Romancing the Dream

[gingkoseto]

I tried the supreme+ too, and like it very much. I had 4 TGY today, 2 regular ones and 2 good ones I can't bear with the hassle and wasting of trying a few teas together at the same moment, so I had them one by one. I like the subtle yet long lasting floral fragrance in rich barbarian's TGY. I compared it with a brand name (Ri Chun, 日春） TGY a friend gave me from China. The brand name tea costs about $130 per pound in China, but I think RB's tea is as good as it, if not better (probably even better, it will take another taste to tell).

Besides the good taste, I noticed the dry leaf balls look dark green, which means young leaves. The wet leaves look very healthy. And near the end of my brewing, for the last few fusions, I left the tea in brewing for several minutes. The long infusion didn't bring out much bitter or dry side tastes, so I believe this tea is easy to brew too and slight change of infusion time won't cause an accident

RB's king level TGY is really out of the price range that I usually spend on a TGY, but I am very tempted now

Btw it's fun to have group tasting like this!

[Salsero]

Btw it's fun to have group tasting like this!

Yes, indeed, it is fun, and one more reason I am glad that I decided to order from the Barbarian.


Oh, and thanks, Gingko for the tidbit about dark leaves indicating younger leaves.



Now if the tea would arrive ...

[Herb_Master]

I am pleased the first few who have received the Rich Barbarian have enjoyed it so much. This was part of my introduction to Green TKY, (all the TKY I have had in Malaysia was Classic and stands comparison alongside DHP). All I knew was that the Rich Barbarian (Summer) seemed much better than the other 2 I tried, I had no idea where it stood on the general scale of good TKY, If all had disliked it I was going to hang my head in shame.

Has everyone been receiving the Autumn or did anyone jump the gun and receive Summer?

[gingkoseto]

If all had disliked it I was going to hang my head in shame.

No need for that! Green roast and heavier roast just taste very differently, and some people may like one and can't bear with the other. So the 2 can't be compared. Even if someone doesn't like one roast, it doesn't necessarily mean it's bad.

The other day when reading your post, I took a look at the TGY page of teance, and felt bad about the negative comment on that page. From your description, I guess the tea is a medium-heavier roast tea. The commentator didn't like the tea, I guess, mainly because he's a greener TGY lover. So it seems to me the negative comment is not very fair.

[TokyoB]

Just ordered their King level sample - $4 for 10g including shipping. Looking forward to comparing it to the Seven Cups version which I have - did you try that also HerbMaster?

[Herb_Master]

Just ordered their King level sample - $4 for 10g including shipping. Looking forward to comparing it to the Seven Cups version which I have - did you try that also HerbMaster?

No - it was not listed when I bought my first order of Summer Supreme and Supreme+

And it was not listed when I bought my 2nd Order of Autumn Supremes

Nor Did I buy any of Wan Ling's Wang -

I have a mountain of TKY now awaiting my attention, a mountain of DanCong and much Wuyi

Shortly I will be hading off to Malaysia and hope to plunder the Tea Shops there - So for now I have stopped buying Online -

but you never know ! when you update us with your King experience I may have to take the plunge

[Herb_Master]

I have now tried the Autumn Supreme+ and thoroughly enjoyed it!

I was in "Inquisitive Explorer" mode rather than "Analytical Tea Student" mode - so did not take photos or detailed notes

It varies significantly from the Summer Supreme+, having read that Spring is best for green fresh flavours and autumn best (better still in some opinions) for texture and all round taste, I was surprised to find it a lot greener than the summer packet.

It did not have the same Sweet Gentle Roast Sugar Cane that I found in the summer one, nor the silky sweetness on the end of the tongue but it had a huge soft gentle texture in the mouth, quite a weight as the tongue moved through it.
What it did have for the first 3 infusions was an abundance of greenness but more like seaweed and lobster and for that I really like it. The 4th infusion was losing the sea and some of the viscosity, so my 5th infusion I ramped up the steeping time and they both came back. After that and bringing back to life a DanCong from Imen that I had only had 4 brews from last night I started to feel a little exhilarated so have taken a break from tea.

?

[Ginko] I noticed the dry leaf balls look dark green, which means young leaves

Yes there do seem to be some markedly dark green leaves in this, does anyone know the details of which leaves are plucked Spring, Early Summer, Late Summer and Autumn?

I would expect Spring to have the years newest, greenest leaf, but does the teabush throw out new baby leaf towards Autumn?

And as an aside - does anyone know when the 2009 is likely to be available - June perhaps or later?

[Ginko][+1 Salsero][+2 Me]Btw it's fun to have group tasting like this!

Maybe we can identify a few specialist vendors for 'the group' to home in on for the Spring Crop!

[gingkoseto]

And as an aside - does anyone know when the 2009 is likely to be available - June perhaps or later?

According to my notes (which were collected from I-don't-remember-where multiple resources and may contain errors ) Spring harvest of TGY starts from around Gu Yu (about Apr.20) and ends by Li Xia (around May 6. Considering all the process and transportation time, maybe the earliest TGY that makes its way to US and UK will be May

Around the same time (before or after, Gu Yu, Apr. 20), Harvests on Tai Ping Hou Kui (太平猴魁), Shu Cheng Lan Hua (舒城兰花), Wen Shan Bao Zhong (文山包种) Zhang Ping Shui Xian (漳平水仙), Taiwan High Mountain Oolongs start.
Yu Qian (Pre-Gu-Yu) Long Jing (龙井) is harvested before this time. Harvest on Lao Zhu Da Fang (老竹大方), Jiu Qu Hong Mei (九曲红梅) starts before Gu Yu.

These only include some teas I am mostly interested in and only a tiny small part of all teas produced at this time. There is a lot to look forward to. Spring is an exciting time!

[Herb_Master]

No Wang
- -
And it was not listed when I bought my 2nd Order of Autumn Supremes

Wait!

It looks as though I have been given a couple of free samples of the Wang with my last order of Supreme and Supreme+

Not in a tin, two loose foil packs which entirely resemble the packs on the Wang Page

with YunXiang Xing written on them

[Salsero]

Last year the first Chinese greens started coming available on line in March, but it was a record setting early harvest due to weather conditions. I know I had two or three in hand and was drinking them in the last week of March ... but again it was a very early year.

[PolyhymnianMuse]

So I tried the 10g package of the king grade today. This tea is also very enjoyable. Drinking it reminds me a lot like the texture and body of hot chocolate, it almost sticks to the inside of the mouth. Besides that I really can't say much is different from the other two grades. The tea however lasted an impressive amount of infusions so I guess it depends if its a value to you or not. Personally I would be just as happy drinking one of the other two top grades, but this one is for sure something I would love to sit down and enjoy from time to time.

Edit: ^Post Number 666

[tsverrir]

Just got a note saying that my Supreme+ is waiting for me at the post office. I'll be picking it up tomorrow

[gingkoseto]

I would expect Spring to have the years newest, greenest leaf, but does the teabush throw out new baby leaf towards Autumn?

Yes there should be new leaves coming out every season. Every season the harvest should focus on the newest leaves. But some people would hold high standards and pluck the best leaves only, while in some harvests, there will be a mixture of younger and older leaves. And after the peak time, if they still want to harvest more, they can only take the relatively larger/older leaves.

All the leaves are quite green, but after losing water, they show different shades of darkness, which reflects the dry contents of the leaves.

[engar]

My supreme+ and king samples are waiting on the fridge until I recover my palate (I´m cold ).

[Herb_Master]

My supreme+ and king samples are waiting on the fridge until I recover my palate (I´m cold ).

May I wish you success with your brewing when you warm up!

Is Barcelona cold at this time of year?