Roasted TGY from Muzha, Taiwan from eco-cha. 2020 spring harvest

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.

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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 steep - maybe 30 sec. Lingering aftertaste of heavily browned butter.

Third steep was less smoky but also less fruity. Some floweriness is more obvious. Has a subcontinent quality.

4+ steeps: lighter and lighter echoes of third steep.

Produced a good quality tea high in me half way through second steep.

Second session tasting noted:

This TGY is beautifully roasted with wonderful herbal and refeshingly cooling menthol notes. It is malty and fruity, with notes of sultanas, dried pineapple and coconut. The leaves are stemmy and rough, as consistent with the traditional character.

Steeped in both glass and lin's ceramic purion mug (picture). Smokiness is subdued in the mug

Comments

Glenburn king single estate first flush 2019 from vahdam

Leaves are small and bud like. There are many broken leaves as well and leaves with holes indicating insect bite. This could explain some of the Muscatel. 1.8 teaspoon 350 mL water 90 C water Steep 1: 4 min Steep 2: 8 min Steep 3: indefinite time Light, flowery, herbal Some muscatel in nose Muscatel, herb, flowery hops, light wood notes in taste Lingering herbal, fresh hop and cooling mint I am told mint is often a sign of Assamica tea but these are supposed to be chinary.

Longfengxia High Mountain Spring Oolong Tea, Day 5, Lot 948, 2020 taiwan tea craft

From vendor: PICKING DATE May 2020 OXYDATION LEVEL Low BAKING LEVEL None TERROIR Shanlinxi ADMINISTRATIVE REGION Nantou County PICKING STYLE Hand Picked CULTIVAR(S) USED Qing Xin GARDEN ELEVATION 1750 m Review: Dry lead is intensely flowery with prominent yellow stems Brewed 5 to 7 grams/100 mL boiling water in kobiwako. Lower leaf is okay due to intensity of flavor but higher leaf has stronger sweetness in later steeps. For 5 g: Rinse / 55 s / 45 s / 55 s / 1:10 / 1:30 /2:30 Brewed leaves have strong pastry and tropical fruit Steeps 1-2: Taste of green mango, citrus, and baked pineapple pastry. Clean minerality and medium to thick mouthfeel. There is strong perfume of oily flowers, mainly rose and some lavender. At higher leaf to water (7 g per 100 mL) there is some slight green astringency. Steep 3-5: fruit notes are much more mild but still present and long lasting. Much more buttery. There is slight green brandy like astringency. At higher leaf to water ratio, frui...

2020 Competition Grade Jin Jun Mei Black Tea from Yunnan Sourcing

From vendor: Late March Harvest Tong Mu Guan Village (Fujian) Review: Strong yeast and honey suckle aroma from dry leaf. Lots of orange yellow powder from the small, tight buds. A small holed filter is necessary. Brew parameter: 4 g / 100 mL 90 C in porcelain Rinse / 10s / 10s / 15s / 35s / 1 min / 2 min / 5 min Strong honey and milk chocolate notes. Smooth and thick with stone fruit (peach) aromas and sweet yam flavors. Some vegetal notes develop in later steepings. Early steepings are quick and strong but drops off after 3rd steeping. Strangely, a pu-erh like wet pile funk is faintly present. This is not particularly pleasant. Western brewing is also acceptable at 1 g /100 mL for 3:30. However, the chocolate notes are much more mild when brewed in this way.

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