaoshan cha. I’ll admit that my tastes have changed over the years and I prefer mid-oxidized charcoal roasted oolongs more, but it’s still a treat to have a truly great high mountain oolong, especially a dong piang, every once in a while.
This reminds me to recommend Dong Piang to Shine Magical. I think you would really like it given it’s light fresh profile with notes of light bouquet of lilies and orchids.
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Bok
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Tue May 01, 2018 9:58 am

Victoria wrote:
Tue May 01, 2018 9:28 am
Baisao wrote:
Tue May 01, 2018 12:45 am

I had a 95k three years ago that was the best I’ve had in 15 years of drinking gaoshan cha. I’ll admit that my tastes have changed over the years and I prefer mid-oxidized charcoal roasted oolongs more, but it’s still a treat to have a truly great high mountain oolong, especially a dong piang, every once in a while.
This reminds me to recommend Dong Piang to Shine Magical. I think you would really like it given it’s light fresh profile with notes of light bouquet of lilies and orchids.
Depends on what kind of Dongpian it is, they can vary a lot, from the grassy, sencha-like to buttery rich, from boring to marvelous... Some years I buy a lot, some I skip it.

One farmer from Lishan I talked to said they do not bother with doing a Dongpian as the quality is not steady enough and did not meet their standards.
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Tue May 01, 2018 10:24 am

esontea wrote:
Mon Apr 30, 2018 11:35 am
hello I am DYL 95k tea farmer in Taiwan.

Because of the thicker leaves of Taiwanese mountain oolong,
I recommend to pour the water into the pot immediately after boiling with clay or porcelain teapot.

the unique pinecone fragrance in DYL is distinguished.Even in DYL, the taste of tea with different K-numbers is different.
It has taken me a long time to use hotter water. I won't go to full boil, but just off (94C to 98C). My best results for DYL & foushoushan have been in fairly thick porcelain bowls. Aroma coming from both of these is very pleasant and appetizing, but these scents do not make me think of pinecones.
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d.manuk
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Tue May 01, 2018 10:30 am

I have a few Dong Piang teas in my storage but haven’t tried them yet. I’ll give them a try this weeekend. :D
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Baisao
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Tue May 01, 2018 3:45 pm

Shine Magical wrote:
Tue May 01, 2018 10:30 am
I have a few Dong Piang teas in my storage but haven’t tried them yet. I’ll give them a try this weeekend. :D
Being a cold weather crop the leaves should have more pectin in them, resulting in a brew with more slip. It's especially nice to use a water with low TDS so as not to play "tone on tone". The thickness of the pectin is one of the things I like best about dong piang. It's soothing to the throat.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, I think it is best to use cooler water and to let the leaves open slowly. If done right there will be a gardenia aroma along with the expected scents mentioned above. The notion of forcing the leaves to open with near boiling water will produce a conventional cup of gaoshan cha, but you will also extract less pleasant flavors that should remain in the leaves. I think there is something to waking these leaves gently compared to waking them violently.
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esontea
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Wed May 02, 2018 2:59 am

Ethan Kurland wrote:
Tue May 01, 2018 10:24 am
esontea wrote:
Mon Apr 30, 2018 11:35 am
hello I am DYL 95k tea farmer in Taiwan.

Because of the thicker leaves of Taiwanese mountain oolong,
I recommend to pour the water into the pot immediately after boiling with clay or porcelain teapot.

the unique pinecone fragrance in DYL is distinguished.Even in DYL, the taste of tea with different K-numbers is different.
It has taken me a long time to use hotter water. I won't go to full boil, but just off (94C to 98C). My best results for DYL & foushoushan have been in fairly thick porcelain bowls. Aroma coming from both of these is very pleasant and appetizing, but these scents do not make me think of pinecones.
There are two reasons why I use higher temperature blisters.

The first reason is I live in high mountains and There is lower boiling point.Tea can't stretch without boiling hot blisters.
The second reason is the warmer water temperature with the tea will amplify the impurities of the tea.Even if you buy tea at a tea factory, you will get not high quality of tea with high percentage of in Taiwan.

Incidentally, the tea in the DYL tea region will begin to be harvested on May 8(estimated date).
Although my English is poor, if someone is convenient, I can make an appointment to take you to visit DYL region.
Ethan Kurland
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Tue Oct 02, 2018 1:30 pm

Brent D wrote:
Thu Oct 12, 2017 10:01 am
Of all the tea I drink, Dayuling is my absolute favorite. The day seems to be coming when its all gone. The really high altitude stuff is already pretty much gone, or at least I cant find it.
It has been at least two months since I drank dayuling. I opened a pack yesterday & steeped in a yixing pot that holds 30ml of liquid (without leaves inside). I put in more pearls of tea than necessary; so, after the leaves opened up I was only pouring out about 15 ml of tea; &, liquid was getting trapped inside. Nonetheless, water from 90C - 98C in the pot for 10 - 20 seconds came out deliciously changed. I get a light-bodied but flavorful brew from DYL, not obtained from other oolong. After a few infusions, I think taste was starting to stick to my tongue etc. & eventually a lovely aftertaste lingered between rounds & after the session was finished.

Today I used much less leaves. I lost no flavor, only the feel of the tea coating my mouth was weaker.

I looked through some notes I had written about a year ago; notes said to use 4 - 6 pearls in my 30 ml yixing.

Looking through notes on DYL & other oolong from Origin Tea, (long ago) I see a familiar pattern. Some oolong seemed to be more complex then, with minerals & other characteristics in play. For me, this was a pleasure & also always a problem. I see that a hint of bitterness in the first 2 rounds would become too dominant soon, etc. Alas, I conclude tea changes for better & for worse, but there is good tea to be had. We may miss a hint of minerals, while forgetting that sessions that began deliciously turned into memories of being forced to swallow tablespoons of awful-tasting medicine.

Note: I have said in the past that the DYL that I drink (& have sold) is special because it changes so much from infusion to infusion. I realize that though I am sure there are noticeable changes, that I also drink DYL differently than other teas. I always prepare & drink small amounts. I don't prepare other teas in my tiny pots. This means I may notice what is going on.... I am more alert to it because cups contain less than one ounce (instead of 2 - 4 oz.) but also I always complete drinking all 9 or 10 rounds in one go.

Overall, I think there is good DYL to be had. Sure, it is a difficult tea for the times, & not only for what goes on at farms & in the markets. It is a subtle tea with lots of nuances; &, subtlety doesn't compete well with all of distractions around us.
jason19870313
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Wed Jun 26, 2019 10:15 am

Shine Magical wrote:
Tue Apr 03, 2018 6:15 pm
I also think that Da Yu Ling is my favorite type of tea, aside from extremely aged sheng that's had decent storage. Of course, not all teas that are called Da Yu Ling by vendors have hit the spot for me, but I've had a handful of good ones by now to know what to expect.

I've had a few Da Yu Ling from 90K, 95K, 99K, and one 101K. I would say there is a big difference even between 95K and 90K in terms of complexity. Maybe this is just due to a difference in processing rather than elevation; my tasting sample size is still somewhat small. But it still worries me and makes me sad as OP has pointed out. The 101K can no longer be bought from my source.
Real dayuling tea is only 95k 98k 100k 101k and 103k.

90k is li shan tea.
teataiwanlover
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Thu Jun 27, 2019 6:01 am

woa
Last edited by teataiwanlover on Tue Jul 09, 2019 7:52 am, edited 2 times in total.
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