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Not so sure about the rinse comment...

At least for Yancha it’s good practice to keep the rinse and leave it aside to drink last. It’s usually strong and flavourful, showing off the faults and strengths of a given Yancha.

True for all the other teas though. But I don’t rinse normally.

Bok wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 03, 2020 6:37 pm

cbrace wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 03, 2020 1:00 pm

Nis wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 03, 2020 10:47 am

It's also very important, when evaluating dancong, to use boiling water and porcelain. If you use less than boiling water and clay, it's all too easy to be fooled.

Interesting. I have been brewing dancong with 85°C water all this time...

Big mistake... Oolong likes it hot, no matter if it’s Dancong, Yancha, Tieguanyin or Taiwanese varieties. Full steam ahead!

I almost universally agree with Bok but feel there are enough differences between these teas and their subtypes to brew them at different temperatures. The calculation is a chore to write out as it is based upon past experiences and in the moment analysis of a tea in hand.

Very generally speaking: the greener the tea the lower the temperature; the browner the tea the hotter. However, adjustments are made for age and how tightly rolled a tea is or is not.

A traditional Taiwanese Tieguanyin or yancha should definitely be around 100°. Perhaps even an aged or more roasted dancong should be around 100° but most, imho, so best at 90°. A tea like baozhong is best at 85°, imo. Brewing the indicated teas as lower temps produce a different tea (perhaps less élan) but one that I find more fitting with their profiles.

All of this assumes using a small pre-heated vessel.

Bok is on the nose with saving the first pour.

The only exception I have is with YanCha and only if I hear from the farmer / manufacturer themselves that the handling of the tea is absolutely hygienic and in a clean environment. As for DanCong.... I would also rinse my Competition grade DanCong. If one is fearful that it would flush away the fragrance, rinse at a slight lower temperature... maybe around 60ºC. But I always brew with 100ºC boiling water. Why rinse?? Because the farmer advised us to rinse it... hahahaha.... I won't debate that instruction... hahahaha.... those who are based in China or have visited a tea farmer would understand what I mean... hahahaha...

Cheers!!!

OCTO wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 03, 2020 8:30 pm

...those who are based in China or have visited a tea farmer would understand what I mean... hahahaha...

Or visited a Chinese restaurant kitchen, even in the US. The things I have seen!

Baisao wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 03, 2020 8:49 pm

OCTO wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 03, 2020 8:30 pm

...those who are based in China or have visited a tea farmer would understand what I mean... hahahaha...

Or visited a Chinese restaurant kitchen, even in the US. The things I have seen!

hahahaha..... yeah... we have a local saying here... "if your food is tasty and good, don't walk into the kitchen!"... hahahaha....

I've been incredibly happy with my purchases from Tea Habitat, anyone who has tried their stuff found anything that compares? YS and w2t did not hold a candle.

karma wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 03, 2020 11:33 pm

I've been incredibly happy with my purchases from Tea Habitat, anyone who has tried their stuff found anything that compares? YS and w2t did not hold a candle.

sorry nope. I've not tried any from YS nor from W2T. I've always bought my DC direct from the farmer through my buddy''s tea company here in Malaysia.

Cheers!

Full pot, full boil, fully delicious.

Sourced ages ago in Fangcun.

+1 for hojo.
+1 for tea habitat.

+1 for West China Tea here in Austin. I like his Magnolia Fragrance and Behind the Ditch.

I’m suspicious of WCT due to Sohan directly lying about a milk oolong to my face one time. Asked if it was flavored and he said no. Guess what it was?

Worth trying their other teas tho?

karma wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 05, 2020 11:52 am

I’m suspicious of WCT due to Sohan directly lying about a milk oolong to my face one time. Asked if it was flavored and he said no. Guess what it was?

Worth trying their other teas tho?

I don't think he sells milk oolong.

I do feel his stuff is way overpriced. For example:

https://westchinatea.com/dragon-egg-yix ... ay-teapot/

Made from Yixing Zhu Ni "Crimson Clay" and hand-thrown by Chaozhou potter Chen Zh

Modern zhu ni clay hand thrown chao zhou style and sold for $250 as an yixing??

A lot of his teas are close to 1$/gram. Justified? There is very little info on his pages other than marketing background. For example a lot of fanciful history on cultivar, but many don't have basic info on season, picking processing specs, etc.

His videos really turn me off, so I'm probably biased.

karma wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 05, 2020 11:52 am

I’m suspicious of WCT due to Sohan directly lying about a milk oolong to my face one time. Asked if it was flavored and he said no. Guess what it was?

Worth trying their other teas tho?

I’d say yes.

He doesn’t know Taiwanese teas very well as his focus is on Chinese teas. I’ve had other sellers tell me their milk oolong was not flavored but they obviously were. I think it has to do with two things: unfamiliarity with real jin xuan and not being skeptical of their suppliers.

I had a dancong from WTC that I believe was altered with allspice. Sohan said the farmer wouldn’t even know what allspice is. I say the world is an open marketplace.

His dancongs haven’t made me feel badly like other doped dancongs. Not all of them are doped and the ones I mentioned above have been nice.

His puerh selection seems good and he has some nice yancha. Occasionally, he’ll get some unusual greens. Usually pricy. I wouldn’t write WTC off for a couple of dogs.

All that said, the cleanest dancongs I’ve had were from Teance.

LeoFox wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 05, 2020 12:34 pm

https://westchinatea.com/dragon-egg-yix ... ay-teapot/

Made from Yixing Zhu Ni "Crimson Clay" and hand-thrown by Chaozhou potter Chen Zh

Modern zhu ni clay hand thrown chao zhou style and sold for $250 as an yixing??

I wonder if Chen Zhu is an artist name for Mary Cotterman. She made pots identical to this in Chaozhou and sold them through Sohan. I asked her about the zhuni clay from Yixing and she added some subtle detail to that: the clay is from Yixing and one “they call zhuni” (according to color and not that is is the same as zhuni), but the teapot is made in Chaozhou.

Regardless of what the clay actually is, it is very porous like low fired hongni. It takes mineral stains quickly.

LeoFox wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 05, 2020 12:34 pm

karma wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 05, 2020 11:52 am

I’m suspicious of WCT due to Sohan directly lying about a milk oolong to my face one time. Asked if it was flavored and he said no. Guess what it was?

Worth trying their other teas tho?

I don't think he sells milk oolong.

this was face to face a year or two ago