What Oolong Are You Drinking

[chofmann]

This morning I started off with hauyin chens 100 year garden bug bitten light roast grandpa style, which it did very well with. Now I'm having a small serving (3g) in a 60ml gaiwan of heirloom tea company's light roasted da yu ling. Which is really good. Buttery sweet, some cinnamon aroma off the lid of the gaiwan. Wet leaf smells similar to long jing wet leaf, dry leaf if I remember correctly kind of baked breadish, or maybe shortbread cookies.

Here's a small album from the da yu ling session

Afternoon tea

Two excellent tea choices!

[d.manuk]

Having a Qingxin 2017 from Tea Masters. It’s from Tsui Luan, Taiwan (2100 m).

Nice and clean taste, I haven’t had a gaoshan in a few weeks so it’s great to have.

Brewing it in the pot I received from Bok that I am dedicating to gaoshan.

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[Bok]

Having a Qingxin 2017 from Tea Masters. It’s from Tsui Luan, Taiwan (2100 m).

Nice and clean taste, I haven’t had a gaoshan in a few weeks so it’s great to have.

Brewing it in the pot I received from Bok that I am dedicating to gaoshan.

7675624B-94F3-4BFC-AE05-FF2647581ECE.jpeg

Pot fits your tray pretty well!

[Baisao]

I was drinking a contraband yancha from Taiwan today. The leaves originated in China, stated as a ‘weird varietal’, but were finished in Taiwan. They dated to 2014. I won’t go into too much detail since I am assuming this was illegal. The producer is an unusual fellow who is obsessed with qi. His personal brewing methods are strange and obsessive. I’ve had his other oolongs, made from leaves grown on his estate, and they have been unusual but nonetheless great. His teas have a pleasant tartness to them, but I hasten to add that this isn’t the same as the sourness one tastes from a defect in processing or storage.

This contraband yancha was notable for having strong chaqi and, true to the processor, was unusual. I was feeling chazui after the first cup. By the third cup the qi settled at my tanden. It had lots of vanilla notes but a wood smoke flavor on the exhale that strangely wasn’t at all present in the aroma. It was slightly tart on the palate. As time passed the flavor became more fruity, but like some kind of smoked fruit.

It was a strange tea but delicious. I would seek buying a couple of jins except for that it was too powerful for me.

It was an ideal day: perfect temperature, beautiful spring growth, and the sound of water flowing unseen in the valley below my tearoom. Every day feels like the kind of day for drinking tea and writing poems, but this day was different in how ideally spring-like it was. I’ll hold onto this day. If I blink it’ll be unbearably hot and the leaves that are new and wet today will soon be tatty.

[Victoria]

I was drinking a contraband yancha from Taiwan today. The leaves originated in China, stated as a ‘weird varietal’, but were finished in Taiwan. They dated to 2014. I won’t go into too much detail since I am assuming this was illegal. The producer is an unusual fellow who is obsessed with qi. His personal brewing methods are strange and obsessive. I’ve had his other oolongs, made from leaves grown on his estate, and they have been unusual but nonetheless great. His teas have a pleasant tartness to them, but I hasten to add that this isn’t the same as the sourness one tastes from a defect in processing or storage.

This contraband yancha was notable for having strong chaqi and, true to the processor, was unusual. I was feeling chazui after the first cup. By the third cup the qi settled at my tanden. It had lots of vanilla notes but a wood smoke flavor on the exhale that strangely wasn’t at all present in the aroma. It was slightly tart on the palate. As time passed the flavor became more fruity, but like some kind of smoked fruit.

It was a strange tea but delicious. I would seek buying a couple of jins except for that it was too powerful for me.

It was an ideal day: perfect temperature, beautiful spring growth, and the sound of water flowing unseen in the valley below my tearoom. Every day feels like the kind of day for drinking tea and writing poems, but this day was different in how ideally spring-like it was. I’ll hold onto this day. If I blink it’ll be unbearably hot and the leaves that are new and wet today will soon be tatty.

What a very special session you had, perfect celebration of Spring. I am so curious with questions; a weird varietal, illegal to import, ‘personal brewing methods are strange and obsessive’. Also, how cool is that, an oolong that has so much chaqi that you don’t want too much. Sometimes a little goes a long way. I enjoy those moments most when shared.

[ShuShu]

OldWaysTea’ new Flower Fragrance DHP (which is really light roasted RouGui).
Very pleasing, gentle and fruity. Feels like light ripe peach nectar. Feels like spring! Even when pushed somewhat harder, didn’t notice any bitterness or astringency. Really fun yancha. Very happy I ordered it.

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[debunix]

Looks tasty. Is there some of that spicy cinnamon note in it?

[ShuShu]

Looks tasty. Is there some of that spicy cinnamon note in it?

The aroma is there, but its not a spicy tea, if that makes sense. The fruity-peachy flavor which usually comes out very nicely in medium/light roast really took my attention.

[debunix]

Sounds very interesting.

[Ethan Kurland]

Foushoushan: (

using about 1 gram of leaves in a 30 ml yixing pot.

This is what I want from OOLONG that is lightly oxidized and not roasted. There is not thickness to a degree that I associate with green tea or other qualities from heavier oxidation or from roasting. l like this FSS so much for it is flavorful yet light, gentle yet satisfying.

Revisiting my own post because of surprise. I have been using less leaves & almost no steeping time for the first several infusions; then only 20 seconds (+ or - a bit) for a few more infusions with wonderful results. I was using rather hot water for oolong but now even hotter water, just slightly off boil.

Having 2 sessions a day, taking lead from advice from Bok & others, to use green teas quickly while they are fresh, especially when they are this satisfying.

[Bok]

Foushoushan: (

using about 1 gram of leaves in a 30 ml yixing pot.

This is what I want from OOLONG that is lightly oxidized and not roasted. There is not thickness to a degree that I associate with green tea or other qualities from heavier oxidation or from roasting. l like this FSS so much for it is flavorful yet light, gentle yet satisfying.

Revisiting my own post because of surprise. I have been using less leaves & almost no steeping time for the first several infusions; then only 20 seconds (+ or - a bit) for a few more infusions with wonderful results. I was using rather hot water for oolong but now even hotter water, just slightly off boil.

Having 2 sessions a day, taking lead from advice from Bok & others, to use green teas quickly while they are fresh, especially when they are this satisfying.

I am going to join you with this tea! From the series: “only in Taiwan” someone randomly gifted me a FSS can... not the regular one though, but a special edition with a calligraphy from an apparently famous calligrapher. I admit I do care more about the contents though - has been ages since I last had a FSS and I am curious how I experience it after what I hope is being more apt at all things tea than back then

[Victoria]

Foushoushan: (

using about 1 gram of leaves in a 30 ml yixing pot.

This is what I want from OOLONG that is lightly oxidized and not roasted. There is not thickness to a degree that I associate with green tea or other qualities from heavier oxidation or from roasting. l like this FSS so much for it is flavorful yet light, gentle yet satisfying.

Revisiting my own post because of surprise. I have been using less leaves & almost no steeping time for the first several infusions; then only 20 seconds (+ or - a bit) for a few more infusions with wonderful results. I was using rather hot water for oolong but now even hotter water, just slightly off boil.

Having 2 sessions a day, taking lead from advice from Bok & others, to use green teas quickly while they are fresh, especially when they are this satisfying.

Hi Ethan that sure is a tiny amount of leaf and pot. I had to measure to see what 1gr looks like, and it equals 5 very small rolled balls. If you are having 2 sessions a day, then you must be steeping these into the next few days? I seem to be at the opposite end of steeping spectrum; using a lot of leaf, and a lot of time, in a large enough pot so leaves can fully expand. 8.3gr/100ml/off boil/1:30min. steeped in 150ml shudei. This steeps for several days, going for longer steeps each time. I find FuShoushan’s thick leaves really begin to open up and deliver after a few steeps and continue to give well into 10 steeps over a few days.

[Victoria]

Enjoying a night session with Wuyi Origin’s, 2017 Lao Cong Shuxian, a kind gift from pedant. Really nice aromatics and body. Not as rich or thick bodied as some of HY Chen’s heavy roasted DongDings, but it has a sophisticated and complex aroma and liquor profile. Can’t quite describe what I’m tasting but I like it. 4.6gr/75ml/94c/20sec. in 85ml F1 Hongni shuiping. Next time I’ll try using even more leaf to see if body gets thicker. Also, this yancha has enough character that it stands up to my Brazilian Palo Santo aromatic wood incense burning near by. Here’s a nighttime snapshot.

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[Baisao]

Enjoying a night session with Wuyi Origin’s, 2017 Lao Cong Shuxian, a kind gift from pedant. Really nice aromatics and body. Not as rich or thick bodied as some of HY Chen’s heavy roasted DongDings, but it has a sophisticated and complex aroma and liquor profile. Can’t quite describe what I’m tasting but I like it. 4.6gr/75ml/94c/20sec. in 85ml F1 Hongni shuiping. Next time I’ll try using even more leaf to see if body gets thicker. Also, this yancha has enough character that it stands up to my Brazilian Palo Santo aromatic wood incense burning near by. Here’s a nighttime snapshot.
DD8A95CC-0A3F-44C9-AB9A-B75D63989687.jpeg

Sounds lovely. Was the chaqi potent? I would like to have a high quality, every day yancha that doesn’t make me chazui.

[Tillerman]

Enjoying a strip rolled traditional roasted TGY from Zhen Tea (http://www.zhentea.ca/) Incredibly aromatic with length and good mouth feel. Brewed 5 g. of leaf in 150 ml. Taiwanese porcelain pot, boiling water, 45 sec. first steep, 60 sec. second steep etc. per vendor's suggestions. This is considerably less leaf than I normally use (6 g per 100 ml.) and much longer steeps (mine are generally in the 15 - 20 sec. range on first steep.) The sample was, however, 5 g. so it is what it is; a very nice tea. Highly Recommended.


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