Tea

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 ...

Vendor notes: Growing Region   Yame Year   2020 Harvest   First and/or Shincha Breed   Yabukita Shading   Full Shade (Gyokuro / Matcha) Steaming   Light Color   Green Aroma   Medium Taste   Sweet Astringency   Mild Clarity   Clear Review: After a several days of awful winter storm water, decided to test a local spring water with a budget gyokuro from o cha: yame gyokuro. Brewed like this: 5.5 g/ 65 mL in carbonized reduction mumyoi 13 min room temp 150s 50 C 180s 50 C 150s 70C 150s 75C 150s 80C 150s 90C Ate the leaves with rice, avocado and bagel spices and a bit of yuzu sauce Early steeps tasted of smooth dark chocolate. As I increased temperature, there was more fresh grassiness and sweetness. Best infusions were #3 and 4. Leaves had a nice nutty flavor. Ultimately, I preferred brewing in this way, 40 mL with 5.5 g 90s 40C 60s 45C 90s 50C 120s 55c 120s 65c 120s 75c 60s 90c Eat leaves  The umami in the first infusion is except...

 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: Jubuzan (鷲峰山 682m) is a mountain located between the Wazika (和束町) and Uji Dawara (宇治田原). Once upon a time, these places were the bottom part of the Biwa Lake. We choose tea from the garden which practices natural-farming method. The natural-farming means using no fertilizer and no pesticide. Most of those natural farms do not even remove grasses in order to maintain ecological balance and keep the soil healthy Aracha refers to the freshly produced tea on the same day when it is plucked The Uji Sencha Jubuzan is completely an aracha. We only remove the dust and foreign object and then reduce the moisture content. This is the crude taste of tea that is freshly processed from a tea factory.  Review: Long yellowish leaves. Little smell. In 100 mL kobiwako, 3 g/ 100 mL 90 C: 30s, flash, flash, flash, 30s, 1 min, 2 min And then off boiling: 5 min, 5 min, 10 min First infusion was a bit dull. Comparable to spent and oversteeped gaoshan Second steep was eye popping! Very hard...

 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 ...