Tea

This pot works best for unrolled oolong and black tea. It is able to fit about 8 grams of ball rolled oolong but has trouble closing with 10+grams of oolong after they unfurl.  Unheated, the pour time of a full pot is around 11 seconds. Heated, the pour time is lower at 7 to 8 seconds, likely due to expansion. Pour time is also generally below 10 seconds when brewing non-ball rolled oolongs, but can be up to 20 seconds with ball rolled oolong. This makes precision pouring with ball rolled difficult.   The lid sits somewhat loosely on the body. When cold, the seal is good: when a finger is pressed on the hole on the lid, the flow stops. However, when heated, the seal is not as good, and tea can easily drip out from between the lid and the rim. The poor sealing can be mitigated by making sure the lid is also hot so that it has also expanded like the body. Also pushing the lid forward towards the spout helps. Overall, this isn't too bad of an issue, but the seal is definit...

 From vendor: STYLE OF TEA Formosa Black Tea PICKING DATE April 2020 OXYDATION LEVEL High BAKING LEVEL None TERROIR Sanxia ADMINISTRATIVE REGION New Taipei City PICKING STYLE Hand Picked CULTIVAR(S) USED Qing Xin Gan Zhi GARDEN ELEVATION 500 m ________________ Steeped 5 grams in 125 ml pot using 90 to 95 C water. 20 sec / 20 sec / 25 sec / 40 sec / 1 min / 2 min /4 min Wonderful honey and blueberry taste and aromas. Mild muscat notes reminiscent of second flush insect bitten darjeeling.  Slight astringency at back of throat. As liquid cools, there is more acidity. Acidity is tempered using lower temp water.  Body is relatively light. May benefit from clay. Leaves: more than 1/3 appear broken, possibly during rolling process. Very little evidence of insect bites, which are required for this genre of tea. Had very good flavor for 5 steepings before tapering off.

 Organic Sencha on mac and cheese

 From vendor: Harvest:  Hand-picked, small batch, from Ruili, Taiwan. Spring 2020. Elevation:  1200m Brewed 8 grams in 125 mL porcelain pot using boiling water Brews: 1 min / 1 min / 1 min 20 sec / 1 min 45 sec / 2 min 15 sec / 2 min 45 sec / 5 min 45 sec / 90 min The first 7 steeps were very satisfying. Dry leaf had a floral and light tropical fruit scent. Not too stemmy. Leaves are a bit heterogeneous in size and very intact. No evidence of bug bites, suggesting some possible use of pesticides. However pesticides may not have been necessary due to relatively high elevation and springtime picking. Brews had flowery and tropical fruit aromas and tasted of lightly steamed green vegetables, dried pineapples, and some indian spices. Astringency is relatively low. Liquid had medium to heavy body. Overall impression of purity, and high mountain meadows along with eating pineapple cakes. Overall very nice experience, though price point a bit high.

 From vendor: machine picked, light pesticides used. 400 m elevation. Brewed 8 grams in 125 mL porcelain pot with boiling water. Brewed 1 min / 1 min / 1 min 30 sec / 2 min 30 sec / 5 min First 3 steepings: light floweriness with some honey notes. Very mild creaminess that i had to really search for to find.  After 3 steepings: flavor fell apart even with a long 5 min brew. Leaves: no evidence of bug bites, indicative of at least some pesticide use. Lots and lots of stems! May therefore require 10+ grams per 125 mL. Overall decent value for a very clean and natural tasting jin xuan but 2020 picking is a little weak.

Generally, I am using 2-3 g per 100 mL  unless Hou Kui. Parameters: 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2min, 3min, 5 min, grandpa steep Water temp: off boiling if good. Lower if bad Have been using a glazed arita kyusu. While brewing, i keep the lid off.

From vendor: Harvest:  Machine harvested in medium batches. Spring 2020. Nantou, Taiwan. Elevation:  400m Brewed 7.5 g in 125 mL porcelain pot with boiling hot water. Steeps: rinse / 1 min / 1min / +20 sec / + 20 sec / + 20 sec / + 30 sec / + 30 sec / + 1 min / + 1 min Dry leaf: slight floral and seaweed scents In the cup, refreshingly flowery with mild grassiness, herbs and vegetable notes like a light green tea but very obviously an oolong. Some seaweed taste lingers for a long time. Body thickens after first steep. Good alternative to green tea for great price.

Light and medium steamed: Teamaster method: 4g/100 mL 65-85 1min15s, 15s, 55s, 1min15s I tend to do 65 for first 3, then 75, then 80 for 2 min then boiling for 2 min. Starting temperature must be adapted for the tea. Can be higher for zairai or unblended varietals offering unique polyphenols. For real zairai These are from pre hybridized bushes and so should be able to handle hot water without releasing bitterness My preferred method: 2g/100 mL during first 1-2 weeks and then increase as leaves get stale. 30s 90 C water Flash 90 C water (can do this 2-3 times when leaves are fresh) 15-30s 90 C water  1min-2min boiling (length depending on freshness) 3 -5 min boiling Grandpa brewing after that. This kind of tea can take it. With this way, the tea is highly dynamic. Often first two brews are sweet, vegetal and herbal. And then from third brewing on, there is more brothiness, oiliness and mineral aftertaste depending on the tea. Hot water method: From https://japaneseteasommelier.word...

Most darjeelings appear to have elements of many types of chinese tea from green to white to black to oolong. This is likely due to the uneven oxidation and processing method unique to Darjeeling and makes these teas such a distinctive pleasure. First flush definitely has more "green characteristics" and often reminds me of a mix between bao zhong, tsui yu, high mountain green oolong and keemun. Elements of white tea are also there from some gardens. I heard that this lighter style was brought about by german vendors favoring brighter "pilsner" style teas in the early 80s, but I never looked into this to confirm the history. Second flush Darjeelings can be more like dark roasted oolong and keemun, but typically with less maltiness than Assam. If they are bug bitten, these teas can exhibit stronger muscatel notes but not the same honey notes found in jassid bitten Taiwan teas. Third flush or autumn flush Darjeelings have qualities of both first and second flush, but ...

 August 2018 harvest so aged ~ 2 years Large and hairy white buds. Buds also appear slightly green with black interiors, suggesting relatively high oxidation - therefore closer to moonlight white than traditional white. Dry leaf has very flowery aromas, mostly rose. Brewed 6 g in 150 mL 90-95C. Higher temp needed to open bud. Used glass pot. Recommended 1 min infusion and then + 30 sec to 1 min Extemely floral, filled with rose attack. Some melon and incense notes as in chinese white tea but with addition of some muscatel. In the back, there is dried orange peel and some citrus notes as well as a dried celery. If bbrewed longer, some astringency in the throat. Liquid seems to have a relatively thick body. 

 Info from vendor: This farmer manages his own small plots of Tie Guan Yin, also known as "Iron Goddess", tea plants and processes the leaves in his home factory. This batch is 75-80%  Tie Guan Yin  tea leaves blended with a batch of Jin Xuan Oolong that he processed in the traditional  Tie Guan Yin  fashion.  _______ By the even, dark color of the balls, the roasting was consistent Ball size is a bit heterogeneous. Also, stems are prominent Almost no particles after wash. Overall quality is good. Dried leaf smelled of raisins and toffee Did 9 grams in 170 mL pot with boiling water. 45 sec and then +5 sec for subsequent steeps. First steep had lots of dried fruit as well as medium smoky character that lingers for a long time. Smoke has a herbal/medicinal quality and reminds me of TGY from the 80s. Second steep was a bit too smoky, bordering smoked lapsang souchong quality. Jin xuan butteriness comes through at this point. Would recommend shorter second stee...

green tea from Kirishima Kagoshima  harvested from the first round of young leaves.   2020 shincha Initial brew following vendor 76 C water, 7 g/300 mL Steep 1: 1 min. Asparagus soup with edges of baked lemon. Buttery. Slight astringency. Nice aromas of fresh grass and dried citrus peel. Steep 2: 30 sec sweet fresh cut grass. Slightly nutty Steep 3: 1.5 min More savory with seaweed aromas Steep 4: 15 min. Similar to 3. Slightly more astringent. This was a stress test. Consumed leaves at the end with yuzu/ soy sauce. Light nutty flavor. Very tender and pleasant! Light and airy tea high midway through third steeping.

 5 g in 100 mL close to boiling Steeps were 30 sec and then +5 sec. Was able to steep 12 times while still maintaining interesting flavor! Xiong Di Zai 兄弟仔 is a type of commonly-seen Feng Huang Dan Cong oolong tea. It belong to the Zhi Lan Xiang 芝兰香 Orchid family by flavor. Dried and wet leaf had pronounced banana scent Liquor tasted of ripe peaches, honey and dried fruit. Very creamy. Flowery aromas that seems to linger for hours after the session! Medium to heavy body Strong minerality.  Long aftertaste of cooling herbs Surprisingly uplifting effect after drinking. A very interesting  tea.  High price point~ $72 for 15g