Your day in tea

[Ethan Kurland]

.... I have this pot that I bought back when Tead Off was selling Seong-Il tea ware on Teachat. He called it a gaiwan, which seems weird to me, but by any name it’s the perfect pot for TPHK.

The gaiwan looks pretty. Do the little decorative "buttons" help you grip the gaiwan w/o burning your fingers?
I think gaiwan is a better word than pot for this piece; however, there might even be a better word. As long as you enjoy it....
I have drunk tea w/ Teadoff in his place in Bangkok a few times. He has so much pretty teaware, but hardly ever uses his good pieces.

[Janice]

I actually use a gaiwan type grip when the water is hot so I haven’t tested the buttons. I never had the pleasure of meeting Tead Off in person but think of him fondly when I’m in Bangkok with my son and we take out pizza from the place he recommended.

[oeroe]

Mostly a lurker for years checking in, some aged-ish Changtai this morning. Repro-vintage pot which I really like for pu'er.

It's getting warm in here, but morning are quite cool. I like semi-aged teas for times like these.

[Balthazar]

501 8542 today. I've been alternating between this and the 801 7542 for ten days or so, using the same big pot every day. They are both in a good place to be enjoyed right now. The 8542, a recipe I have no experience with beside this batch, feels slightly more punchy and powerful and is a little more finicky in terms of brewing. Both teas share a resinous profile with woody (8542 in particular) and fruity (7542 in particular) elements playing second fiddle. Good energy ,body and huigan.

There's something about these mid-aged Dayi blends I keep craving. Especially for unfocused brewing spanning the whole day, I can't think of many other teas I'd rather reach for.

[Andrew S]

Some spare time today has resulted in trying two new yanchas and one new hongcha (for a total of about 16g of tea so far - small pots help).

I think there was a discussion around here about how much tea is too much. I've always found myself to be content with any quantity of tea, whether it's one small session in the morning, or 25g over the whole day (in sharp contrast to when I drank coffee daily, which did feel like an unhealthy and uncomfortable dependency...).

Andrew

[teacreacha7]

Having a bit of White2Tea's "Lumber Slut" Shou Pu'er while I work. Love this tea, very robust and sweet. This is my "functional setup." Nothing fancy! I'm thinking about retiring this cheap gaiwan because its starting to have crazing, but I do enjoy using it!

[Andrew S]

Today felt warmer than most days over the last few weeks, and the air felt a bit stagnant with no nice breeze, so it was time for some baozhong and two green teas, out of style for me.

The baozhong was one that I've been brewing on and off for weeks now - today was the last bit left, and felt like it had evolved a deeper fruitiness than before, but just as refreshing.

The first green was a JinXuan that was all about umami and fresh peas, and the second one was a different cultivar that was much fruitier and cooler, more about the long aftertaste.

I predict that I'll be attacking my old puer soon as temperature and humidity start to rise.

Andrew

[teacreacha7]

My wife and I got tea at our local tea shop! (Ku Cha in Boulder, Co) So cool to have a local place that rents out Gong Fu sets... even if they are a little "well loved."

[LeoFox]

Going through some few years old lishan green oolong - and I am wondering if there are any true critical quality attributes for tea claimed to be grown on that mountain. My limited experience from different vendors has been that they all seem to display at minimum- a strong thickness and butteriness that Is rarely encountered from gaoshan claimed to be from other mountains

The level of associated florals, fruitiness, etc, seem to be more variable.

[Bourder]

Recently I've been brewing heicha by either boiling it on a stove or simply by throwing a chunk into a thermos and letting it sit in just boiled water at 1g/100ml. These methods work much better than my attempts to brew it in smaller vessels. The cups are strong and consistent, they are also numerous.

[Andrew S]

Saying goodbye to a nice yancha, and brewing it with a lighter hand than in the past, both to get a different experience and to stretch the brews out a little...

Andrew

[Baiyun]

Starting the day with a wild garden shanlinxi.

Looking forward to some yancha later today.

After a few days of rather impactful Jingmai and Lao Man E sheng I am longing for some aromatics.

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[GaoShan]

Going through some few years old lishan green oolong - and I am wondering if there are any true critical quality attributes for tea claimed to be grown on that mountain. My limited experience from different vendors has been that they all seem to display at minimum- a strong thickness and butteriness that Is rarely encountered from gaoshan claimed to be from other mountains

The level of associated florals, fruitiness, etc, seem to be more variable.

I just saw your post. I agree, Lishans are all over the place in terms of florals and fruit. The best ones do have a thick, buttery texture, though I've had lighter-bodied Lishan oolongs as well. I think Shanlinxi oolongs tend to be a bit greener and more herbaceous, while it's rare but not impossible to find fruity flavours in Alishan. That's my take on Taiwanese oolong terroirs.

@Baiyun, did that Wild Garden SLX come from Wang? I had that oolong a couple years ago and liked it. It had a nice, peachy flavour and no bitterness.

[Baiyun]

Baiyun, did that Wild Garden SLX come from Wang? I had that oolong a couple years ago and liked it. It had a nice, peachy flavour and no bitterness.

Yes that is the one. Can definitely be brewed out without falling into bad notes so it suits a bit of playing around.

Juicy leaves

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That said I am in need of a gaoshan restock soon, did you come across any winners recently?

[GaoShan]

Baiyun, did that Wild Garden SLX come from Wang? I had that oolong a couple years ago and liked it. It had a nice, peachy flavour and no bitterness.

Yes that is the one. Can definitely be brewed out without falling into bad notes so it suits a bit of playing around.

Juicy leaves



That said I am in need of a gaoshan restock soon, did you come across any winners recently?

I recently had good Dayuling and Baozhong from a vendor on this site. If you're looking for more recommendations from Wang, the Fushoushan, Da Yu Ling, and Alishan Osmanthus are all very good. I've liked most of their oolongs, but these, along with the SLX Wild Garden, are the best that I've tried. I also had a nice winter 2022 SLX from Floating Leaves, which made up for a rather less enjoyable harvest I had a while ago. What green oolongs have you enjoyed lately?