TeaChat

tatsumi09 wrote:

rhondabee wrote:The smell of the wet leaves is so addicting to me - I can't stop sniffing it - just a very savory smell, which I can't describe.

I don't know why I completely forgot about that fact since it did have such a unique smell. God, I can't wait till my Li Shan tea arrives!

So where did you end up ordering from?

I got some off ebay since both the tea and shipping was relatively cheap (will know if that was a mistake once the order arrives).
Next time I'm planning on ordering a wide variety of oolongs from teafromtaiwan since I was informed that their tea is of very good quality...of course next time meaning a couple of months from now.

Li Shan made by Fu Shou Shan farm is dramatically different from most other Li Shan oolong.

My preference sequence of light oxidation Taiwan oolong is:
Li Shan by Fu Shou Shan farm
Da Yu Ling
A Li Shan from high elevation (like the Shi Zhao and Zhang Shu Hu specified by teafromtaiwan)
Generic Li Shan
Generic A Li Shan

But consider what each tea costs and how much I appreciate it, my heart always goes for Dong Ding

Well good luck, sometimes you can find some gems. Let us know how you you made out.

So my Li Shan shipment finally arrived. I tried 4 brews and the tea remained flavorful till the last cup. However the flavor was not as strong and vibrant as the one my friend brought from Taiwan, which is what I expected since I paid $16 for 150 grams. I can see that the tea will be enjoyable as an everyday tea but it will not leave the same "WOW" impact I had as with the one my friend got me. I've uploaded the brewed tea leafs, and as you can a few of the tea leaves are damaged, but most of the leaves are intact. I'm not sure how one can tell the quality from the brewed tea leaves, but I guess that is something new that I should explore. I also noticed that the brewed leaves had a very faint flavorful scent when compared to the higher quality one I had before.

Below is a link to a photo of the brewed tea leaves
http://img5.imageshack.us/i/photo210y.jpg/

What looks like insect damage to the leaves is indicative of low or no pesticide use.

I looks like not so great great processing too me.

I'm not sure how one can tell the quality from the brewed tea leaves, but I guess that is something new that I should explore

Just make sure your brewing is delicate and very consistent before you go drawing conclusions by looking at leaf. How you treat it when you brew it affects the look afterwords quite drastically when comparing certain 'indications' of good processing/cultivation.

I do agree there is a lot of Li san hype esp among tea drinkers in taiwan (but the hype might be for good reason, otherwise there might not be any hype), but I don't have enough experience with the both to judge which is 'better'. Dunno if its even a good idea to compare the 2 like that, because what you are drinking as end product depends on so many other variables even after you account for elevation plucked, specific location from which leaves are plucked (ie. close to edge, far from edge, level of exposure to wind etc etc) farmer processing technigue/skill, surrounding vegetation type, soil composition and so on.

I imagine some connoisseur has a killer li san that would blow a 'premium' alisan out of the water, and vis versa.

Fascinating thread! I am just starting to learn a bit about Taiwanese teas and this was very helpful.

tatsumi09 wrote:So my Li Shan shipment finally arrived. I tried 4 brews and the tea remained flavorful till the last cup. However the flavor was not as strong and vibrant as the one my friend brought from Taiwan, which is what I expected since I paid $16 for 150 grams. I can see that the tea will be enjoyable as an everyday tea but it will not leave the same "WOW" impact I had as with the one my friend got me. I've uploaded the brewed tea leafs, and as you can a few of the tea leaves are damaged, but most of the leaves are intact. I'm not sure how one can tell the quality from the brewed tea leaves, but I guess that is something new that I should explore. I also noticed that the brewed leaves had a very faint flavorful scent when compared to the higher quality one I had before.

Below is a link to a photo of the brewed tea leaves
http://img5.imageshack.us/i/photo210y.jpg/

Yeah, it looks like machine processing, and you knew going in these teas were not going to be as good as the premium stuff. If you want "Wow" impact, watch the boards. Seek and you will find grasshoppa.

Last year I was comparing AliShan vs LiShan. I cannot find my notes, but from what I remember the LiShan had a far more buttery smooth taste than the AliShan. Needless to say it was one of those great moments where you feel like your whole body could just melt into the pot. Awesome!

Though in my opinion Da Yu Ling trumps both
Nothing beats that undescribable Da Yu Ling 'smell'...

hmmmmmm

Well I will agree this past year's Da Yu Ling beat them both.
But ... that was this past year, with a not so top offering
of AliShan. So we shall see what we see this year.

Victoria wrote:Well I will agree this past year's Da Yu Ling beat them both.

Da Yu Ling is on Lishan, IIRC.

wyardley wrote:

Victoria wrote:Well I will agree this past year's Da Yu Ling beat them both.

Da Yu Ling is on Lishan, IIRC.

I was speaking of what was labeled LiShan and DaYuLing by Floating Leaves Tea. Of course Shuiwen didn't offer an AliShan last spring, but I was comparing the other two to the AliShan from Camellia Sinensis.

wyardley wrote: Da Yu Ling is on Lishan, IIRC.

I also saw this metioned in earlier discussions with references from Tea from Taiwan. But I actually remember Da Yu Ling and Lishan being two different areas (mountains). I tried to do some research on google to confirm this. It seems that the two places are about 30 kms away.

Anyway, not an important point IMO.