Good morning,
Until now I have not had
occasion to taste a black tea;
the theme of teina made me nervous and
opt for lighter infusions, start with a tea
green kukitcha long until probe
Puher and flash charm me, then oolong,
to gradually discover.
I would also like to know more about when
of the day is better to take; up to date in the morning
before breakfast and the 16:00 afternoon.
Best regards
Lluis Abad
What Black Are You Drinking
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entropyembrace
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Another top quality black tea from Yunnan sourcing for me today. 
This time it's Light Roast Wild Tree Purple Varietal Black Tea of Dehong * Spring 2017. Actually, this is the tea that the Jinggu Big Tree Assamica dethroned as my favourite black tea. This one has a really rich fruity flavour with a black grape skin like bitterness.
This time it's Light Roast Wild Tree Purple Varietal Black Tea of Dehong * Spring 2017. Actually, this is the tea that the Jinggu Big Tree Assamica dethroned as my favourite black tea. This one has a really rich fruity flavour with a black grape skin like bitterness.- 2016_light_roast_dehong_1_b7076ace-481a-4fe0-98c8-983baad5c343_grande.jpg (52.54 KiB) Viewed 15826 times
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Ethan Kurland
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Enjoying a Ruby Jade #18 bought last year in Taiwan. Excellent and satisfying; not very complex but represents the work to create a unique, tasty tea from Sinesis and Assamica very well. Still the best #18 that I have tried. Vacuum packs kept this tea new, exactly as it was a year ago.
The best Ruby 18 I have had so far was from Floating Leaves, up in Seattle. Rich and complex with a range of sweet and spicy profiles like; roasted sweet potatoes, mint, roasted chestnuts, camphor, and somewhat musky. #18 is a hybrid between a native wild variety in Taiwan, and the Assam varietal brought to Taiwan by the Japanese in 1926. #18 was introduced in 1999, by TRES (Tea Research & Extension Station) so is relatively new, although in development for decades. Black tea has been in Taiwan for some time, with the Japanese increasing its production in Taiwan for export during the 1st Japanese occupation (1894 - April 1895).Ethan Kurland wrote: ↑Thu Oct 26, 2017 2:12 pmEnjoying a Ruby Jade #18 bought last year in Taiwan. Excellent and satisfying; not very complex but represents the work to create a unique, tasty tea from Sinesis and Assamica very well. Still the best #18 that I have tried. Vacuum packs kept this tea new, exactly as it was a year ago.
At the moment, I'm sipping on Ethan's Jun Chiyabari Organic Himalayan Orange (HOR), mmm so rich, spicy and sweet. I'll need more soon. Steeping western style in a 500ml Japanese glazed Kiyomizu ware pot, and using another Seto ware pot as a pitcher.
p.s. How are you steeping your HOR ? gr/oz/temp/time ? I’m getting 2 good steeps and the rest are just so so.
I also quite like this HOR. I am one of those aforementioned people who gong fu this tea. I get up to six infusions of nice flavours. I use a slightly reduced amount of leaves than for normal gong fu. I found it best with lower temp water than for oolongs and a slightly increased steeping time. I have had that tea one or two years ago, not sure how much it changed in the meantime.Victoria wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2017 3:54 pmAt the moment, I'm sipping on Ethan's Jun Chiyabari Organic Himalayan Orange (HOR), mmm so rich, spicy and sweet. I'll need more soon. Steeping western style in a 500ml Japanese glazed Kiyomizu ware pot, and using another Seto ware pot as a pitcher.
p.s. How are you steeping your HOR ? gr/oz/temp/time ? I’m getting 2 good steeps and the rest are just so so.
A really good alternative to Indian Darjeelings.
As far as No.18 is concerned I seemed to have grown out of a once loving relationship… not really my cup of tea anymore. What once attracted me, its unique flavour profile, I find now a bit vulgar for the lack of a better word. Like when someone wears too much perfume. Don’t get me wrong, N.18 has no added fragrances, it is naturally like this.
By far one of the easiest black teas to precisely recognize, it really is quite unique!
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Ethan Kurland
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As you probably have guessed, I am a bit eccentric (to be kind to myself) or neurotic (if one is not so kind) which manifests itself is some aversions, one being taking photographs., Nonetheless, I like photographs and am grateful to see the HOR in such a good picture, thanks Victoria.
To answer your question about preparing HOR: I use water a bit below boiling, I think about 95C, most of the time. I sometimes go slightly lower. I steep for 30 - 45 seconds. I use a modest amount of leaves (less than most people). I get 2 infusions. I blend at least half of the infusions together, often all of them.
Some people prepare this gongfu style, but for me this brings out astringency and bitterness which I don't like.
As to FLT and Ruby 18, I have a strange history with both:
I was a customer of FLT and even had some nice conversations with its owner. Then I got some "Ruby 18" from FLT that was awful. I put the quotation marks because I wonder whether the tea sent to me was a total mistake, and not #18.. Simply put; a lack of positive response from FLT even after I returned the tea to them to inspect, led to me repeating the events a few times on Teachat which irked people who like FLT. It seems I am the only person in the world who had a problem with FLT and "doomed" to suffer that distinction forever, since it is usually a considerate, efficient operation.
In Taiwan I seemed doomed to never find an affordable good Ruby 18 until dedication to the quest paid off. In 2016 I tried the Ruby 18 that I drink and sell now. This year the #21 was up in quality and #18 was down in quality. Cheers
To answer your question about preparing HOR: I use water a bit below boiling, I think about 95C, most of the time. I sometimes go slightly lower. I steep for 30 - 45 seconds. I use a modest amount of leaves (less than most people). I get 2 infusions. I blend at least half of the infusions together, often all of them.
Some people prepare this gongfu style, but for me this brings out astringency and bitterness which I don't like.
As to FLT and Ruby 18, I have a strange history with both:
I was a customer of FLT and even had some nice conversations with its owner. Then I got some "Ruby 18" from FLT that was awful. I put the quotation marks because I wonder whether the tea sent to me was a total mistake, and not #18.. Simply put; a lack of positive response from FLT even after I returned the tea to them to inspect, led to me repeating the events a few times on Teachat which irked people who like FLT. It seems I am the only person in the world who had a problem with FLT and "doomed" to suffer that distinction forever, since it is usually a considerate, efficient operation.
In Taiwan I seemed doomed to never find an affordable good Ruby 18 until dedication to the quest paid off. In 2016 I tried the Ruby 18 that I drink and sell now. This year the #21 was up in quality and #18 was down in quality. Cheers
Ethan the awesome picture above is Bok’s, the wabi sabi dark background with streaks of light captures the deep orange liquor perfectly.
With black teas I seem to fall back on Western style brewing out of habit. It’s surprising how casual I am, dump a couple of scoops of leaves, some off boil water, wait 3 mintures and transfer. The results not always great, so I usually dump back into pot with leaves or need to add hot water to thin out
it’s funny because with all other teas I’m so precise. Anyway, that’s what lead to my steeping question. Time to get a little more focused since HOR is so good. I’ll try gong fu style with HOR to see how it tastes. Will also start keeping a log.
Ethan, steeping 30-45 seconds sounds like gong fu to me? Re your FLT story; might just chalk that one up to an unusual situation, not really reflective of Shiuwen.
About your Ruby 18; you say it is not as complex as you would like, and down in quality, but the 21 is good. Can you elaborate?
With black teas I seem to fall back on Western style brewing out of habit. It’s surprising how casual I am, dump a couple of scoops of leaves, some off boil water, wait 3 mintures and transfer. The results not always great, so I usually dump back into pot with leaves or need to add hot water to thin out
it’s funny because with all other teas I’m so precise. Anyway, that’s what lead to my steeping question. Time to get a little more focused since HOR is so good. I’ll try gong fu style with HOR to see how it tastes. Will also start keeping a log.Ethan, steeping 30-45 seconds sounds like gong fu to me? Re your FLT story; might just chalk that one up to an unusual situation, not really reflective of Shiuwen.
About your Ruby 18; you say it is not as complex as you would like, and down in quality, but the 21 is good. Can you elaborate?
Right now:
oolong: Da Hong Pao and 'Honey Aroma' Tie Guan Yin
Gracias
Dianhong, jinjunmei and unsmoked lapsang souchong would be my picks! Darjeeling is good too but I think pickings are a bit slim this year (forgive the pun)!