What Oolong Are You Drinking

[oolongfan]

iGo - Great minds think alike! I wish I could taste your 1967 Pinglin Baozhong from Project Origin Tea (sadly no more).

I am also delighted to see some one else brewing in small Yixing teapots. I brew most of my oolongs in either of two 40 ml Hong ni shui pin teapots that I own ...a lovely medium-thin walled one from Ting Junkie, and an exquisite thin walled superbly crafted one from the Mandarin's Tea Room.

I love your teapot and tea bowl...would love to learn more about them Is the teapot dark zi ni or hei ni?

[Victoria]

1967 Pinglin Baozhong from the dearly departed Project Origin Tea.

3gm/27ml Yixing.

Aged taste but not plum/raisin flavor I’m used to with aged Taiwanese oolongs.

Is that from an aged BaoZhong pre-OTTI that @Chip did in 2006 with Origin Tea? I’m sorry I missed that one. With BaoZhong being unfurled 3gr in 27ml pot must have been full to the brim plus some, rich.

[iGo]

@oolongfan

I had 6 gm total left from this, it was late, so I figured what would I use for 3 gm? One of 2 trusted hei ni pots acquired from the esteemed Kyarazen at the same time. Not sure at this point how the lovely green cup arrived here, but it worked well in this situation.

I also have one of those blue Mandarin pots which I’ve dedicated to old puerh.

I usually use slightly larger pots for daily solo flights, anywhere from 65 to 85 ml.

As for the remaining 3 grams, next time you’re in Brooklyn?

@Victoria

I believe that OT offered a package deal of old/older Taiwanese oolongs from which this is one of the last remaining in my stash. It was indeed a thick brew.

[Victoria]

@iGo I’m also holding onto several aged oolong and Pu’erh from Origin. Really miss Tony’s high quality selections. This morning sipping on medium roasted DongDing 9gr:150ml in Hokujo kaolin chips nanban kyusu. I enjoy how teas transform depending on ambient humidity levels, water used, and changes in one’s own body. Today, richly layered notes of forest green pines and sweet chestnuts are coming through.

[oolongfan]

@iGo - What a generous offer I am touched and honored that you would consider sharing the last of such valuable and rare tea with a mere stranger such as myself. I have not been back home to Brooklyn in over 10 years (has it been that long..too long)...so I am long overdue. If I do go, I will drop you a note and promise to bring some teas, including Norbu's 1970's Pingling Baozhong..and whatever else tickles your fancy from my meagre tea collection at that time.

Likewise, if ever you find yourself stuck in south central Indiana (Indianapolis/Bloomington area), please feel free to stop by for tea....and a nice hike or fishing (we have 112 acres land).

Sounds like the perfect teapot (especially being from Kyarazen) for the tea. I love what a conetrated brew those little teapots make...perfect for aged ooongs. I love this tea boa...where did you get it. The cup and saucer are lovely and seem to be the perfect size.

I am insanely jealous that you have one of the Mandarin's Tea Room blue teapots. By the time I discovered TM, all that remained was a little 40 ml hong ni shui pin...but it is the best crafted teapot with the best clay..heads above anything else I have. I would love to see your blue teapot in action. What do you brew in it?

Thank you again for sharing such a beautiful tea and phot...and also for the lovely invitation.

[d.manuk]

I am drinking Li Shan oolong purchased from Geow Yong Tea in Taipei. It's the only tea I bought in Taiwan. It's the most expensive gaoshan I could find in Taipei and it's okay. It has a sweetness that lingers but its too sweet and lingers too faintly too deeply inside of the throat if that makes sense to you (it barely does for me). I wouldn't buy it again but I like that I have it as I no longer had any more gaoshan as I wait for the spring harvest. I believe it was around $0.50 per gram.

edit: I realized we have a travel subforum

[Tillerman]

I am drinking Li Shan oolong purchased from Geow Yong Tea in Taipei. It's the only tea I bought in Taiwan.

Geow Yong is an old tea merchant in Taipei but mostly caters to a "less informed" clientele. They were recently implicated in the "Vietnamese tea scandal." I would not recommend them to anyone in this group.

Very happy to hear you liked the Taroko Gorge. I am biased, of course, but I think Taiwan is one of the friendliest and most beautiful countries in the world.

[Bok]

I am drinking Li Shan oolong purchased from Geow Yong Tea in Taipei. It's the only tea I bought in Taiwan.

Geow Yong is an old tea merchant in Taipei but mostly caters to a "less informed" clientele. They were recently implicated in the "Vietnamese tea scandal." I would not recommend them to anyone in this group.

Talking to some people over the years it seems that most if not all of Taiwans oldest and established tea merchants are selling sub-par or fake teas... personally confirmed by me in Tainans oldest tea shop. Most do not even make tea themselves anymore, they just sell their name. Shame, some of them operate since the Qing period...

Think it is also safe to assume that any brand selling large volume of tea in Taiwan will sell a good portion of fake tea.

[Victoria]

Another reason to stick with reputable producers and vendors. Aside from being deceived I would worry mostly of inadvertently consuming pesticides from imports masquerading as local Taiwan teas. Apparently the ‘fake’ industry worldwide is “2.5 per cent or US$461 billion of global trade” -that’s huge.

Enjoying HY Chen’s Charcoal Light Roasted Wild Garden DongDing, fall 2017. Last packet, he hasn’t sold this in a while. It reaches the same high levels as his medium and lightly roasted LiShan Primitive Wild that supplanted it. Sweet evergreen pine forest notes with sweet potatoes, spices and a slightly resinous aftertaste that lingers a long while.

[Tillerman]

Another reason to stick with reputable producers and vendors. Aside from being deceived I would worry mostly of inadvertently consuming pesticides from imports masquerading as local Taiwan teas. Apparently the ‘fake’ industry worldwide is “2.5 per cent or US$461 billion of global trade” -that’s huge.

Good point @Victoria. And I suspect that if you considered only "specialty tea," that % figure would be higher. If you consider only Taiwanese tea it is higher still.

[Brent D]

When does the gaoshan spring harvesting begin? I heard it will be a little late this year due to weather. When should we expect to see it start hitting the market?

[Tillerman]

When does the gaoshan spring harvesting begin? I heard it will be a little late this year due to weather. When should we expect to see it start hitting the market?

@Brent D The harvest is about 10 days late. The good tea won't be on the market until end June/early July.

[Ethan Kurland]

When does the gaoshan spring harvesting begin? I heard it will be a little late this year due to weather. When should we expect to see it start hitting the market?

Brent D The harvest is about 10 days late. The good tea won't be on the market until end June/early July.

Brent, if you are running out of tea, don't be alarmed. Properly stored tea from this past Winter season is still available. Cheers

Tillerman, you are so polite about not promoting yourself. Cheers to both of you.

[Bok]

I think freshness in Gaoshan is overrated... if the quality is good it does not matter how quickly you get it after the harvest. To the contrary, some even benefit from a little rest. My winter harvest usually lasts me the whole year and does not lose anything.

[Bok]

You know you have good friends when they bring you this: an authentic, sealed can of Fushoushan

In this case I can be 100% sure it is real, as the close friend actually got it at FSS. I do not know if the general public can do so, but this guy is a farmer and among fellow farmers there is always a way.

Took this opportunity to compare gaiwan with antique duanni clay.

I still do prefer the Yixing, there is a small but large enough difference, mainly increase in body and sweetness.

Is it good tea? Certainly. Does it justify the large difference in price to other high mountain Oolongs? I don’t think so.

Seems hyped and not really justified. I have had many Gaoshan that were at least as good, or better, for a much lower price.

The leafs are indeed impressively large.