Tea

 Vendor Origin  : Kozeto, Aoi ward, Shizuoka city, Shizuoka prefecture Cultivar  : Kôju Harvest  : Aprile 23th & May 9th, 2020, hand picked Zairai so should have low bitterness unique fruity fragrance, recalling white grapes, peaches and also sweet citrus. Review Based on the description I treated it like a chinese oolong: threw 5 g in 85 mL gaiwan. Off boiling water: Rinse/35s/30s/35s etc The dry and wet leaves smell a bit like a hybrid of baozhong and zairai sencha: floral and vegetal. Unfortunately the first few infusions are quite bitter. The bitterness in the front is eye popping and devastating - I will start with the positives. The flavors in the back and in the aftertaste are much more pleasant: sweet grape juice, some light savory herbs, and a greenness that reminds me of gao shan. The aftertaste lingers for a long time and is nice. The infusion is also thick with a medium to heavy body. Regarding the bitterness, it is so strong and off putting that when...

Finally decided to brew the small sample of Hojo's high mountain formosa oolong that came with my order last year. The dried leaf is very tightly rolled and fragrant, smelling strongly like honey and green oolong. This is 5 grams in an 85 mL gaiwan. The balls look tiny to me: IMG_20210227_123912_928.jpg (90.99 KiB) Viewed 123 times Brewed like this: boiling water Rinse 40s 30s 40s 50s 1min 1min5s 1min10s 1min20s 1min30s 1min40s 2min 3min 5min Dropped in pint glass and steeped it out As those parameters suggest, yes very high stamina! First infusion was filled with honey sweetness. This sweetness was slightly reduced in the second and third infusions. Then it was reduced a lot but remained present at a similar level - sweet and enjoyable. The flavor is like a winter harvest gaoshan mixed with honey. The honey is not cloying and reminds me of an artisanal avocado flower honey. Hojo mentions ripe mangoes. Not sure I get that. Overall, It is quite refreshing. Price is high relative to ...

 This is the earlier harvest of the da yu lin from Ethan kurland The tea is on another level in quality- floral and minty! There are less stems, and the leaves are a bit smaller. The tea had the best aromatics in a gaiwan. Interestingly, the tea tasted like the winter harvest version from the same farmer in kobiwako clay.

 Vendor: Cultivar:  Qingxin Oolong Harvested by hand:  October 9th, 2020 Origin:  Da Yu Ling (2350 m), 96 K. Review: From what i understand, the 2020 winter harvest was poor due to too much rain. Leaves are on the smaller side. Has an intense aroma from the moment bag was opened Brewed 6 g/100 mL in kobiwako Rinse/40s 90C/35s boilin,/ 45 s / 1 min / 1min 25s / 2 min 30s / 5 min / 12 min / steeped out The wet leaves are much smaller and much less glossy than  Ethan Kurland 's DYL tea. So far, bad signs. Tea itself has much stronger taste than Kurland's spring DYL.  But  this taste is more aligned with much cheaper summer shan lin xi or alishan. By this I mean a strong, green resin sappiness and green peppery note! Floral aromas are sharp and defined. The umami is present but underwhelming, playing the bass notes for the first 4 infusions. Umami and tropical fruit sweetness increased a little as steeps progreased. There is a long aftertaste of tropical f...

Vendor: The DYL is from Spring 2020.  I don't know the mile or the very exact altitude of the farm.  If it were being graded, it is not the very best.  If going by what I like, this the DYL that I prefer, which luckily is far from the most expensive Review: This is a green oolong, not hong shui!  In porcelain, 5 g / 85 mL Rinse / 45s/40s/55s/ 1min25s/ 3min/ 5min/10 min / steeped out many times The leaves say it all! Thick, glossy full leaves that can steep out all day. Some even appear bug bitten! A sweet aftertaste that lingers on and on! The leaves themselves taste so good in the end: nutty and sweet! Am i crazy to eat them? In kobiwako, 5 g/110 mL (since larger leaves, needs less leaf more time! This clay can retain temperature well so this works) Rinse/1min20s/1min15s/1min30s/2min30s/5min/10min The tantalizing bouquet of aromas is now gone! Where did it go?? One whiff of the clay lid and the clay body reveals the truth: the clay sucked up all the aroma! Wow! The ...

 Vendor: Cultivar : Qingxin Oolong Harvested : by hand on May 2nd and 3rd, 2020. Origin : Yang Keng section, Shan Lin Xi (1300 m) Process : Lightly oxidized, rolled Oolong, dried with a light roast This tea garden had been cut down after last year's spring harvest. This would make it easier to be harvested and reduce the yield, but increase the concentration of aromas. The other effect is leaves that don't grow very evenly. day 1 it tastes powerful like Da Yu Ling and on day2 it tastes refined as Lishan,  Review: May 3: Brewed 5.5g / 100 mL Rinse/ 1 min /50s/ 1min30s / 2min30s/ 6min / 15min Early rinses have brothy umami, strong floral perfume and deep tropical fruit Later rinses are more brothy, with slightly rising astringency May 2: Brewed 6-6.5 g / 100 mL Rinse / 45s/35s/45s/1min/1min30s/2min30s/5min Very similar to May 3. Perhaps a touch stronger umami. Overall, both teas are flower, fruity and brothy. However, teas lack stamina and falls apart after 3rd or 4th infusion. ...

 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: 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 ta...

From vendor: PICKING DATE May 2020 OXYDATION LEVEL Very Low BAKING LEVEL None TERROIR Wenshan ADMINISTRATIVE REGION New Taipei City PICKING STYLE Hand Picked CULTIVAR(S) USED Qing Xin GARDEN ELEVATION 600 m Mr. Chen is 92 years old. He was born under the Japanese occupation and was 28 when they left the island in 1945. At about the same, time he started producing tea in the hills not far from Pinglin next to the family’s ancestral stone house where he still resides and continues, to this day, to practice his craft with the help of his son and daughter-in-law (not the other way around!).  His Bao Zhong tea is slightly more oxidized, like it used to be, before today’s trend to greener teas. Review: Leaves: large, dark green with some spots of white. Smells like flowers and fresh vegetables. A bit fragmented. Brewed 5 g in 125 mL 100 C water in porcelain Rinse/ 1 min / 1 min / 1min30s/ 2min / 3min /5min / 8 min / 10 min / 15 min / 25 min Dark liquor indicates stronger oxidation Very s...

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...

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.

 From vendor: Growing Region   Kagoshima Prefecture Year   2020 Harvest   First and/or Shincha Breed   Sae Midori Shading   Full Sun Steaming   Deep _______________ I brewed the tea in the following way: 5-6 grams 250 mL 70-80C 45 sec / flash steep / 15 s / 1 min / 3 min More optimal parameters for solid 3 steeps: 6.5 grams / 200 mL, 70 -75 mL 45 sec / 20 sec / 2:20 This is a relatively mild and sweet tea and appears to be a bit more lightly steamed for a fukamushi, because many of the leaves appear quite long. The vendor recommends a 79C temperature. The first steep is quite mild and sweet with light asparagus notes. This is the only steep with stronger umami character. The second steep is very green and thick, as expected, with heavier grassiness and vegetal sweetness. There is some dried citrus peel aftertaste with this steep. Third and fourth steeps are very light and grassy. Fifth steep is very light. If using the optimized method, the third steep...

 From vendor: Harvest:  Hand-picked, small batch, from Ruili, Taiwan. Spring 2020. Elevation:  1200m Brewed 8 grams in 125 mL porcelain pot using boiling water Brews: 1 min / 1 min / 1 min 20 sec / 1 min 45 sec / 2 min 15 sec / 2 min 45 sec / 5 min 45 sec / 90 min The first 7 steeps were very satisfying. Dry leaf had a floral and light tropical fruit scent. Not too stemmy. Leaves are a bit heterogeneous in size and very intact. No evidence of bug bites, suggesting some possible use of pesticides. However pesticides may not have been necessary due to relatively high elevation and springtime picking. Brews had flowery and tropical fruit aromas and tasted of lightly steamed green vegetables, dried pineapples, and some indian spices. Astringency is relatively low. Liquid had medium to heavy body. Overall impression of purity, and high mountain meadows along with eating pineapple cakes. Overall very nice experience, though price point a bit high.