TeaChat

Wedding week madness is finally over, and I have gotten back to my place, but in desperate need of energy. So bringing out the big Dog's: Origin Tea Private Collection 102K Da Yu Ling.


Private Collection 102K Da Yu Ling by Adam Yusko, on Flickr

After first infusion:


Private Collection 102K Da Yu Ling (1) by Adam Yusko, on Flickr

This is an absolutely incredible tea. I might be going out on a limb here, but this might be in my top 5 teas of all time... (I might need to actually make that list).

Ok, technically not drinking right this second, but this afternoon I had a nice session with some Imperial TGY from Yunnan Sourcing, another mellow tea for a rough day at the office. Now pondering the next tea and stuck on the question of oolong vs puerh: it's been that difficult of a day!

tonight some Alishan: Zhang Shu Hu . 2013 Spring . from Origin

[whisper] not in the OTTI [/whisper]

the final 10gm [roughly] in the sample i got pre-otti, with a few others from Origin

pre-rinse, let-soakabit, then not-boiling, in my split-hat yixing, twice .. then into my 500ml faircupthingy

normal day, familiar rich Taiwan aromas, mmm

guess i need some training in analytical taste-descriptions, but i like this one

and now its all gone

well, no actually its prolly got a good few steeps still

Tie Guan Yin from Teaspring. I was not blown away by it initially - actually found it a bit flat... until by chance it encountered the magical teaware combination: a small unglazed Petr Novak shibo and a Bill Perrine yunomi. All of a sudden it is WHAMMM!: full flavour for infusion after infusion. Scrum!

Some Tie Guan Yin - superior, 2012. Quite good.

A variation on a theme today: enjoying more high-mountain oolong cold brewed, but this time not one of the very green versions--a medium roast Alishan from Norbu. Just a light base roasted note, and very tasty overall. Enjoying it from my 'Mojave' cup--from TC Hagi SSO #18--the big volume is just right for a long cool draught.

Still hot here today, so it will be cold brewing all day long. The new kettle will have to wait until tomorrow.

Aged Baozhong from SilentChaos (aka OriginTea). This is fancy stuff he brought me when he visited HK. My first roasted and aged BZ, and it appears to be a good example. More dirty bubbles than I'm used to for a non-pu erh, but it definitely has interesting roast flavor and a bouquet unlike anything I've tried before. I guess it could indeed be described as melon-like. It is a little bitter, sour and sweet all at the same time, like a high roast Wuyi. I believe this was roasted or reroasted quite recently (2-5 years ago?). Very interesting tea for sure!

Comparing some TGY (very low oxidation) with Jingdezhen porcelain (right), 90s Zi Ni (center) and modern Yixing clay (probably clay of low/medium quality - left).
Bet who has made the best cup?

William wrote:Comparing some TGY (very low oxidation) with Jingdezhen porcelain (right), 90s Zi Ni (center) and modern Yixing clay (probably clay of low/medium quality - left).
Bet who has made the best cup?

my wild guess jingdezen porcelain

Finally cool enough for a proper yancha session. Tie Luo Han from Teaurchin. This tea is stout and smooth.

Still drinking cool-brewed Taiwanese mountain oolongs--yesterday I saw a weather report predicting cooler weather today, but it won't be long before the A/C is back on again.

Finishing the day with some Oriental Beauty from Origin Tea. One of my absolute favorites.

This morning I'm enjoying some Heritage Beidou from Red Blossom Tea. Brewed in a Petr Novak shib.

Today some Si Ji Chun, tried 6 grams of leaves in a 100 ml teapot. Delicious.

Teaism wrote:

William wrote:

my wild guess jingdezen porcelain

Continuing my roasted streak, tonight I'm having some Anxi Benshan oolong that is really hitting the spot.