Mr. Chen’s Heritage Wenshan Bao Zhong Spring Tea, Lot 929, 2020, from taiwan tea crafts

From vendor:

PICKING DATE	May 2020
OXYDATION LEVEL	Very Low
BAKING LEVEL	None
TERROIR	Wenshan
ADMINISTRATIVE REGION	New Taipei City
PICKING STYLE	Hand Picked
CULTIVAR(S) USED	Qing Xin
GARDEN ELEVATION	600 m

Mr. Chen is 92 years old. He was born under the Japanese occupation and was 28 when they left the island in 1945. At about the same, time he started producing tea in the hills not far from Pinglin next to the family’s ancestral stone house where he still resides and continues, to this day, to practice his craft with the help of his son and daughter-in-law (not the other way around!). His Bao Zhong tea is slightly more oxidized, like it used to be, before today’s trend to greener teas.

Review:

Leaves: large, dark green with some spots of white. Smells like flowers and fresh vegetables. A bit fragmented.

Brewed 5 g in 125 mL 100 C water in porcelain

Rinse/ 1 min / 1 min / 1min30s/ 2min / 3min /5min / 8 min / 10 min / 15 min / 25 min

Dark liquor indicates stronger oxidation

Very smooth with no trace of astringency

Early steeps: light celery and sea salt mixed with some muscatel reminiscent of bug bitten black tea and white teas without any of the astringency.

Later steeps: the tea sheds the muscatel notes, allowing the floral notes to shine stronger. The tea is more creamy and develops some nuttiness. Celery notes remain. Aftertaste is exquisite and complex

Very floral cup that can be pushed hard to increase body. A wonderful tea. It seems to deposit a green powdery layer on the porcelain in a way i have not seen before.

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.

Tea

Search This Blog