What Oolong Are You Drinking

Semi-oxidized tea
rdl
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Sun Oct 27, 2019 7:34 pm

I will not sidetrack this topic and will create a new topic under General. Simplicity deferred.
The above comments have enhanced my thinking about this.
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Victoria
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Mon Oct 28, 2019 9:02 pm

Was cooler this morning so started the day again with @Tillerman’s Laoshi roasted DongDing, only this time I made sure to avoid yesterday’s serendipitous mishap, and to focus on an intentionally set water temperature. I decide to try 201F (94C) to see if yesterday’s minty camphor notes would come through. Didn’t get those notes, but got other nuances that don’t come through at hotter temps. HY Chen’s does better at hotter temps, but I’m thinking this DongDing may be better with slightly cooler water. Anyone else steeping their roasted DongDing at cooler temps? Interesting results.
Zealousy
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Tue Oct 29, 2019 2:47 pm

Victoria, my friend Everest and I drank the four dong ding from Floating Leaves's blind tasting box, and we found most of the teas improved at a slightly lower temp (~200-205°F) than boiling. This matches what I have discussed with others about Taiwan oolongs wanting to take it just below boiling. Definitely deserves further investigation...
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Bok
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Tue Oct 29, 2019 7:22 pm

Instead of lower temperature I would suggest shorter brews with higher leaf ratio. Usually Taiwanese teas like the full heat best (if the quality is good enough).
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aet
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Tue Oct 29, 2019 7:52 pm

I had a chance to try some TW oolong Dongting , roasted. If I may be honest, it doesn't taste much different from Hei Wu Long produced in China. I'm sure that some pro oolong drinker will give me 100 differences. But from regular drinker point of view ( 3 of us drinking together ) , we couldn't spot much difference.
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Bok
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Tue Oct 29, 2019 7:56 pm

aet wrote:
Tue Oct 29, 2019 7:52 pm
I had a chance to try some TW oolong Dongting , roasted. If I may be honest, it doesn't taste much different from Hei Wu Long produced in China. I'm sure that some pro oolong drinker will give me 100 differences. But from regular drinker point of view ( 3 of us drinking together ) , we couldn't spot much difference.
Well, it’s oolong all the same and if processed to a stronger oxidation and roast it will yield similar results.

Just recently I had a heavy roast Oolong from Lugu, which, if I had not known, I would have thought to be yancha. The minerality and dry mouth feel was strikingly similar. But then would you say Dancong, Yancha and Tieguanyin(in the same dark processing) taste the same? All Hei Wulong by definition...
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aet
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Tue Oct 29, 2019 8:15 pm

We have some Dancong teas and even the dark roasted , they are different from hei wu long , for sure.
Although in translation might sound same , in retail / tea biz , the term "Hei Wu Long" is not used for Dancong or Yancha.
Hei Wu Long is dark roasted TGY.
Lao Huo Hong Pei is very long time / dark roasted Dan Cong.
I should probably state it at the beginning, sorry.
Ethan Kurland
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Tue Oct 29, 2019 9:27 pm

Zealousy wrote:
Tue Oct 29, 2019 2:47 pm
Victoria, my friend Everest and I drank the four dong ding from Floating Leaves's blind tasting box, and we found most of the teas improved at a slightly lower temp (~200-205°F) than boiling. This matches what I have discussed with others about Taiwan oolongs wanting to take it just below boiling. Definitely deserves further investigation...
I have been preparing all oolongs (from Taiwan) with water that is 94 - 96C. I believe this a range of temperature that enables the leaves to give all of their flavors. I will also mention that my favorite black teas from Taiwan seem to me to be somewhat close to oolong; so, I use temperature close to oolongs' temperature. I brew that black tea at 98C for fullest flavor.
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Victoria
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Wed Oct 30, 2019 12:48 pm

Ethan Kurland wrote:
Tue Oct 29, 2019 9:27 pm
Zealousy wrote:
Tue Oct 29, 2019 2:47 pm
Victoria, my friend Everest and I drank the four dong ding from Floating Leaves's blind tasting box, and we found most of the teas improved at a slightly lower temp (~200-205°F) than boiling. This matches what I have discussed with others about Taiwan oolongs wanting to take it just below boiling. Definitely deserves further investigation...
I have been preparing all oolongs (from Taiwan) with water that is 94 - 96C. I believe this a range of temperature that enables the leaves to give all of their flavors. I will also mention that my favorite black teas from Taiwan seem to me to be somewhat close to oolong; so, I use temperature close to oolongs' temperature. I brew that black tea at 98C for fullest flavor.
This morning we have a cold front with high winds fanning the flames around Los Angeles, so again I went for a roasted DongDing to warm up with. Tillerman’s Spring 2019 Laoshi DongDing tasted much better steeped at 201F (94C), more nuanced notes came through. This Spring’s production was lighter in character and yield than previous years because of the weather. It’s a reminder to me that not all DongDing are alike, and that tweaking temperatures with any type of tea is something I should revisit more often. With black teas I’ll steep anywhere between 194-205F (90-96C) depending on the tea, but with Taiwan oolong I’d been operating pretty much on automatic with 208F and higher. @Ethan Kurland I’ll try steeping your Taiwan blacks hotter at 98C and see how it goes.
LuckyMe
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Mon Nov 04, 2019 3:16 am

Alishan Red Oolong from Mountain Stream Teas. It's closer to a black tea than an oolong but softer than a black and has a lovely floral rose flavor.
Zealousy
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Tue Nov 05, 2019 2:57 am

Aged Da Hong Pao from Old Ways Tea. I emptied the whole 8g bag into my shibo and gave it a quick rinse, poured into a side cup, then brewed 45-30-90-120-180-300 infusions before pouring in water to steep overnight. Incredible tea that evolved from the start to the end. At first it was immensely bitter, bitter dark chocolate and saline minerality, reminiscent of a Ghiradelli salted caramel without any sweetness. After two infusions the bitterness gave way to sweetness. Overall I feel like I ate steak and fish grilled over mesquite wood at a fancy restaurant. The sides of my mouth were sticky like toffee with an aftertaste I didn't want to go away. Very potent stuff!
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Victoria
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Mon Nov 11, 2019 3:02 pm

Was a little chilly this morning at 62F ...lol not the snowy 25F of Chicago @pedant. Pulled out Tillerman’s Laoshi DongDing again, used more leaf 13g/220ml with Chrystal Gyser Olancha and with each steep increased temperature from 204F, to 208F-212F. Some nuanced notes came through using slightly cooler temperatures at beginning, except today not as much as a few days ago. I actually got orange notes a few days ago with the overnight fifth steep. Again, it’s shape shifting each time I have it, like an elusive friend who is always changing. At the third steep flavors were plateauing, so I decided to add a few rosemary needles into the kyusu for the fourth, crushed them a little as I added them to wet leaf. A subtle and pleasant addition to the session 🍃.
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Mon Nov 11, 2019 7:57 pm

yesterday, @Muadeeb and i did a double blind tasting of a few dongfang meirens. someone else had prepared 4g samples of each for us in advance.

Oriental Beauty Showdown (1): Dry Leaf
Oriental Beauty Showdown (1): Dry Leaf
OB-showdown-1--dry-leaf.jpg (158.59 KiB) Viewed 6300 times

left to right:

A -- 2016 Oriental Beauty #AAA (made in Thailand), TEA SIDE
dry leaf - tartest smell. craisin, plummy.

B -- 2018 Oriental Beauty Grand, Te Company
this was a gift from @Victoria. thanks!
dry leaf - malty and fruity.

C -- 2017 Competition Oriental Beauty Tea, Two Leaf Grade, Lot 664, Taiwan Tea Crafts
dry leaf - the tippiest looking of the three. bready aroma.


we used the stagg ekg kettle for this. its slow max flowrate (about 10mL/s in my testing) ordinarily annoys me, but it proved useful in this tasting because the gaiwans were not all the same size. i counted in my head about 6s for each pour, and that allowed me to get a consistent dose of water in each gaiwan.

Oriental Beauty Showdown (2): Steep 1
Oriental Beauty Showdown (2): Steep 1
OB-showdown-2--steep-1.jpg (96.74 KiB) Viewed 6300 times
steep 1 [1 min, 210°F]
A: sweet taste, red winey, robust, earthy, baked bread ⭐⭐
B: less perfumey than C, orange note, better black tea flavor, brighter ⭐⭐⭐
C: perfumey. maybe a bit soapy ⭐

Oriental Beauty Showdown (3): Steep 2
Oriental Beauty Showdown (3): Steep 2
OB-showdown-3--steep-2.jpg (100.99 KiB) Viewed 6300 times

steep 2 [1 min, 210°F]
A: heavy hitter. maybe not as good as 1st steep ⭐
B: perfume increased a bit this steep ⭐⭐
C: more tartness, great OB spice (cinnamon-like). blooms in the back of the tongue. ⭐⭐⭐

Oriental Beauty Showdown (4): Steep 3
Oriental Beauty Showdown (4): Steep 3
OB-showdown-4--steep-3.jpg (100.98 KiB) Viewed 6300 times

steep 3 [1 min, 210°F]
too light, should've steeped them longer
A: ⭐
B: ⭐⭐
C: ⭐⭐⭐

Oriental Beauty Showdown (5): Steep 4
Oriental Beauty Showdown (5): Steep 4
OB-showdown-5--steep-4.jpg (119.24 KiB) Viewed 6300 times

steep 4 [2 min 30 s, 210°F]
A: ⭐⭐⭐
B: ⭐
C: ⭐⭐

Oriental Beauty Showdown (6): Steep 5
Oriental Beauty Showdown (6): Steep 5
OB-showdown-6--steep-5.jpg (83.38 KiB) Viewed 6300 times

steep 5 [3 min 30 s, 210°F]
A: ⭐⭐
B: ⭐
C: ⭐⭐

Oriental Beauty Showdown (7): Spent Leaf
Oriental Beauty Showdown (7): Spent Leaf
OB-showdown-7--spent-leaf.jpg (252.58 KiB) Viewed 6300 times

they were all pretty good OBs, but our overall favorite was tea C followed by tea B and then tea A.
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Victoria
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Mon Nov 11, 2019 9:01 pm

I see your gaiwan on the left has been through quite a lot :lol: glad to see it’s still getting used though. Nice side-by-side blind tasting, that’s fun to do every once in a while, and it reveals a lot of differences. Glad you also enjoyed Te Company’s Oriental Beauty Grande, a favorite of mine. I’ll try again the Competition OB you shared with me from Taiwan Tea Crafts, I can’t find my tasting notes on it.
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Thu Nov 21, 2019 12:17 pm

I’ve been so busy trying all the different puerh tea that I purchased years ago that I’ve been neglecting yancha. Today I’m drinking Hong Kong Roast Three Stamps Shuixian from Tealifehk. The pot is a 65 ml red shudei pot from Artistic Nippon by Maekawa Junzo. The clay used was described as about 40 years old, and since I had been reading about the positive effect of red shudei clay on yancha on Tea Forum I purchased the pot and reserved it for yancha,

9BE0B70B-A5D1-4C2B-9FB3-4FFF410E6F04.jpeg
9BE0B70B-A5D1-4C2B-9FB3-4FFF410E6F04.jpeg (119.94 KiB) Viewed 6104 times
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