Tea

Brewed 9.2 g in 150 mL Rinse/35s/30s/40s/50s/1min20s/2min/4min/15min First infusion is still closed off: some light nuttiness, caramel sweetness and dried fruit Second infusion opens up with surprisingly deep fruit and toffee flavors. Third infusion adds some butteriness Fourth infusion is much lighter than 3rd infusion  5th infusion is lighter still 6th infusion is quite light 7th infusion is fruity again Long 8th infusion, slightly stronger than 7th First 4 infusions are interesting, and made think of slowly entering and delving deeper into a large house. The roast and the leaf flavors are well integrated: there is no conflicting taste profile between leaf and roast. Stamina is a bit low, possibly due to non-ideal storage  (not vacuum sealed) Left an "interesting" roasted medicinal/herbal aftertaste that is vaguely like baked rosemary. This may be the effect of the longan wood charcoal After much experimentation, i had the best experience with 10 g /150 mL: Light rinse with

 Vendor Cultivar : Qingxin (ruanzhi) Oolong Harvested by hand  : April 28 2020 Origin : RuiFeng, Ali Shan (1200 m) Process : Light oxidized and rolled Oolong Review: Dry leaf is clean and has characteristic tropical fruit scent 6.5 g in 110 mL Infusions increase in butteriness until the 4th infusion. The brew has medium tropical fruit sweetness, and has a pine green flavor. The flowery scent is very strong and long lasting. Stamina relatively low - excellent 4 infusions

 Vendor: no information other than this is 2019 batch of cha tuo from yunnan. May be similar to 2018 batch. For 2018:  the mao-cha of Da Cha Tou（大茶头） made of raw pu-erh tea  from the mountain called Huo Cao Shan Review: Dry leaf has faint wet pile stink. Brewed 4.9 g in 100 mL modern yixing Rinse/rinse/30s/ flash/flash/flash/flash/flash/..../ 30s/1min/10 min Brew is very sweet, earthy and slightly herbally. Complex minerality and some creaminess. Wet pile stink is mild but clearly apparent. Sweetness lingers for a long time. This is one of the better shu i have had. Flashed steep so many times i lost track, and yet flavor was still good.

 Vendor: Cultivar:  Qingxin (ruanzhi) Oolong Harvested by hand:  April 29th,2019 Origin:  Da Yu Ling (2100 m), 92k. This is a rather early harvest for Da Yu Ling. Maybe that's why this tea has very delicate spring flavors! It has a complete lack of astringency and bursts with natural sweetness. Review: Tasted in november 2020, so was expecting some loss in aroma. Technically, this should not be da yu lin. Dry leaves are medium to large tightly rolled smaller leaves. Color is very green giving off a subtle sweet scent Brewed 6.5 g in 110 mL boiling water in kobiwako Rinse/30/25/30/35/40/50/1:15/2:00/4:00/10:00 Early infusions were very green, almost like japanese green tea. The tea tasted like clean chicken consomme, light mint herbs, and some hints of tropical fruit. The second and third infusions were thick and oily. Middle infusions are more buttery. In later infusions, the tropical fruit flavors become more noticeable. I ate a leaf at the end of the session. It tasted brothy! I

 From vendor: PICKING DATE May 2019 OXYDATION LEVEL Medium-High BAKING LEVEL Light oven baked TERROIR Emei ADMINISTRATIVE REGION Hsinchu County PICKING STYLE Hand Picked CULTIVAR(S) USED Qing Xin Da Mu GARDEN ELEVATION 600 m Review: Dry leaf resembles colorful autumn leaves on thr forest floor Brewed 5 g in 85 mL gaiwan using boiling water Rinse/25s/20s/30s/35s/40s/45s/1min/1min30s/2min/3min/5min Strong honey and topical fruit notes with medium low malty bitterness. After 5 infusions, the brew becomes more buttery and less fruity. After 8 infusions, it is no longer interesting, but still has a black tea flavor.

From vendor: Harvest and processing dates unknown. Origin : Shimen District, New Taipei City, Taiwan Cultivar : Ying Zhi Hong Xin & Jinxuan Elevation : ~300 meters Oxidation : 30~40% Roast Level : Dark Review: Dry leaf Packed in paper bag like coffee beans. Was worried that would make it stale. Very loosely rolled leaves. Dark brown with brown sugar and light coffee scent Brewed 9g /150 mL boiling in Peter kuo wood fired pot Rinse/25s/25s/35s/50 sec/1min 15s/ 2min/4min/8min / steep it out grandpa style Early steeps: The scent is smoky, like a mix of very light cigar and expensive incense. The taste begins with the cigar and incense smoke that immediately opens up to sweet, creamy toffee and wood barrel flavors, that build up layer after layer far into the after taste Later steeps: the scent and the sweet toffee notes coalesce more and more. Some dried fruit and chinese sweet red bean paste flavors that are reminiscent of clean shu pu erh emerge. Grandpa steeps seem almost indisting

Vendor: Mount emei is one of the world natural and cultural heritage site, near the north latitude 30 ° of emei mountain, is the world's gold tea producing region. The tree of zhuyeqing tea grows in the mountain tea area of 600-1500 meters high. The tea is picked before tomb-sweeping day and the high-quality buds are handpicked. Review: Dry leaf is hard and glossy with consistent shape. There is a scent of sugarcane and fresh green beans. Brewed at 65-70C, 4 g/ 150 mL 1 min / 1min / 2 min / 4 min / 10 min First steep is filled with umami, sweet butter and fresh green beans. Second steep has a pleasant minerality mixed with sugarcane sweetness and a mildly astringent finish.  Subsequent steeps are more grassy.  There is a long buttery sweet aftertaste.