Tea

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 infus...

Vendor: Grower:  Chen Huan Tang Cultivar:  Qing Xin Wulong Region:  Lugu, Nantou County Altitude:  700m Review: The tea has a layered structure: sweet dried fruit, roasted nuts, chocolate and some dried flowers and herbs. Each layer is clearly expressed, separate yet playfully interacting, like baroque counterpoint, long into the aftertaste.  The roast is very clean. The one flaw to me is that the flavors are a bit thin when brewed according to the vendor: 6g/100 mL 35s/30s/40s and so forth. This may be due to the poor winter harvest. Interestingly, the leaves expand so greatly, that I cannot fit more than 5g into my 85 mL gaiwan making it hard push harder with leaf:water. This tea should benefit from a teapot with high heat retention and longer brewing time. In Peter Kuo's teapot following same parameters, the tea is perfect and dynamic. With third infusion, bright fruit notes emerge like a flute over the ensemble.

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...

 Brewed 10 g/ 150 mL in wood fired pot Rinse/45s/35s/50s/1min/2 min/5 min / 8min/ steeped it out 3x Strong coffee and chocolate scent from the dry leaf. Surprisingly restrained brew. Early brews surprisingly similar to low to medium grade da hong bao yancha but with a cleaner finish. Second steep has a distinct sour plum note. Am told this is not in the flavor profile of hy chen tea directly from the farmer and is indicative of poor, storage with moisture issues. Flavors fall apart after third infusion. Longer brewing time in later infusions are good. Pairs will breakfast food. I am starting to suspect hy chen dong ding is primarily meant for grandpa or western brewing... even in grandpa brewin, sour note is present. This is acceptable to me Note, this tea is almost undrinkable in a thin gaiwan. The roast is like cigarette butts. 

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. ...

Brewed 10 g/ 150 mL boiling except for rinse Warm rinse / 45s / 37s / 1 min / 1min 30 / 2min 45s / 7 min / steep it out 2-3 times Dried tropical fruit sweetness, mostly pineapple and maybe some prunes, that seems to linger for a long time (close to an hour after sipping). Along with this taste is an "after aroma" that is like aged wood, or very light incense. Maybe i am being biased by kyarazen's obsession with incense - kyaren also being a huge advocate of hy chen. First 3 steeps are the sweetest. Later steeps are more roasted (dark chocolatey, maybe some medium roast coffee) with some greener tropical fruit notes and floral scents emerging from time to time that is more aligned with gao shan from shan lin xi. Stamina is not high in terms of flavor and short steeps. Later steeps, though lighter in flavor, maintain long aftertaste. Also, long steeps after 6th steep is well tolerated and yield pleasant cups. Bottom line:  the surprisingly long and pleasant after taste is w...

Brewed 9.2 g in 150 mL Rinse/35s/30s/40s/50s/1min20s/2min/4min/15min First infusion is still closed off: some light nuttiness, caramel sweetness and dried fruit Second infusion opens up with surprisingly deep fruit and toffee flavors. Third infusion adds some butteriness Fourth infusion is much lighter than 3rd infusion  5th infusion is lighter still 6th infusion is quite light 7th infusion is fruity again Long 8th infusion, slightly stronger than 7th First 4 infusions are interesting, and made think of slowly entering and delving deeper into a large house. The roast and the leaf flavors are well integrated: there is no conflicting taste profile between leaf and roast. Stamina is a bit low, possibly due to non-ideal storage  (not vacuum sealed) Left an "interesting" roasted medicinal/herbal aftertaste that is vaguely like baked rosemary. This may be the effect of the longan wood charcoal After much experimentation, i had the best experience with 10 g /150 mL: Light rinse with...

 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 2019 OXYDATION LEVEL Medium-High BAKING LEVEL Light oven baked TERROIR Emei ADMINISTRATIVE REGION Hsinchu County PICKING STYLE Hand Picked CULTIVAR(S) USED Qing Xin Da Mu GARDEN ELEVATION 600 m Review: Dry leaf resembles colorful autumn leaves on thr forest floor Brewed 5 g in 85 mL gaiwan using boiling water Rinse/25s/20s/30s/35s/40s/45s/1min/1min30s/2min/3min/5min Strong honey and topical fruit notes with medium low malty bitterness. After 5 infusions, the brew becomes more buttery and less fruity. After 8 infusions, it is no longer interesting, but still has a black tea flavor.

From vendor: Harvest and processing dates unknown. Origin : Shimen District, New Taipei City, Taiwan Cultivar : Ying Zhi Hong Xin & Jinxuan Elevation : ~300 meters Oxidation : 30~40% Roast Level : Dark Review: Dry leaf Packed in paper bag like coffee beans. Was worried that would make it stale. Very loosely rolled leaves. Dark brown with brown sugar and light coffee scent Brewed 9g /150 mL boiling in Peter kuo wood fired pot Rinse/25s/25s/35s/50 sec/1min 15s/ 2min/4min/8min / steep it out grandpa style Early steeps: The scent is smoky, like a mix of very light cigar and expensive incense. The taste begins with the cigar and incense smoke that immediately opens up to sweet, creamy toffee and wood barrel flavors, that build up layer after layer far into the after taste Later steeps: the scent and the sweet toffee notes coalesce more and more. Some dried fruit and chinese sweet red bean paste flavors that are reminiscent of clean shu pu erh emerge. Grandpa steeps seem almost indisting...

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...