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

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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...

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...

Dayuling High Mountain Spring Oolong Tea, Lot 933, 88k, from ttc

From vendor: This Spring 2020’s selection is from the highest section fo the garden picked on the second day of production, just before the plum rains settled in the mountains. This spring 2020 selection is produced from leaves originating from a garden from the 88K section of the Dayuling range which is one of the only small remaining section of tea gardens outside the Lishan Village limits that can still be labelled as Dayuling. PICKING DATE May 2020 OXYDATION LEVEL Low BAKING LEVEL None TERROIR Dayuling ADMINISTRATIVE REGION Hualien County PICKING STYLE Hand Picked CULTIVAR(S) USED Qing Xin GARDEN ELEVATION 2100 m Review: Large dry leaf balls with medium scent of tropical fruits. Steeped in 110 mL kobiwako with off boiling water: Rinse/35s/25s/35s/40s/45s/50s/55s/60s/1min 10s/1 min 30s/2 min /2 min 30 s / 5 min / 10 min / all day in 500 mL mug Early steeps: exceptionally buttery and thick (almost oily with second steep). Tropical fruit is present but takes backseat...

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