What Oolong Are You Drinking

[Bok]

150g of lishan

Standard issue mate

[klepto]

150g of lishan

Standard issue mate

I've gotten immersed into gaoshan lately so I have 40g of Li shan from hojo but my hong cha addiction is also requiring funds from my tea budget .

[oolongfan]

Speaking of Lishan, i just finished some of Ethan Kurland's Lishan from his current offerings. Despite Ethan's rather humble description, this tea is very complex with sweet spring grass, clover, sweet pea notes mingling with refined delicate orchid and honey notes. The former reminded me of Ethan's Da Yu Ling from the previous years because of the sweet spring grass and sweet pea notes that are both savory and sweet yet never vegetal. The orchid notes is refined and nothing like those overly floraly perfume-y green oolongs that bring to mind bad perfume. No this orchid note is like a faint delicate memory..a mere suggestion yet carrying enough strength to contrast against those savory grass sweet pea and clover notes. There was also a delicate mint that slowy emerged but one that was never mentholy or bitter..with a hint of vanilla or fortune cookie. Far exceeded my expectations, especially for the price.

[LeoFox]

Speaking of Lishan, i just finished some of Ethan Kurland's Lishan from his current offerings. Despite Ethan's rather humble description, this tea is very complex with sweet spring grass, clover, sweet pea notes mingling with refined delicate orchid and honey notes. The former reminded me of Ethan's Da Yu Ling from the previous years because of the sweet spring grass and sweet pea notes that are both savory and sweet yet never vegetal. The orchid notes is refined and nothing like those overly floraly perfume-y green oolongs that bring to mind bad perfume. No this orchid note is like a faint delicate memory..a mere suggestion yet carrying enough strength to contrast against those savory grass sweet pea and clover notes. There was also a delicate mint that slowy emerged but one that was never mentholy or bitter..with a hint of vanilla or fortune cookie. Far exceeded my expectations, especially for the price.

This is testament to Ethan's selection skills - and your good taste!

[oolongfan]

This is testament to Ethan's selection skills - and your good taste!

It is easy to have "good taste" when drinking such wonderful teas I also appreciate your comments about Ethan's teas - inspiration for future purchases.

edited: for crummy typing

[Ethan Kurland]

.... 1. The former reminded me of Ethan's Da Yu Ling from the previous years because of the sweet spring grass and sweet pea notes that are both savory and sweet yet never vegetal.... 2. There was also a delicate mint that slowly emerged but one that was never menthol or bitter....

So nice to read that you & Leo enjoy oolong from me; &, it is fun to be reminded of last year's dayuling, & to have 2 people do a better job of noticing specifics & describing.

1. Oolongfan's comparison of this year's Lishan to last year's DYL led me to open a packet of this year's DYL (& I had just finished a packet of another gaoshan so it was time to open ...). This Spring's DYL is so different from last year's. It is vegetal, bordering the zone where vegetal takes on harshness or bitterness. Fortunately, it does not cross that borderline. It's a pleasant, full green flavor so different from last year's DYL & this year's Lishan; because both of them have nothing even close to a strong vegetal flavor.
2. After swallowing, pressing the tip of my tongue above my upper front teeth & inhaling & sucking in my cheeks, a very pleasant taste of mint comes out of the vegetal flavor. So tasting mint is similar to other gaoshan being discussed.

Note: For all unroasted tea, for a few months I have been using a porcelain bowl. I started using a much wider bowl a few days ago. Wider is better: The initial aroma off of leaves freshly covered with hot water is wonderful & seeing the leaves fully swell & unfold is a pleasure. I think the brew is better but cannot be objective in the assessment because the nose & eyes have prepped the mouth so well.

[LeoFox]

Lazy cat Jin mu dan 2019:
https://www.lazycattea.com/product/roaring-kitten-2019/

This is a ban yan tea, which the vendor describes in this way:

The tea is processed in a light way that makes the character and fragrance of the cultivar bright and powerful. 

Brewed 6g in my 85 mL gaiwan.





Although this tea is processed in a "light way" - the roast has a strong presence throughout the session. It is a very comfortable and warming roast - not very harsh at all.

The tea has a nice fruity profile that is a bit light - and benefits from relatively longer steeps from the start. The astringency is a bit prickly in the back of the throat and drying- but only really noticeable at the end of the session.

The soup is a bit thin but has several layers of flavors from the roast and the oxidation that play nicely. The aftertaste is slightly bitter after some time. It doesn't go for many steeps- 5-6 tops. The rinse is fantastic.

A nice tea after a meal.

---

After brewing this tea many ways, it seems to me this tea is a bit thin and watery but, otherwise not offensive. Maybe this tea should have been consumed much earlier.

[klepto]

Hojo's Wen Shan Bao Zhong Special:

A friend said it was like being in a beautiful field of flowers and she enjoyed the perfume like aroma.
Later I let her try some hong cha and she hated it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The baozhong really is special, and I could drink it all day without any fatigue. Sometimes no matter how tasty a tea is, you drink too much of it and its overwhelming.
Leo mentioned this one to me and I jumped on it without reservation

[maple]

In early 20th century Taiwan/ Taipei, before the naming of Baozhong and its popularity - oolong is the only export tea product.
And in this context (LQER Taiwan) - oolong meant "oriental beauty".
To prove this argument -

This book is published in 1956 (ROC 45) - It describe the process of Baozhong and Oolong (a.k.a the process of oriental beauty).

Another name of oriental beauty is 五色茶 which means five colours tea (black/ white/ red/ yellow and GREEN).

And there’s a lot of different categories of it. But due to the modern competition…… most of people (include tea lover in Taiwan) only focus (and know) the competition grade. This aesthetic conception change everything. It’s hard to find five colours in the market now.



and....Just want to share my "green" oriental beauty which harvested in late August.

[Tillerman]

In early 20th century Taiwan/ Taipei, before the naming of Baozhong and its popularity - oolong is the only export tea product.
And in this context (LQER Taiwan) - oolong meant "oriental beauty".
To prove this argument -

This book is published in 1956 (ROC 45) - It describe the process of Baozhong and Oolong (a.k.a the process of oriental beauty).

Another name of oriental beauty is 五色茶 which means five colours tea (black/ white/ red/ yellow and GREEN).

And there’s a lot of different categories of it. But due to the modern competition…… most of people (include tea lover in Taiwan) only focus (and know) the competition grade. This aesthetic conception change everything. It’s hard to find five colours in the market now.

and....Just want to share my "green" oriental beauty which harvested in late August.

Hello @maple, I am afraid I must disagree with you. Although the style has changed dramatically over the years, Bao Zhong (Paochong) has been produced in Taiwan since the latter half of the 19th century. In Davidson's chapter on the tea industry in Taiwan (then called Formosa) published in 1903 he clearly talks about the production of these teas and the Chinese diaspora they were sold to. Similarly he describes the production of Formosa oolong. This tea is not Oriental Beauty. In his 1935 book, Ukers describes in detail the production of oolong in Taiwan and, again, there is nothing that resembles the specialized production methods for OB.

My own research and that of Lawrence Zhang suggests that OB (first called Pong Fong cha) was not produced until the mid 1930's, during the Japanese colonial era. The exact date it began to be called OB is unclear but the most likely candidate is 1983 when the Premier of the ROC visited Emai and conferred the title. (see also Bruce Tan, 膨風茶的地理學)

You are correct, however, that Formosa oolong was called 五色茶 and that name has carried over and is sometimes (though rarely) applied to OB.

[Bok]

Silver medal Laocong Shuixian yancha on a night with a roaring typhoon approaching la Ilha Formosa... doesn't get any better.

[maple]

Hi @Tillerman

Good feedback. I agree your disagree. If you review the books/ documents from 1911~1950, most of them was written in Japanese. And It hard to say Oolong = or similar to OB 東方美人or 白毫烏龍.

---

About the name - let me quote the same book -

西方嚐斯茶者，譽之為”東方美人”或喻之為”香檳”
Oriental Beauty (東方美人) and Champagne appeared in 1956 in this book. And I checked all of this book. The author (Mr. Lin) never used 白毫烏龍 (BaiHauOolong) in this book.

i've read Prof. Tan's book. I know the history in 80'. I think it's truth story, and the book that I quoted also prove the name 東方美人 is earlier

This book published in 1956, the author mentioned many times in the book. He try to record the history from 1926~1956 (文裡提到三十年前的分級/三十年前的產銷數據) Please reference this table. In this book, the writer (Master Lin). He recorded there’re 22 grade of oolong. And the highest grade is “Extra Choice”, and he claimed this grade is equal to “Pong Fong Cha” (膨風茶) in chinese. (of course, maybe he's wrong and mixed some fact together. But I prefer his article)




Suitable Cultivar - QingXingDamou\ YingZhiHongXing\ QingXingOolong …
適制的品種為青心大冇＼硬枝紅心＼青心烏龍...等
This description is match to modern choice.


3. 烏龍茶以夏制為佳，包種茶以春制為好。
The best choice of Oolong was made in Summer. Bazhong was in Spring.

[Tillerman]

Hi @maple.
This is fascinating information. Thank you very much for sending it to me.
D.

[LeoFox]

Brewing a very unique oolong from Jun Chiyabari (nepal):
https://www.thesteepingroom.com/product ... ayan-shiba

More info from another site:
https://what-cha.com/products/nepal-jun ... oolong-tea

HSH Himalayan Shiiba is made from tea trees that were originally from Shiiba village of Miyazaki prefecture, Japan.

In 2004 and 2007 T. Shimada san, the family friend of the owners of Jun Chiyabari Tea Garden since early 1960's brought some tea trees to Jun Chiyabari from Shiiba village.By producing this tea from Shiiba Yama Cha tea trees, Jun
Chiyabari re-establishes the connection to tea trees of Shiiba village; by drinking this tea, a connection is made between Japan and Nepal, specially between Hile, the remote village of Jun Chiyabari high in the Himalaya in east Nepal to the remote village of Shiiba in the mountains of Miyazaki in west JapanThe tea is made using a blend of the Shiiba cultivar with others while propagation of the Shiiba is underway, in the hope that the tea will eventually be made exclusively with Shiiba

This was a very kind gift from @Baisao

Brewing this at 4g/85 mL water 80C works very well. I brewed it like a sencha starting at 50s.

The tea is exceptionally floral and as steeps progress, there is a refreshing taste that is like limoncello! I haven't experienced that in a tea before. There is a slight bitterness - but it is like a lemon rind bitterness that aligns with the overall experience. Long after the session, i felt I could keep smelling the tea - as if I had my head stuffed in the bag with the leaves! It is floral with a distinct sweetness that is almost melon like for me.


I was able to do 10 steeps at 80C and then moved on to boiling water for a few more!

It seems to work best in a thin porcelain gaiwan. I also tried using my bizen, but it muted the aromatics significantly, though giving back a creamier mouthfeel, a mild earthiness and a cooked rice flavor. Personal preferences I guess.

[Baisao]

@LeoFox - I am glad you enjoyed it. I’m fond of it because it reminds me so much of magnolia blossoms, which have a lemon and floral scent.

I suspect the Japanese genetics are the reason it prefers lower temperatures. It’s hard to know precisely what the genetics of this Japanese bush are since it was apparently collected from the wild.

The tea also gives and gives. It’s pretty unusual in every way and one of my favorites of the year.