What Oolong Are You Drinking
Norbu's Red Alishan oolong, such a reliably lovely tea, drinking leftovers from yesterday's giant thermos (the 2L bottle) that I brought to work, and, despite a 12hour plus day, didn't finish there. This '24 hour' infusion is lukewarm, fine for a warm summery morning (tank top and shorts weather in the house this AM), and rich with plummy and spicy notes. Gotta love a tea like this that shines no matter how it is used, whether infused in my favorite unglazed teapot for many small infusions, or tossed and forgotten overnight in the giant thermos. It's just that good. So happy to have opened a new packet of it, mmmmm.
What oolong am I drinking today? I don't know!! Three Taiwanese gaoshan from the spring harvest but which ones? I am having fun taking part in the Floating Leaves blind tasting challenge. It will take me a couple of more brews before I make my guesses. Stay tuned. Great fun from Shiuwen and Noah B-a.
Brewed the winter 2018 heavy roast dong ding from HY Chen in a zini pot. The heat from the roast still hasn't quite dissipated, and I could feel it in my in and out breaths. I'm putting the rest away to try again end of this year!
Sorry for the late response. I have had most of the Rouguis(except Ma Tou Yan Rougui and the hadnmade Rougui). Honestly my two favorites are the Winter Rougui(which is on the lighter side, but still good) and is a good price imo while still very enjoyable and also the Gold Medal Rougui which is great. There is a noticeable difference between the Gold Medal Rougui and the Premium Rougui and the Regular Rougui IMO(though one time i ordered I actually preferred the regular over the premium, but could have been just that set of leaves). octopus pretty much answered the other question throughly.Victoria wrote: ↑Sun Jun 09, 2019 5:58 pmI see Old Ways Tea has several RouGui selections. Have you tried any other of their RouGui selections? Don’t know company, ordered much from them? I’ve been wondering what time of year it is harvested and how long it is aged before selling. Several reputable RouGui vendors have very short supplies at the moment. octopus
EDIT: I actually do have a package of the Ma Tou Yan RG, but I have not had it yet.
Last edited by _Soggy_ on Thu Jun 20, 2019 5:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Drinking some Medium Roast ShuiXian from Oldwaystea. Definitely prefer this to the regular ShuiXian. I wish I would have also ordered/tried the Light Roast, but oh well. Most ShuiXians I really don't enjoy as I think they are overroasted, but I'm liking this a lot. I'm getting a lot more nuanced tea flavors than roast.
-
Ethan Kurland
- Vendor
- Posts: 1057
- Joined: Thu Oct 12, 2017 1:01 am
- Location: Boston
- Contact:
HeHauan Red Oolong: I have heard about this mountain only recently & then it was suggested that I try this highly oxidized oolong (a little more oxidation & this post would be in black tea thread). At its best, one gets very pleasing sweet flavor, slightly different than tea with more or less oxidation. The feel of the liquid is not light & not heavy. There is not an array of flavors. This simplicity & an accompanying dry taste or feeling of a sort one gets from a cheap teabag brew without milk or sugar makes this tea one not to stock. I miss having an excellent unroasted oolong of medium to high oxidation that is tasty & complex. Haven't had one that suits me in years.
Lishan High Mt. Med. Oxidation/Med. Roast Spring 2019: Now I taste almost nothing but the long, slow roasting this tea had. I hope a couple of months of resting improves the rest of the 60 grams.
The same tea from Winter 2019 is so much better, allowing the underlying flavors to show themselves. One tastes a lot, not just the taste of roasting. Moreover, quick steeping gives fruit flavors not only a chance to show their stuff, but to take the spotlight. (Yes, steeped quickly, I love the Winter...)
Lishan High Mt. Med. Oxidation/Med. Roast Spring 2019: Now I taste almost nothing but the long, slow roasting this tea had. I hope a couple of months of resting improves the rest of the 60 grams.
The same tea from Winter 2019 is so much better, allowing the underlying flavors to show themselves. One tastes a lot, not just the taste of roasting. Moreover, quick steeping gives fruit flavors not only a chance to show their stuff, but to take the spotlight. (Yes, steeped quickly, I love the Winter...)
A foggy cool morning, it’s called ‘summer bummer’ here in Los Angeles. Since I was reading about local adaptation and evolution of the wild Camelia Sinensis plant in Taiwan, I decided to reach for HY Chen’s LiShan Primitive Wild oolong. So special, has notes of slightly sweet buttery resinous evergreen along with a viscosity that coats the mouth perfectly. A sophisticated experience sipping on this oolong. Tasting notes are different from typical buttery sweet LiShan, wonder if it is because of the wild species used? Doesn’t look very oxidized and was lightly roasted.
@Ethan Kurland your mentioning red oolong from Hehuan Mountain reminded me of an amazing one I had from Origin Tea, Hualien County Mixiang Red Tea. Hualien is much further east though, along the central coast of Taiwan. That was one memorable tea, it steeped forever and was like sipping on a camphorous spicy mahogany forest with some stone fruit too.
@Ethan Kurland your mentioning red oolong from Hehuan Mountain reminded me of an amazing one I had from Origin Tea, Hualien County Mixiang Red Tea. Hualien is much further east though, along the central coast of Taiwan. That was one memorable tea, it steeped forever and was like sipping on a camphorous spicy mahogany forest with some stone fruit too.
Today I am finishing up the sample of Floating Leaves 2019 Hehuanshan from the blind tasting. This was my least favorite of the three. I still thought it was good my first couple of tastings, however this session is developing really nicely. Perhaps it is growing on me.
@Dresden and @Ethan Kurland Hmm, looks like we are all referring to the same general area Hehuanshan, Hualien, Taiwan... but different oolong 
-
Ethan Kurland
- Vendor
- Posts: 1057
- Joined: Thu Oct 12, 2017 1:01 am
- Location: Boston
- Contact:
Those words are so poetic. It reminds of me being at readings and being wowed (& then later realizing I did not really know what the poem said). When camphor gets mentioned I feel I sort of get it, then think of camphor soap & lose my bearings.
That wild oolong sounds delicious, unique, & interesting.
Drinking tealifehk's three stamps shuixian. I've had this tea for 3 times now, once with 50% leaves in an 85ml hongni pot, and two times in a stuffed modern chaozhou 45ml pot, yet it doesn't seem to click with me.
It's very smooth and mellow, which I was little bit surprised at first. Expected it somehow to be more bold and stronger. There is nothing off in the flavor with this tea. I don't find much complexity nor anything that different compared to other, lower roasted yanchas.
One thing that is surprising is how different its in the qi department compared to others. Just kinda suddenly kicks in when you drink the first cup and stays quite strong and heady for a while. Don't know how to describe it other than it's "different" to other teas.
I don't think its bad but its not much better than some cheaper yanchas I've had. I find it very surprising that I actually prefer the high roast daily drinker TGY which is twice as cheap!
It's very smooth and mellow, which I was little bit surprised at first. Expected it somehow to be more bold and stronger. There is nothing off in the flavor with this tea. I don't find much complexity nor anything that different compared to other, lower roasted yanchas.
One thing that is surprising is how different its in the qi department compared to others. Just kinda suddenly kicks in when you drink the first cup and stays quite strong and heady for a while. Don't know how to describe it other than it's "different" to other teas.
I don't think its bad but its not much better than some cheaper yanchas I've had. I find it very surprising that I actually prefer the high roast daily drinker TGY which is twice as cheap!
@carogust maybe it’s just not your tea. Did you try steeping in a porcelain gaiwan, or at opposite end a muting clay? Or, maybe just letting it rest for a few years will allow it to unfold to your liking.
Laoshi Winter medium roast DongDing from @Tillerman was the star of the oolong show during our past two LA Tea Society tastings. Everyone is wowed by its complexity, skillful roasting and how it unfolds steep to steep -and these are sophisticated discerning members so that’s impressive. I have noticed this DongDing is curiously mutable, sensitive to changes in ambient humidity and air pressure, with different notes appearing on top depending on the elements. This morning aromatic evergreen sweet resinous notes came to the forefront.
I’m wondering how this Spring’s Laoshi batch is different from last Winters?
I’m wondering how this Spring’s Laoshi batch is different from last Winters?
@carogust that tea is very heavily roasted, a muting/absorbing clay will definitely help. Also higher leaf concentration with flash brewing of a few seconds is maybe the way forward. This tea doesn’t do well if steeped too long in my experience due to its leaf shapes. The rolled TGY releases the flavours slower.