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Bok wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 07, 2020 10:37 am

Bitterness can (but doesn’t have to) be more prevalent though in the “wilder” tea leaves.

That's what I was thinking, and I am curious as to whether that is the case with this tea. I've had some interesting variations on 'wild' teas from Yunnan Sourcing and Norbu that have been exceptions.

debunix wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 07, 2020 10:11 am

Baisao wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 07, 2020 2:47 am

Regarding The Steeping Room, I heartily recommend their Shan Cha. It’s the native tea bush of Taiwan, Camilia formosiensis, and has very potent cha qi. It’s delicious!

This sounds very interesting. With black teas, I'm always wary because of bitterness, but if this one is processed similar to 'Ruby' and 'Sun Moon Lake' blacks, and is similarly low in bitterness, I would love to try it.

I also don’t like bitter teas but I tolerate them if the bitterness adds something, like how hoppy bitterness contributes to the enjoyment of an IPA. It’s been a month since I had it last and I don’t recall it being bitter but having just a little maltiness.

This and the Da Xue Shan are jammy and coat the corners of my lips. I’m brewing them a little cooler at around 195°. It’s a hard to find tea and worth trying.

Baisao wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 07, 2020 1:06 pm

I tolerate them if the bitterness adds something, like how hoppy bitterness contributes to the enjoyment of an IPA. It’s been a month since I had it last and I don’t recall it being bitter but having just a little maltiness.

Thanks, that helps. I can handle a little hint of bitter but dilute my tea to avoid overt bitterness I can't handle--and I can't handle beer.

debunix wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 07, 2020 1:37 pm

Baisao wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 07, 2020 1:06 pm

I tolerate them if the bitterness adds something, like how hoppy bitterness contributes to the enjoyment of an IPA. It’s been a month since I had it last and I don’t recall it being bitter but having just a little maltiness.

Thanks, that helps. I can handle a little hint of bitter but dilute my tea to avoid overt bitterness I can't handle--and I can't handle beer.

@debunix

I made a small gaiwan of it just now and it is malty and while there is some bitterness it’s not as extreme to me as assams are. Regarding malty-bitterness it is like #18, unsurprisingly. I don’t like maltiness but this is yummy.

If you are a fan of #18 then you’ll probably enjoy this. It’s also reasonably priced at around $6/oz. I think the seller has it at cost because she misaligned with her audience.

thanks! I'll scout the site and see if there is anything else I can use to justify an order.....hard to do with all the fine yancha in the house, but I suspect some fruity black teas would be wonderful as sparkling tea, another option for hot weather. Sparkling tea season probably will last well into October....

debunix wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 07, 2020 3:01 pm

thanks! I'll scout the site and see if there is anything else I can use to justify an order.....hard to do with all the fine yancha in the house, but I suspect some fruity black teas would be wonderful as sparkling tea, another option for hot weather. Sparkling tea season probably will last well into October....

I order a cake of this every time I place an order. It’s a solid white and already aged. Lots of spice notes.

https://www.thesteepingroom.com/collect ... -mei-white

Of course orders help keep this nice tea house open during the pandemic. They’ve had to scale back considerably to just tea sales and online food sales.

W2T's "Daily Jinjunmei"

Threw in a 50g sample of this together with a bunch of lapsang samples I was ordering. Today is my second day of brewing it.

It's nice! It is what it claims to be, definitely not less and possibly a little bit more. I usually stay clear of cheap JJM's, the taste is usually fine but I often find that the body reaction is not quite right (this is true for me with many cheap black teas, it's always the body reaction that most clearly distinguishes the quality). This one however is very pleasant. Definitely something I'll consider picking up more of.

(Oh, and in before someone points out that this is definitely a "real JJM". I know, just as all the Da Hong Pao I've had is definitely not "real DHP" )

Having a good session with @Ethan Kurland’s Jun Chiyabari Himalayan Orange (HOR) organic black from Dhankuta, Nepal. Honey muscatel and malty notes. The last few weeks I’ve been ‘tea challenged‘ having traveled to the east coast away from calmer sessions, and using Trader Joe’s Artesian New Zealand. I use to think this water was pretty good, but now find it brings out tanic notes so use cooler water to compensate. Even though TDS (53ppm) and pH (8.89) are fine, It has higher alkalinity (110ppm) and more sodium (41ppm) than other sources.

Currently drinking some Yunnan Sourcing Laoshan black tea. It reminds me a lot of their Qimen black in its light golden color, its smell of toasted corn, and its cocoa taste. I enjoyed it, but it comes across as a little weak. It only goes for a couple of steepings before it starts to taste a bit weaker in flavor. I might have some Yunnan Black Gold later, which yields a slightly darker color and more potent-tasting cup.

2019 Arya Diamond SF Darjeeling (Gold Edition) from Thunderbolt. so good i had two sessions in a row of it.

pedant wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 07, 2020 4:09 pm

2019 Arya Diamond SF Darjeeling (Gold Edition) from Thunderbolt. so good i had two sessions in a row of it.

@pedant, Arya is fantastic, huh.

The past couple days I've immensely enjoyed teaspring's yunnan pure gold (isn't actually 100% gold, but tastes much better than most that are), keemun hao ya A, and keemun xian zhen. I've had these three from this vendor before, and glad to see they stand up to memory.

@@joelbct

Your post inspired me to try a pure gold black tea. Brewed up Imperial Pure Gold Bi Luo Chun Black Tea of Feng Qing, 2019 Fall, from Yunnan Sourcing. This was my first time brewing it

Brewed western style 1 g/100 mL in glass for 6 min in 90 C water

Really enjoyed watching the beautiful small, tight golden coils unfurl, transforming into large copper brown whole leaf buds in my glass teapot.

The tea is creamy, with honey, milk chocolate and sweet potato notes. In the front, there is almost no bitterness; it is very smooth. However, the aftertaste is dry, earthy, and slightly metallic, reminiscent of young shou pu erh in a bad way.

Overall, the brew is pleasant in the front but not particularly complex. The aftertaste is a bit disappointing. Provided me with good focus this morning as i looked through tons of data.

LeoFox wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 20, 2020 11:58 am

Your post inspired me to try a pure gold black tea. Brewed up Imperial Pure Gold Bi Luo Chun Black Tea of Feng Qing, 2019 Fall, from Yunnan Sourcing. This was my first time brewing it

Brewed western style 1 g/100 mL in glass for 6 min in 90 C water

Sounds like a nice session @LeoFox. Curious, do you prefer a lighter steep, so use less leaf typically? 1g/100ml sounds on light side but then your are steeping for 6 min. For blacks that do well with hotter water typically I’ll go for +- 2.5g/100ml/185f-195f/3-4min

Victoria wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 20, 2020 12:32 pm

LeoFox wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 20, 2020 11:58 am

Your post inspired me to try a pure gold black tea. Brewed up Imperial Pure Gold Bi Luo Chun Black Tea of Feng Qing, 2019 Fall, from Yunnan Sourcing. This was my first time brewing it

Brewed western style 1 g/100 mL in glass for 6 min in 90 C water

Sounds like a nice session LeoFox. Curious, do you prefer a lighter steep, so use less leaf typically? 1g/100ml sounds on light side but then your are steeping for 6 min. For blacks that do well with hotter water typically I’ll go for +- 2.5g/100ml/185f-195f/3-4min

I really don't like bitterness, so i brew accordingly.

When i brew a black tea for the first time, i typically brew 1 g/100 mL for 4 min. At that point, i sample to see how it is. If not robust enough, i let it go longer. 25% of the time, it is already too robust.

I have not had good experience going higher than 1 g / 100 mL with black tea unless i am doing gongfu ( 4 g per 100 and doing 10 to 20 second steeps in the beginning)

Also i have not had good experience going much above 90 C. A sourness tends to develop for chinese black teas, and it gets too astringent for subcontinent teas.

Maybe it would be different with a muting pot. I am tempted to use hojo's carbon reduced sado pot with subcontinent black teas, but want to reserve it for gyokuros and maybe heavy roasted oolongs

Sado sounds kinky... I'll go look see in the Hojo store