What Oolong Are You Drinking

[pepson]

Hello tea lovers.
I found one really interesting tea that is a bit tricky. According a description it is "green" oolong, but....
Taste and aroma is combination of "green" oolong and first flush daarjeling. More FF Daarjeling than oolong.

"Tricky" is an "interesting" word here. Your post is interesting & stimulates my memory etc. Thanks.

Categorizing tea is tricky overall. Nepali & Darjeeling teas especially so. The white tea from Nepal that I drink & sell (Himalayan Snow) has the thin body of white tea always; yet, it will only truly seem a white tea if prepared to taste like one. One must not use very high temperatures and/or steeping times that are longer than 20 seconds for the flavors to be delicate. Flavor is still somewhat bold & complex for a white tea but are there gently enough when the parameters are right. (If one wants a drink very much like first & second flush black teas from the region, he can employ very hot water and/or long steeping times.)

I think lots of teas from Nepal offer multiple results to a great degree through variations of preparation.
Why I bother to search for white is for a thin feeling liquid (so think I will not use the word "soup" for the brew) & for no astringency (even if steeped in boiling water for so long bitterness finally appears).

Buying Nepali teas takes work or gambling because they vary so much season to season. I see you bought from Jun Chiyabari & quite some years ago I bought 8 1/2 kilograms of one particular black tea from Jun Chiyabari that was wonderful. I know that the same terroir, the same farmers, the same producers.... did not duplicate that season's tea for several years after. (I gave up sampling after that.)

One helpful characteristic of hard-to-catagorize Nepali tea is longevity. An opened pack doesn't seem to lose flavor over several months which is important to me because the flavors are not what I want more than a few times a month at this stage of my life. (Sometimes they are more than interesting to me, they are lovely.) Cheers

I appreciate your reaction. Maybe I did not use right words (I am not native English speaker).
I absolutely agree Himalayan/Nepali teas are nice. It does not matter whether they are black, green,white, DJ....it can be because of high mountain territory, hmmm

In short those teas always catch my attention

[Ethan Kurland]

I appreciate your reaction. Maybe I did not use right words (I am not native English speaker).
I absolutely agree Himalayan/Nepali teas are nice. It does not matter whether they are black, green,white, DJ....it can be because of high mountain territory, hmmm
In short those teas always catch my attention

I think your use of words was excellent. The word tricky applies to the situation well. Putting these teas into categories or even very casually discussing them is so difficult. Selling them is also difficult. For example, white tea is often thought of as totally delicate, too subtle in taste for many people. No matter how much I have said that Himalayan Snow has plenty of flavor, I don't think many people believe me. (At least many people have not bought it ) Also, black tea of Darjeeling & Nepal in many ways is really oolong....

You say these teas are nice & that is important to remember. Something tastes good, great! We like what we like with or without clear descriptions etc. Cheers

[teatray]

I got my 2nd shipment from tea-masters earlier this week (containing higher-altitude mountain oolongs). To @GaoShan & anyone else interested: I wanted to write about my impressions, but, unfortunately, I got a weird, prolonged cold or possibly covid. I'm all right but can't really taste well and smell absolutely nothing, so won't unseal the packs anytime soon (I want to enjoy them!). Judging from other comments, it'll probably be wise to refrain from posting any tea reviews for a few months, at least. This means I won't be able to give any timely input for this season's tea, apart from the teas I've already tried, incl. these gaoshan from T-M:

• 2024 Spring QingXin Oolong Ali Shan - organic 1 (ChangShuHu)
• 2024 Spring QingXin Oolong Ali Shan - organic 2 (ChangShuHu)
• 2024 Spring Qingxin Oolong Shan Lin Xi Day1
• 2024 Spring Jinxuan Oolong from Ali Shan

I already wrote about AS-Organic 1 and SLX-Day 1. The Organic 2 is a more oxidized version of O1--not a bad tea but clearly outshined by O1 in all aspects (aroma, taste, longevity). The Jinxuan is OK but not great. Sometimes T-M's AS Jinxuan (possibly from the same source year after year but not sure) can be very nice, so that it seems like a steal at the price. Sometimes it's just not worth getting at any price, at least to my taste. This year it's somewhere in the middle, so not a hot recommendation even, if you are looking for that Jinxuan flavor.

So, from the lower-altitude (& lower price) range, my clear recommendation (based on my incomplete sample) is to get a bigger portion of Ali Shan Organic 1 and perhaps smaller amounts of other things to try. If getting the SLX, get Day 2, instead of Day 1, since it's less oxidized per vendor. If I was doing one more order only from the lower range, I'd go for: a big pack of Organic 1 (repeat), a big pack of 2024 Spring QingXin Oolong Ali Shan - ChangShuHu (the slightly cheaper non-organic version; excited about it since, per vendor site: "This tea was harvested around noon time, the most suitable time, because that's when the air is driest." which probably means lower oxidation as well, similar to Organic 1), a smaller pack of SLX Day2 to see if I like it better than SLX Day1. My personal ranking so far: O1>O2>SXL D1, not really competing this year: the Jinxuan (I enjoy it while I'm having a cold and don't feel like I'm wasting much).

[Ethan Kurland]

AS-Organic 1 and SLX-Day 1. The Organic 2 is a more oxidized version of O1--not a bad tea but clearly outshined by O1 in all aspects (aroma, taste, longevity). The Jinxuan is OK but not great. Sometimes T-M's AS Jinxuan (possibly from the same source year after year but not sure) can be very nice, so that it seems like a steal at the price. Sometimes it's just not worth getting at any price, at least to my taste. This year it's somewhere in the middle, so not a hot recommendation even, if you are looking for that Jinxuan flavor.

Thanks for this post.

I am glad that your post lists so many factors effecting the tea leaves (day, time of day leaves were picked, etc.). I don't know the how & why much; so, I seek accurate descriptions from honest sources and/or when possible, a fantastic relationship w/ sources who understand what I want, & when necessary, samples. (This Spring, it was necessary for gaoshan because many teas of similar quality were recommended.)

Jinxuan is a problem tea for me. (So much is grown & so much seems so far from special.) Shanlinxi has pleased me very much; yet, there are seasons for SLX (& other teas) that are disappointing. (I don't see a reason to buy Foushoushan & Dayuling many seasons though customers abandon me for not stocking them.)

It is interesting that tea called Longfengxia is the "best" part of the SLX terroir. One might assume LFX should always be better, but you mention harvest dates etc. being factors. This Spring the difference between the best SLX & the best LFX that I sampled was tiny compared to the difference in price.

I think processing cannot be forgotten. How much tea oxidizes is how much it is allowed to oxidize. About 10% of the full oxidation to become black can make an oolong a dark oolong. Likewise, 10% roasting can make a tea so different, very far from green oolong that had heat used only to stop oxidation, "kill green", not to give leaves the taste of roasting.

After your bout w/ covid, you might try drinking a glass of water or soda water w/ 3 or 4 tablespoons of vinegar. When you go from liking it or not minding it, to the drink being too sour, you are ready for good tea. Also, recommend this after many hours in airplanes (which diminishes tasting...). Cheers

[GaoShan]

I got my 2nd shipment from tea-masters earlier this week (containing higher-altitude mountain oolongs). To GaoShan & anyone else interested: I wanted to write about my impressions, but, unfortunately, I got a weird, prolonged cold or possibly covid. I'm all right but can't really taste well and smell absolutely nothing, so won't unseal the packs anytime soon (I want to enjoy them!). Judging from other comments, it'll probably be wise to refrain from posting any tea reviews for a few months, at least. This means I won't be able to give any timely input for this season's tea, apart from the teas I've already tried, incl. these gaoshan from T-M:

• 2024 Spring QingXin Oolong Ali Shan - organic 1 (ChangShuHu)
• 2024 Spring QingXin Oolong Ali Shan - organic 2 (ChangShuHu)
• 2024 Spring Qingxin Oolong Shan Lin Xi Day1
• 2024 Spring Jinxuan Oolong from Ali Shan

I already wrote about AS-Organic 1 and SLX-Day 1. The Organic 2 is a more oxidized version of O1--not a bad tea but clearly outshined by O1 in all aspects (aroma, taste, longevity). The Jinxuan is OK but not great. Sometimes T-M's AS Jinxuan (possibly from the same source year after year but not sure) can be very nice, so that it seems like a steal at the price. Sometimes it's just not worth getting at any price, at least to my taste. This year it's somewhere in the middle, so not a hot recommendation even, if you are looking for that Jinxuan flavor.

So, from the lower-altitude (& lower price) range, my clear recommendation (based on my incomplete sample) is to get a bigger portion of Ali Shan Organic 1 and perhaps smaller amounts of other things to try. If getting the SLX, get Day 2, instead of Day 1, since it's less oxidized per vendor. If I was doing one more order only from the lower range, I'd go for: a big pack of Organic 1 (repeat), a big pack of 2024 Spring QingXin Oolong Ali Shan - ChangShuHu (the slightly cheaper non-organic version; excited about it since, per vendor site: "This tea was harvested around noon time, the most suitable time, because that's when the air is driest." which probably means lower oxidation as well, similar to Organic 1), a smaller pack of SLX Day2 to see if I like it better than SLX Day1. My personal ranking so far: O1>O2>SXL D1, not really competing this year: the Jinxuan (I enjoy it while I'm having a cold and don't feel like I'm wasting much).

Thanks for your detailed post! I hope you get your sense of smell back sooner than expected. This hasn't happened to me yet, but I dread not being able to appreciate tea!

It sounds like the ChangShuHu Alishan is the way to go. I've had good luck with Alishan from this area in the past. Jin Xuan is also usually disappointing for me, though I've had a few good ones (I remember Milk and Honey from Floating Leaves was nice).

I look forward to hearing about the higher elevation teas when you can enjoy them again.

[Sunyata]

Drinking the 2024 Ya Shi Xiang (Orchid Literati) and 2023 Mi Lan Xiang (Honey Orchid Supreme) from Teahong. This is a vendor who sells LEGIT dancong, I'm surprised many in the west have such fond love for WuyiOrigin or Teahabitat, but their dancongs have been atrocious and probably "scented"/flavored. Good dancongs are subtle but the taste lingers. Most importantly, they make me want to reach out and brew another cup, instead of quitting and throwing away. Bad dancong, I just want to dump the 2nd steep away... theres no pleasure whatsoever no matter how one brews it.

Anyway, this Ya Shi Xiang has a delightful buttery creamy and milky flavor. Very good to compare alongside their Snow Xue Pian Ya Shi Xiang, both equally captivating and alluring. Their Mi Lan Xiang is heavier roasted, or needs a year more to "rest" (despite being 1 year older than the Ya Shi Xiang). Sweet and fruity, with veritable depth as well. When one drinks dancong, or oolong in general, one shouldn't care about "complexity" (an overrated, overused term for tea, imho, unlike wine or scotch) but clarity. Try teahong's dancongs, and one will get a sense of what many people are missing. Oolong can be an easy daily drinker, but the good ones are rare and exceedingly hard to acquire. This is different from other kinds of tea such as white, green and red tea - where consistency is key and even the best ones do not stand out in the same way as a good oolong from a bad oolong.

[Andrew S]

When one drinks dancong, or oolong in general, one shouldn't care about "complexity" (an overrated, overused term for tea, imho, unlike wine or scotch) but clarity.

I tend to agree with that notion. Things like a tea's purity, freshness, liveliness and lingering aftertaste have become far more interesting to me in the last few years than my (poor) ability to detect and differentiate between flavours and aromas, or the strength of those flavours and aromas. Of course, some people might prefer strong flavours and aromas, but for me, some of the best teas I've had in the last few years have been those that have the feeling of 'drinking pure water' (for want of a much better expression).

The wine and whisky analogy is interesting to me, because I often feel that people put far too much emphasis on power, richness, and even complexity with those drinks. Real complexity deserves praise, of course, but there's also something to be said at times for purity and even linearity.

Anyway, yesterday and today both started with the same morning RouGui in different little pots, made from young bushes but processed quite nicely (not 'over the top'). It's a good sign for my Covid recovery that I'm back to drinking yancha in the morning instead of cooked puer (although there's a place for that, too, of course). I'll soon feel comfortable enough to getting around (finally...) to trying some DanCong samples that I got a fair while ago to learn more about this style that I've neglected... But small samples make me nervous that I'll brew them badly and waste them.

Andrew

[Sunyata]

When one drinks dancong, or oolong in general, one shouldn't care about "complexity" (an overrated, overused term for tea, imho, unlike wine or scotch) but clarity.

I tend to agree with that notion. Things like a tea's purity, freshness, liveliness and lingering aftertaste have become far more interesting to me in the last few years than my (poor) ability to detect and differentiate between flavours and aromas, or the strength of those flavours and aromas. Of course, some people might prefer strong flavours and aromas, but for me, some of the best teas I've had in the last few years have been those that have the feeling of 'drinking pure water' (for want of a much better expression).

The wine and whisky analogy is interesting to me, because I often feel that people put far too much emphasis on power, richness, and even complexity with those drinks. Real complexity deserves praise, of course, but there's also something to be said at times for purity and even linearity.

Andrew

Firstly, if I want to taste a sense of ripe peach in my beverage, I might as well eat one. Furthermore, it's just not possible to taste more than 3 or 4 discreet flavors in anything. Try eating an Indian curry dish like a Tikka Masala where theres 10+ ingredients inside. Is it complex? Sure. But can one name the taste of each ingredient as a discernable feature? No. And what's the point in doing so? The dish is enjoyable in its own right, something that is more than a sum of its parts. Doesn't mean that if I throw in as many ingredients I get something worth eating.

Which is why gradually as I grow older, I move towards purity and clarity in my food and drink. Anything greasy, oily, heavy just wears me down and makes me sick. When it comes to tea, I find myself drawn to gushu danzhu (or single tree) teas that have almost zero or just a single discernible flavor. I think thats the end game of puerh. Yet, each danzhu that I have is distinctly, subtly different from each other - even trees harvested by the same family and not that far apart. I've been drinking Lincang danzhu a lot recently, the after-taste that I get is still the same note but oh-so-harmonious and it lingers far more persistently than a blended xiaoshu which is noisy and muddled.

Who doesn't weep when he listens to the opening note of Bach's Air?

[Victoria]

Really enjoying Floating Leaves Spring 2003 Diva High Mountain. It’s smooth and buttery like their Lishan (which is also very good) but has a different aroma and taste, with deeper tones. Grown further north from Lishan, it comes from what looks to be a beautiful small indigenous town, Smangus in Hsinchu County elev 1,500.

[LeoFox]

Nice ob from 2016. Surprising tart notes that remind me of sunny dried wild reds from yunnan

20240801_090802.jpg (170.48 KiB) Viewed 10669 times

[the_dalu]

Lugu Dong Ding Gaba Oolong - Moychay

• https://moychay.nl/products/lugu-don-ding-gaba-oolong

Screenshot from 2024-08-09 20-03-45.png (213.9 KiB) Viewed 10424 times

[LeoFox]

2021 mi yun dancong from teahabitat
https://teahabitat.com/collections/sing ... sence-1-oz

[Victoria]

2021 mi yun dancong from teahabitat
https://teahabitat.com/collections/sing ... sence-1-oz

Curious what type of water you used and if you enjoyed this dancong?

[LeoFox]

2021 mi yun dancong from teahabitat
https://teahabitat.com/collections/sing ... sence-1-oz

Curious what type of water you used and if you enjoyed this dancong?

Water - icelandic

The tea is ok. Relatively straght forward with satisfying honey sweetness. The astringency is a bit high but not awful. Decent tea that is way overpriced in my opinion.

[Sunyata]

The less said about teahabitat the better. But that won't discourage people from being curious because of the price and woo-woo. All I can say is that the quality of their dancong and puerh is abysmal, even at half the price they cant beat the likes of hojo or farmerleaf.