Tea

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: 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...

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: Tsukigase Zairai Sencha is produced in Nara prefecture, at Tsukigase town.  Tsukigase Zairai Sencha is literally produced from Zairai cultivar Our Tsukigase Zairai Sencha is produced through natural production practices. Natural production is the higher version of organic production. Farmers do not use any artificial fertilizer even it is organic. They use only grasses or leaves collected from mountain to control the growing speed of tea. Tea grows almost in the natural condition. If nitrogen-based fertilizer, such as animal dropping is applied, tea will grow faster and it affects to the quality of tea. Review Brewed following vendor recommendations: 2 g /100 mL at 90 C in 100 mL kobiwako shibo 25 sec/flash /flash / 30 sec / 1 min / 3 min Leaves look thicker than typical sencha Brewed liquor is very green and smells very similar to taiwanese bao zhong However the taste is very hard to describe. Very minimal umami sweetness. Instead, there is a strong thick mouthf...

Lowest to highest grade steeped 5 g / 450 mL 85-95 C water for 2 to 5 min (western parameters). Grade 2: small, fragmented, homogeneously black leaves. The orange red liquor is very malty, comparable to ceylon black tea. Bitterness is much less than in ceylon black. Medium flavor of honey and aroma of tobacco. Sweetness intensifies and bitterness decreases as tea cools. At the edge of needing milk. Caffeine rush is somewhat high and caused mild headache, comparable to drinking coffee. Full 5 min first steeping recommended. Second steeping similar to first in terms of flavor profile, but much weaker, though enjoyable. This is good value tea. Grade 1: dried leaves are black and small. There are some golden tips. In the mouth (after 5 min steeping), the tea is mellow and mildly flowery with honey aromas. Very little bitterness in the front while tea is hot. As the tea cools and in the aftertaste, bitterness intensifies greatly. Overall, this has much stronger astringency compared to grade...

From vendor: Origin: Qiandao Lake, Chun'an County, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China Season: Spring Tea Harvest Date: March 25, 2020 Tea Bush: C. sinensis cv. Jiukeng Tea Garden: Qiandao Lake Organic Tea Garden Review: Brewed 5.2 g in 170 mL 75-80 C water No rinse / 30 s / 30 s / 40 s / 55 s / 1 m 30 s /2 m 30s Dry leaf: pale green and slightly yellow, suggesting lighter oxidation than standard. Small leaves, consistent with earlier harvest. Plenty of white fluff in bag and on leaves. 1 bud 1 leaf > 1 bud > 1 bud 2 leaves. Mild scent of nuts. Wet leaf has strong scent of sweet freshly blanched green beans or corn. In the mouth, persistent vegetal sweetness mostly of asparagus and corn mixed with milder aromas of raw nuts. Good minerality gives this all a nice structure and a "crisp hardness" like small bell ringing. Long aftertaste of sweet vegetal notes, butteriness and minerality. Astringency is very controlled. Overall, aroma is a bit too mild.

From vendor: Origin: Houkeng (猴坑), Xinming County, Huangshan, Anhui Province, China Season: Spring Tea Harvest Date: April 16, 2020 Dry Leaf:    Traditionally handmade into long flat, straight and evenly appearance, one bud surrounded by two leaves with plenty of white tips,dark green color Cultivar: shida Review : 5 g in 250 mL 85 C water Rinse / 1 min / 1:30 / 2:30 / 5:00 / 10 min / 20 mi Dry leaf: bud + 2 leaves for the most part. Color dark to medium green. Almost no scent. Inside of bag coated with white hair, as expected. There are criss cross indentations on the leaf, suggesting they were pressed by cloth and not smooth machine. Therefore, these leaves might be hand made or partially hand made. Brewed tea is light green with very mild scent of fresh nuts. In the mouth: very light and a little creamy. A little peach flavor. Very smooth and a bit oily as it cools down. There is a distinct ocean air saltiness/umami that is like very fresh raw scallops. Aftertaste is a litt...