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Lao Cong Shan Cha, a wonderfully fruity 2011 Taiwanese oolong from Norbu. Delicious and delightful.

debunix wrote:Lao Cong Shan Cha, a wonderfully fruity 2011 Taiwanese oolong from Norbu. Delicious and delightful.

Debunix,

Greetings! It seems from prior posts you have a distinct, apparently justified, appreciation for Norbu's teas. Having visited the site, I see why. Though I have yet to place an order with them. Is there anything of their current offerings that you would most highly recommend were I to place an order this week?

Blessings!

茶藝-TeaArt08 wrote:It seems from prior posts you have a distinct, apparently justified, appreciation for Norbu's teas. Having visited the site, I see why. Though I have yet to place an order with them. Is there anything of their current offerings that you would most highly recommend were I to place an order this week?

From my most recent order, I can particularly recommend the

Traditional Roast Tie Guan Yin - Anxi Oolong Tea - Fall 2009
(a bargain for a quite nice, now slightly aged tea)

Jin Guan Yin - Anxi Oolong Tea - Spring, 2013
(not as lasting as a TGY in terms of numbers of infusions, but intoxicatingly rich and floral through several infusions, a worthy stand-in for times when I'm not planning a long tea session)

Lao Cong Shan Cha - Taiwan Wild Tea - Spring 2011
(the tea I'm enjoying right now, posted on above)

and I always enjoy his Alishans
Ali Shan High Mountain Oolong Tea - Spring, 2013

And to step outside the oolongs, this one bowled me over when I finally worked up the courage to open the sample--I'd been wary because my experience with darjeelings of all shapes/sizes has not been good
Jungpana Yellow - Darjeeling Tea - First Flush, 2013

debunix wrote: And to step outside the oolongs, this one bowled me over when I finally worked up the courage to open the sample--I'd been wary because my experience with darjeelings of all shapes/sizes has not been good
Jungpana Yellow - Darjeeling Tea - First Flush, 2013

??? Oh my. What you've been missing. My favorite black/red teas.

Tead Off wrote:

debunix wrote: And to step outside the oolongs, this one bowled me over when I finally worked up the courage to open the sample--I'd been wary because my experience with darjeelings of all shapes/sizes has not been good
Jungpana Yellow - Darjeeling Tea - First Flush, 2013

??? Oh my. What you've been missing. My favorite black/red teas.

The only black teas I've been able to cope with are Yunnans and some Taiwanese blacks. It's my wimpitude about bitterness. I've had a few different darjeelings, including a green or white one (can't remember the details), and none of them were my thing. But that means more for you, right?

A multiple oolong day, today, around consuming of stuffing and other treats: YS Imperial TGY in the morning, brewed up in my Koshin kyusu, sweet and floral; and now enjoying an evening session with some Norbu TGY this evening from my Petr Novak treebark pot. Sweet and green start, toasty earthy finish. Mmm. The pleasure of the tea adds to the things for which I am thankful today.

Wonderfully floral Shan Lin Xi Long Feng from Origin Tea today while enjoying the beautiful crackles in my Deishi kumidashi-wan. A nice tea for a relaxed Sunday.

Dropped my mom off at the airport train here in Hong Kong and decided to walk/run back to my office while weaving through the crowd. Since the weather is much cooler now, I can do that without sweating my butt off. On my way back, I checked out a bike store. I'm in the process of building a singlespeed/fixed gear from scratch, so I wanted to see what the store had in the way of parts.

Further down the street, there was a tea store that I know has very reasonable prices, but I've never examined their oolong offerings. Well, the woman in the store was sorting through kilos of dark oolong. I asked her if it was Shui Xian, and she said Da Hung Po (Da Hong Pao in Cantonese). I asked her how much and she gave me the 600g price, which is more than I was looking to pick up, so I started working out the price for 150g. She suddenly pulled out an 80g pack of the DHP, so I jumped on it after confirming it was the same tea.

When I got home, I realized it is split up into 10g packs. I just brewed up some after giving my little oolong Yixing a good rinse (it hasn't been used in quite a while)!

This is pretty good stuff, especially for the money. A little hui gan, and nice flavor. Not as up front as some DHP I've tried, but very nice nonetheless with the characteristic roast fruitiness. Glad I stopped by the store--DHP is usually very expensive here. While not as good as the best I've tried, this is definitely very drinkable!

Gotta love HK. I am surrounded by tea stores!

Well, not exactly right now but last night... I had a wonderful Dayuling from TTC. I crammed my new teapot (also TTC) full of the fragrant leaves and was rewarded by many infusions that where overwhelmingly tasty. What a way to end the Sunday

I bought the top 4 oolongs from Tea from Taiwan, and I am really impressed with the Wu Ling, I rearly write about teas, because I rarely find something I really enjoy, but I like it better than any tea this year, I found the balance of aroma, aftertaste, and mouthfeel just clicks toghether, it is a brilliant tea, better than the more expencieve Long Feng Xia, or the Da Yu Ling, or Hua Hang, all of them more expencieve, I believe there the teamaster got something really right this year, I remember last years TFT teas none were this good.

Yunnan Dong Ding...Yunnan leaf made in Taiwan style...very good!

debunix wrote:

茶藝-TeaArt08 wrote:It seems from prior posts you have a distinct, apparently justified, appreciation for Norbu's teas. Having visited the site, I see why. Though I have yet to place an order with them. Is there anything of their current offerings that you would most highly recommend were I to place an order this week?

From my most recent order, I can particularly recommend the

Traditional Roast Tie Guan Yin - Anxi Oolong Tea - Fall 2009
(a bargain for a quite nice, now slightly aged tea)

Jin Guan Yin - Anxi Oolong Tea - Spring, 2013
(not as lasting as a TGY in terms of numbers of infusions, but intoxicatingly rich and floral through several infusions, a worthy stand-in for times when I'm not planning a long tea session)

Lao Cong Shan Cha - Taiwan Wild Tea - Spring 2011
(the tea I'm enjoying right now, posted on above)

and I always enjoy his Alishans
Ali Shan High Mountain Oolong Tea - Spring, 2013

And to step outside the oolongs, this one bowled me over when I finally worked up the courage to open the sample--I'd been wary because my experience with darjeelings of all shapes/sizes has not been good
Jungpana Yellow - Darjeeling Tea - First Flush, 2013

I've immensely enjoyed all of those - Norbu's tea is consistently very good, I think.
And I just got around to opening that same Darjeeling yesterday - it's really wonderful, just lush and elegant. My two favorite finds this year have been Norbu and Taiwan Tea Craft.

debunix wrote:

茶藝-TeaArt08 wrote:It seems from prior posts you have a distinct, apparently justified, appreciation for Norbu's teas. Having visited the site, I see why. Though I have yet to place an order with them. Is there anything of their current offerings that you would most highly recommend were I to place an order this week?

From my most recent order, I can particularly recommend the

Traditional Roast Tie Guan Yin - Anxi Oolong Tea - Fall 2009
(a bargain for a quite nice, now slightly aged tea)

Jin Guan Yin - Anxi Oolong Tea - Spring, 2013
(not as lasting as a TGY in terms of numbers of infusions, but intoxicatingly rich and floral through several infusions, a worthy stand-in for times when I'm not planning a long tea session)

Lao Cong Shan Cha - Taiwan Wild Tea - Spring 2011
(the tea I'm enjoying right now, posted on above)

and I always enjoy his Alishans
Ali Shan High Mountain Oolong Tea - Spring, 2013

And to step outside the oolongs, this one bowled me over when I finally worked up the courage to open the sample--I'd been wary because my experience with darjeelings of all shapes/sizes has not been good
Jungpana Yellow - Darjeeling Tea - First Flush, 2013

Debunix,

Thank you so much for the helpful posts and the descriptions. I recall some time back you were lamenting that some of the teas you most enjoy seem to disappear from Norbu, I believe you related the disappearance to a lack of interest from other buyers. Anytime you feel an important tea is endangered, please let us know here. The tea pantry is well-stocked and sometimes I forget to go searching for other tea. In fact, at this point, with the tea pantry full, I'm mostly interested in keeping my palate keen to the variety within the seasons and will shift to gathering small samples. Once again, thank you for the suggestions!

Blessings!

Yesterday my wife, son, and I went to a beautiful park and had a tea picnic beneath the falling leaves that gathered on our blanket as we poured tea with snacks in the golden, long-angled Autumn light. In fact, the light was so beautiful it seemed unreal: it still seems unreal.

We drank TTC Lishan Cui Feng tea along with a second tea: Red Blossom Dong Ding Charcoal Roased wulong. I poured both teas in shiboridashis, one porcelain, white 160ml shib and a green, 140ml, thick-walled shib (nice heat retention for outdoor pours). Both teas came out wonderful. With the slight cool in the air and the lean Autumn light, the Dong Ding Charcoal Roasted wulong tea was really warming, comforting and rich. It had a times notes of tobacco, cocoa, raisin, and a very wonderful sweet that followed the middle rounds' attack. It is a great tea with nice longevity/evolution through the rounds.

Today I pour 7 rounds of SDIQ Qing Xin wulong in a Petr Novak, 150ml pot with Brita water at 93-95 deg. C. Nice, but not epic rounds...however, still quite enjoyable.

Resident Tea Master:


Simple Setting:


Auric Light:

Oni wrote:I bought the top 4 oolongs from Tea from Taiwan, and I am really impressed with the Wu Ling, I rearly write about teas, because I rarely find something I really enjoy, but I like it better than any tea this year, I found the balance of aroma, aftertaste, and mouthfeel just clicks toghether, it is a brilliant tea, better than the more expencieve Long Feng Xia, or the Da Yu Ling, or Hua Hang, all of them more expencieve, I believe there the teamaster got something really right this year, I remember last years TFT teas none were this good.

I concur, I was surprised by the TFT Wuling tea and brewed it many different ways in different vessels, all with quality results. Very good tea!