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.

Comments

Uji Karigane "Otsūsan" from o-cha.com

Karigane tea from Tsuen sourced by o-cha. 2020 first flush Contains blend of sencha leaves and gyokuro stems from Uji. Medium to deep steam Brewed as follows (6 grams / 300 mL or 6 grams / 250 mL): 1. 70 C 60 s : thick brothy taste. Aroma of fresh hay 2. 80 C 30 s : lighter broth with stronger hay aroma. At times, hints of orchid flowers and mint 3. 80 C 1 min 45 s: very light broth with light grassy aroma. May benefit from longer infusion depending on taste as it develops astringency but also floweriness. 4. (Optional): up to 6 minutes 90 C. The result is a more astringent brew and less complexity. The tartness is very temperature dependent, and rises as temperature goes down. When the tea is cold, the tartness is not pleasant. The complex changes in tartness, brothiness (umami) and hay aroma as the tea cools is very interesting. Theanine and caffeine levels must be high as mood and energy are greatly elevated after second infusion. Experimentation: 23 min 5th ...

Liquid proust pu erh package

Cannot identify every tea. For both shou and sheng brewed ~ 5g / 100 mL, 2x rinse and then for sheng: flash brew until no more flavor followed by longer brews. For shou, first brew is about 30s followed by flash brews. 2019 brown sugar: white2tea makes a brown sugar. Very sweet with caramel, molasses and red bean notes. No wodui. 2019 raw man zhuang: possibly from ys. Very floral. Brew 3g/85 mL. Fruity, floral. Lively..beautiful at first...then funeral, sickly abominable. "brick shou": Not much more info than that. I suspect it is the 2018 Dragon Brick, a shou puerh brick from XiZiHao, since that is the only brick shou he sells. Tastes different from all other shous i have had: subtle balance between herbal chinese med2icine, light incense, fresh plum, strawberry jam, earthy minerality and beef bone broth. There is also a floral aroma like acacia and jasmine. The aromas and flavors shift as steepings progress. Infusions are very clear and elegant even...

2020 summer SHAN LIN XI HIGH MOUNTAIN OOLONG TEA from eco-cha

From vendor: Harvest: Hand-picked in medium batches, summer 2020. Shan Lin Xi, Nantou, Taiwan. Elevation: 1500m Farmer Chen and Zhang. Review : Dry leaf: mostly medium to small tight rolls with light to dark green yellow. Some balls are dark yellow orange. Vendor indicates leaves were slightly higher oxidized. Subtle guava, yeast and seaweed scents. Brewed 8 g / 125 mL 85-90 C Rinse / 40 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 1:00 /1:20 / 2:00 / 4:00 Early steeps were very light and flowery with clear guava and pastry flavors. There is some light honey sweetness pleasant minerality. It gave the impression of drinking very refreshing spring water in the alpines. Very uplifting and pleasant feeling down the throat. Later steeps (after 4th steep), green vegetal and herbal notes move to the fore, highlighting the thick body. Guava and sweet pastry notes still rings in the back. A fruit sweetness is present even at the 8th steep. Very refreshing and satisfying tea with good stamina.

Tea

Search This Blog