Brewing Taiwanese oolong

Bao Zhong:

After some experimentation, I found it works best in this way:

~7.3-7.5 g/125 mL. Basically a little less than yancha.
Boiling hot water
No rinse
30s /35s/45s/1 min etc

Keeping it at 6.5 g but longer time makes the later steeps less balanced for me.

Going higher to yancha ratios overwhelms me with qi.

Oriental Beauty

This tea can behave like hong cha and white tea hybrid with some oolong notes.

for natural clean stuff - 4.5-5.5g / 100 ml - start at 15s and slowly go up increasing by 5-10s. Allow the cup to cool each time- treating it evenly And gently but also with strength (boiling water) like a fine lady results on full appreciation of aromatic journey

For green gao shan

Ive learned it depends a lot on the nature of the leaves and the brewing vessel.

When using thin porcelain, 6 grams/100 mL, doing

Rinse/45s/35s/45s is a good starting point

When using a thicker vessel like kobiwako clay, a similar ratio can be appropriate, but maybe a slightly faster first infusion - 35 to 40s.

Also, for thicker vessels, pour boiling water directly on clay instead of leaf, and possibly consider using slightly cooler water for first infusion that should be around 40 seconds. Second infusion should be 30.

For high quality leaves, keep rinse short using warm water, not off boiling. An easy way is to pour the water used to warm the vessel into a cup. Add leaf, and then pour back the cooler water from the cup.

From what i understand, the best gaoshan is supposed to taste fruity, floral, minerally, and a bit herbal (esp mint). Mintiness is considered a top quality attribute.

For roasted ball rolled oolong

Similar to green gaoshan but keep water boiling and pour directly on leaves. Hit leaves more and hotter if tea is older. Also second infusion should be same as first infusion since flavor dump is not as big compared to gaoshan

Comments

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. V...

Full roast rougui 2018 from dxjd

At 0.8/g from da xue jia dao Steeped 8g/110 mL boiling Flash/ 10s/15s/20s/25s/30s/40s/55s/1min30s/2min/3min/5min/7min/10min/15min/ steeped out in large volume A stunning tea like a velvet hammer. Soft and rich yet presenting a strong but pleasant astringent note that establishes a firm flavor structure. Taste is difficult to describe but includes rich milk chocolate and strong minerality as steeps progress. The early steeps include a bright plummy note that balances out the darker flavors. There is a sensation of walking into an ancient church and seeing a dusty canvas in the shadows layered with little mountains of paint - defined by strong textures and a vague impression of old, long forgotten madness. The minerality is bound tightly with flavors of dried ginseng and ginger. .

Temi 383 "black rose" second flush darjeeling style tea from TWL

Vendor: We asked a champion of less well-known cultivars, Mr. Nalin Modha, for this exceptional example of the Tukdah 383 cultivar, which he processed at peak second flush in June 2020 at Temi estate in Sikkim, India. This tea, from an east-facing garden at 1300m, has thick leaves and midribs, and is very well processed, with relatively intact material for the Darjeeling style. Review: Brewed 2-2.5g/100 mL, 90-95C 60s Alternatively, 4 g/ 100 mL 30s Grape must, old barrels filled with port wine, strong rose aromas. Gets sweeter as i brew harder. An unbelievable tea.

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