Hojo's da xue shan 2019 mao cha (wild tea)

Opening the bag, I was greeted with a thick fruity aroma like grape juice and ripe melons!

Brewed 3.5 grams in my 110 mL late 70s hqsn. Flash brewing of course.

Wow is this green tea or sheng?

Very juicy fruity flavors like white grape juice and some honey. Is this really young sheng?

Where is the bitterness???

Where?

Can't find it in this tea.

There is the slightest throat prickle of astringency...or was that from drinking the tea while it was too hot?

Felt very energized after drinking - 3.5g is more than enough! Could actually drink this on a daily basis!

Update: after a few sessions, it is clear the tea "changes" quickly once exposed to air, shedding its fresh fruity aromas and gaining more oolong like characteristics. 3.5 g per session quickly becomes too flat - and I find myself progressively using more leaf. On the plus side, the tea gains body and properties that remind me of good gaoshan. The aftertaste is exceptionally robust and comes back in strong waves. Very nice! It makes me wonder if the withering process was done a bit longer than typical. In this post from Hojo, he mentions experimenting with very long withering times for sheng, achieving a gao shan like aromatic profile:

https://hojotea.com/en/posts-166/

I may start brewing this as an oolong! Still, astringency is nearly absent. This is def. a separate genre compared to typical pu. It is more like some hybrid of oolong, white tea and sheng!

Update: brewed it more like oolong: 5g/110 mL rinse/ 25s/20s/25s/30s/40s/50s/60s/2min/3min/5min

The fruity flavor is resurrected with this method. However, the aftertaste somehow suffers though is still present. Interestingly, the cha qi is very strong with these longer infusions, which makes me realize this is still a genre of sheng, even though the flavor profile is different

Update: brewed it more like white tea:
2g/100 mL
2min, 2min, 3min, 5min, 7min, 10min, 15min

Brewed this way, the tea is more complex but a little flat. Astringency and bitterness are more present in early infusions yet not overbearing..again a surprise for young sheng.

Final update: brewed at Hojo parameters again, going back full circle but using gaiwan. The teasoup is full of floral aromatics and complex fruity flavors. There is also a distinct mushroomy mustiness and a very mild acidic note that actually "livens" up the experience. The hqsn clay that I had been using was actually muting the brightness and mustiness, as well as shaving off the fruity flavors and floral aromatics. Because of this, it seems the optimal teaware should indeed be porcelain gaiwan for this tea.

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Sanxia Premium Mi Xiang Qing Xin Black Tea, Lot 944, spring 2020 from taiwan tea crafts

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.

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 Organic Nonpareil Ming Qian Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea from teavivre

From vendor: Origin: Qiandao Lake, Chun'an County, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China Season: Spring Tea Harvest Date: March 25, 2020 Tea Bush: C. sinensis cv. Jiukeng Tea Garden: Qiandao Lake Organic Tea Garden Review: Brewed 5.2 g in 170 mL 75-80 C water No rinse / 30 s / 30 s / 40 s / 55 s / 1 m 30 s /2 m 30s Dry leaf: pale green and slightly yellow, suggesting lighter oxidation than standard. Small leaves, consistent with earlier harvest. Plenty of white fluff in bag and on leaves. 1 bud 1 leaf > 1 bud > 1 bud 2 leaves. Mild scent of nuts. Wet leaf has strong scent of sweet freshly blanched green beans or corn. In the mouth, persistent vegetal sweetness mostly of asparagus and corn mixed with milder aromas of raw nuts. Good minerality gives this all a nice structure and a "crisp hardness" like small bell ringing. Long aftertaste of sweet vegetal notes, butteriness and minerality. Astringency is very controlled. Overall, aroma is a bit too mild.

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