Musings on Dancong…

Semi-oxidized tea
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OCTO
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Mon Aug 20, 2018 12:35 am

Bok wrote:
Mon Aug 20, 2018 12:15 am
OCTO wrote:
Sun Aug 19, 2018 11:17 am
This is my latest purchase.. 18 cups ChaoZhou shuiping pot. So far my experiences brewing DanCong with ChaoZhou pot has been good. Enhances a lot of nuisances that was not brought forward in other teapots.
Wow, that is some seriously large teapot!

I am interpreting it in the way that you use more Western-style brewing parameters for your Dancong?
Or do you still fill it up to reach gongfu-style levels?
Parameters??.... hahahaha.... I don’t really take measurements of any parameters.... with a pot this size, I usually brew my tea western style without steeping the tea longer than it needs to.

Cheers!
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Bok
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Mon Aug 20, 2018 1:17 am

OCTO wrote:
Mon Aug 20, 2018 12:35 am
Bok wrote:
Mon Aug 20, 2018 12:15 am
OCTO wrote:
Sun Aug 19, 2018 11:17 am
This is my latest purchase.. 18 cups ChaoZhou shuiping pot. So far my experiences brewing DanCong with ChaoZhou pot has been good. Enhances a lot of nuisances that was not brought forward in other teapots.
Wow, that is some seriously large teapot!

I am interpreting it in the way that you use more Western-style brewing parameters for your Dancong?
Or do you still fill it up to reach gongfu-style levels?
Parameters??.... hahahaha.... I don’t really take measurements of any parameters.... with a pot this size, I usually brew my tea western style without steeping the tea longer than it needs to.

Cheers!
Me neither, nonetheless your reply answered my intended question ;)

Should have said: high water to leaf ratio, as opposed to the usual crammed pot for DC.

You must know your Dancong pretty well! Otherwise, get it wrong and a whole large pot of tea is wasted. As they say, once you have mastered a particular tea, any vessel or method will do!
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OCTO
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Mon Aug 20, 2018 8:38 am

Testing out latest arrival 2018 Ya Shi Xiang 🦆💩 DanCong... medium roast. It’s so fresh, the roasted smoky aroma is still present...

Cheers!!
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Bok
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Mon Aug 20, 2018 10:03 pm

Just had a friend gift me a rather special tea: Dancong leaves, but processed as black tea! Never had it and I love it.

Similar to high quality high mountain black tea from Taiwan in its forgiving nature when brewed. No bitterness at all, very sweet, powerful aftertaste and interesting fruity notes, as opposed to the honey notes most Taiwan black teas have. Very little leaf produces some very nice cups.

Going to try the opposite and see how a stuffed pot with quicker steeps does.
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Nis
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Thu Aug 30, 2018 5:58 am

Bok wrote:
Mon Aug 20, 2018 10:03 pm
Just had a friend gift me a rather special tea: Dancong leaves, but processed as black tea! Never had it and I love it.
Yunnan Sourcing has a Bai Ye Dancong black tea. Only drunk it once so far and will have to do a more thorough tasting, but you can definitely taste the dancong "heritage". Very nice tea indeed.
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OCTO
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Thu Aug 30, 2018 10:15 pm

My latest encounter with DanCong... Straight from the tea farm.

Cheers!
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25 year old aged DanCong
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2017 Charcoal Roasted DanCong
2017 Charcoal Roasted DanCong
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Baisao
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Sun Sep 02, 2018 2:14 am

Dancong doping bothers me quite a lot and I am very careful about what I purchase now after some bad experiences when blindly assessing oolongs for people. From better to worse, I have detected allspice all the way to Febreze fragrance, and all sorts of things in between.

No doubt other teas are doped. Faked milk oolong is everywhere and I’ve smelled actual cinnamon added to rou gui.

Nevertheless, doped dancongs can often be potentially dangerous in my opinion. Powdered milk is one thing, Febreze is quite another.
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tealifehk
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Tue Sep 04, 2018 3:16 am

A good way to gauge if dancong has been fragranced is if it smells like anything dry. Good dancong often has very little aroma dry. Once the water hits it...boom!

I tend to use a gaiwan for dancong brewing. I do have a very nice Chaozhou pot made by a renowned artist, but I feel it takes away too much from good dancong. For lower grade dancong, it really helps make the tea much more approachable.
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Bok
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Tue Sep 04, 2018 4:59 am

tealifehk wrote:
Tue Sep 04, 2018 3:16 am
I tend to use a gaiwan for dancong brewing. I do have a very nice Chaozhou pot made by a renowned artist, but I feel it takes away too much from good dancong. For lower grade dancong, it really helps make the tea much more approachable.
Got pictures of that pot? Would love to see a well designed CZ pot!
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tealifehk
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Tue Sep 04, 2018 5:10 am

:D :D
Bok wrote:
Tue Sep 04, 2018 4:59 am
tealifehk wrote:
Tue Sep 04, 2018 3:16 am
I tend to use a gaiwan for dancong brewing. I do have a very nice Chaozhou pot made by a renowned artist, but I feel it takes away too much from good dancong. For lower grade dancong, it really helps make the tea much more approachable.
Got pictures of that pot? Would love to see a well designed CZ pot!
Will take you some! I haven't used it in forever. I may give it a try with high fire oolong or pu erh instead as I try not to drink bad dancong. :D
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OCTO
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Tue Sep 04, 2018 6:54 am

tealifehk wrote:
Tue Sep 04, 2018 5:10 am

Will take you some! I haven't used it in forever. I may give it a try with high fire oolong or pu erh instead as I try not to drink bad dancong. :D
Yes... please share some photos!!

Have you tried with high grade medium fire DanCong?? It’s medium fired but the leaves are still green, allowed to idle in a cold environment over 12 - 18months.

I’ve tried it.... very nice.

Cheers!
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OCTO
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Tue Sep 04, 2018 8:12 am

Enjoying a cup of 2017 Winter harvest DanCong... changing to a different character after almost 9 months since harvest.

Cheers!!
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tealifehk
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Wed Sep 05, 2018 1:12 am

Here's my CZ pot! I really wouldn't put any fine dancong in it. I'd be more apt to use Yixing hongni, but even then, I'd prefer porcelain for the good stuff since the good stuff is so complex and really doesn't need any kind of muting.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPPqY2rDUAH ... tealife.hk
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Bok
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Wed Sep 05, 2018 1:51 am

tealifehk wrote:
Wed Sep 05, 2018 1:12 am
Here's my CZ pot! I really wouldn't put any fine dancong in it. I'd be more apt to use Yixing hongni, but even then, I'd prefer porcelain for the good stuff since the good stuff is so complex and really doesn't need any kind of muting.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPPqY2rDUAH ... tealife.hk
Ah! I think I've seen stuff from the same artist, or at least very similar designs.
Thanks for sharing!
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debunix
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Sun Sep 09, 2018 11:39 am

tealifehk wrote:
Tue Sep 04, 2018 3:16 am
A good way to gauge if dancong has been fragranced is if it smells like anything dry. Good dancong often has very little aroma dry. Once the water hits it...boom!
I enjoy sniffing the first-opened Dancong tea pouches from Tea Habitat before I've removed any tea. It often gives a nice preview of what I find in the tea. It's always subtle, but there is something there. I would be wary if it were quite strong....
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