Taiwanese Oolongs, Spring 2013 Harvest

Owes its flavors to oxidation levels between green & black tea.


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May 21st, '13, 12:25
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Re: Taiwanese Oolongs, Spring 2013 Harvest

by TIM » May 21st, '13, 12:25

Tead off and Tony: What is the taste or terroir character difference on the same varital between the 7km?

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May 21st, '13, 12:37
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Re: Taiwanese Oolongs, Spring 2013 Harvest

by Tead Off » May 21st, '13, 12:37

TIM wrote:Tead off and Tony: What is the taste or terroir character difference on the same varital between the 7km?
In my experience, the higher elevations of DYL give a much more profound aroma and deeper flavor than the 98k. A good DYL should exhibit both fruit and body in it's taste without any harshness. Hard to really explain this. It is a very full tea on every level. I guess I really like this tea. :D

Sherbutse- They are km markers on the road that lead to the DYL peak. The higher the #, the higher the elevation.

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May 21st, '13, 13:05
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Re: Taiwanese Oolongs, Spring 2013 Harvest

by sherubtse » May 21st, '13, 13:05

Tead Off wrote:Sherbutse- They are km markers on the road that lead to the DYL peak. The higher the #, the higher the elevation.
Fascinating! :) Thanks for the info, Tead Off.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

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May 21st, '13, 13:26
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Re: Taiwanese Oolongs, Spring 2013 Harvest

by SilentChaos » May 21st, '13, 13:26

TIM wrote:Tead off and Tony: What is the taste or terroir character difference on the same varital between the 7km?
I don't recall making claims about taste differences between different farms marked out by 7km of highway markers. And if I were to make taste claims, they would be about specific batches of teas. What I did claim, however, was that to the best of my knowledge the first teas from this region appeared only a few days ago. :)

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May 21st, '13, 13:30
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Re: Taiwanese Oolongs, Spring 2013 Harvest

by SilentChaos » May 21st, '13, 13:30

Tead Off wrote: The higher the #, the higher the elevation.
That's actually a common misconception. There isn't a strict positive correlation between the marker numbers and elevation.

The higher the # just mean the further you are down the road. :lol: :P

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May 21st, '13, 13:34
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Re: Taiwanese Oolongs, Spring 2013 Harvest

by Bad Jedi » May 21st, '13, 13:34

Tead Off wrote:
Bad Jedi wrote:
KimChristian wrote:
SilentChaos wrote:[ I'm personally hoping that the sun will be shining .
Huh...how come some (in the past reliable) vendors are offering this
year's DYL already ?
I think you answered your own question .... (in past reliable)
In good case DYL will be available in week from now , I mean highest zhen shan, first 98k showed up two days back from now .
Teafromtaiwan.com shows their DYL in stock for Spring 2013. Unless something has happened to them I wouldn't classify them as unreliable. I didn't talk to them personally, so I can't vouch if the tea is actually in their possession yet.

98K doesn't compare to good DYL. And, 105k is not the only good DYL. I think Tony's offering from winter was a great value, certainly way less than 105k and delicious.
I didn't talked about taste comparison or anything but what I know is that first 98k appeared only few days before ..let say a week . Some vendors advertising and selling DLY already for more than few weeks.
If you have more reliable information I will be glad to hear it. Also it depends what they're calling DLY ,geographical area or tea growing area considered from 95k to 106k

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May 21st, '13, 17:36
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Re: Taiwanese Oolongs, Spring 2013 Harvest

by sherubtse » May 21st, '13, 17:36

SilentChaos wrote:
Tead Off wrote: The higher the # just mean the further you are down the road. :lol: :P
So, does further you are down the road mean lower in elevation?

I'm still trying to understand what those 98k, etc numbers mean in relation to DYL.

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

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May 21st, '13, 17:46
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Re: Taiwanese Oolongs, Spring 2013 Harvest

by SilentChaos » May 21st, '13, 17:46

sherubtse wrote:
SilentChaos wrote:
Tead Off wrote: The higher the # just mean the further you are down the road. :lol: :P
So, does further you are down the road mean lower in elevation?

I'm still trying to understand what those 98k, etc numbers mean in relation to DYL.

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse
It just refers to how many km's further along this road: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Cr ... nd_Highway
As far as I know, this whole km marker business is quite a recent thing.

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May 21st, '13, 19:18
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Re: Taiwanese Oolongs, Spring 2013 Harvest

by sherubtse » May 21st, '13, 19:18

SilentChaos wrote:
sherubtse wrote:
SilentChaos wrote:
Tead Off wrote: The higher the # just mean the further you are down the road. :lol: :P
So, does further you are down the road mean lower in elevation?

I'm still trying to understand what those 98k, etc numbers mean in relation to DYL.

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse
It just refers to how many km's further along this road: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Cr ... nd_Highway
As far as I know, this whole km marker business is quite a recent thing.
Thanks for the explanation and link. I think that I am finally "getting it".

Best wishes,
sherubtse

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May 21st, '13, 22:58
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Re: Taiwanese Oolongs, Spring 2013 Harvest

by Tead Off » May 21st, '13, 22:58

sherubtse wrote:
SilentChaos wrote:
sherubtse wrote:
SilentChaos wrote:
Tead Off wrote: The higher the # just mean the further you are down the road. :lol: :P
So, does further you are down the road mean lower in elevation?

I'm still trying to understand what those 98k, etc numbers mean in relation to DYL.

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse
It just refers to how many km's further along this road: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Cr ... nd_Highway
As far as I know, this whole km marker business is quite a recent thing.
Thanks for the explanation and link. I think that I am finally "getting it".

Best wishes,
sherubtse
You are getting it and I am getting more confused! LOL. If we don't use those markers as elevation landmarks, then each vendor should tell you at what elevation the teas they are selling are grown at. The 105k has become something of a legend. I think Tony is right when he says the individual farms will be responsible for how good the tea is but there is something to be said for the higher elevations, and the Lin farm at 105k is pretty high up. I still stand by my description of the profile of what I consider good DYL.

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May 21st, '13, 23:26
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Re: Taiwanese Oolongs, Spring 2013 Harvest

by TIM » May 21st, '13, 23:26

Tead Off wrote:
sherubtse wrote:
SilentChaos wrote:
sherubtse wrote:
SilentChaos wrote:
Tead Off wrote: The higher the # just mean the further you are down the road. :lol: :P
So, does further you are down the road mean lower in elevation?

I'm still trying to understand what those 98k, etc numbers mean in relation to DYL.

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse
It just refers to how many km's further along this road: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Cr ... nd_Highway
As far as I know, this whole km marker business is quite a recent thing.
Thanks for the explanation and link. I think that I am finally "getting it".

Best wishes,
sherubtse
You are getting it and I am getting more confused! LOL. If we don't use those markers as elevation landmarks, then each vendor should tell you at what elevation the teas they are selling are grown at. The 105k has become something of a legend. I think Tony is right when he says the individual farms will be responsible for how good the tea is but there is something to be said for the higher elevations, and the Lin farm at 105k is pretty high up. I still stand by my description of the profile of what I consider good DYL.
Have you try Lin's DYL? How would you compare his and others around 105?

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May 22nd, '13, 00:00
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Re: Taiwanese Oolongs, Spring 2013 Harvest

by Tead Off » May 22nd, '13, 00:00

TIM wrote:
Tead Off wrote:
sherubtse wrote:
SilentChaos wrote:
sherubtse wrote:
SilentChaos wrote:
Tead Off wrote: The higher the # just mean the further you are down the road. :lol: :P
So, does further you are down the road mean lower in elevation?

I'm still trying to understand what those 98k, etc numbers mean in relation to DYL.

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse
It just refers to how many km's further along this road: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Cr ... nd_Highway
As far as I know, this whole km marker business is quite a recent thing.
Thanks for the explanation and link. I think that I am finally "getting it".

Best wishes,
sherubtse
You are getting it and I am getting more confused! LOL. If we don't use those markers as elevation landmarks, then each vendor should tell you at what elevation the teas they are selling are grown at. The 105k has become something of a legend. I think Tony is right when he says the individual farms will be responsible for how good the tea is but there is something to be said for the higher elevations, and the Lin farm at 105k is pretty high up. I still stand by my description of the profile of what I consider good DYL.
Have you try Lin's DYL? How would you compare his and others around 105?
I haven't bought Lin's in some years. My most recent DYL's have come from Origin Tea, Wang De Chuan, & TFT, with TFT probably being slightly better. Can't remember if I tried T-Oolong's. Hard to beat Origin's price for value on the winter 2012. I could never decide if winter is better than Spring/Summer. Some think the flavor is deeper in winter. On rare occasion, I've had Li Shan that rivaled DYL. Lin's is very pricey and they have the marketing hype behind them as being the highest DYL farm. I would ask Tony what he thinks are the more distinguished farms.

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May 22nd, '13, 06:56
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Re: Taiwanese Oolongs, Spring 2013 Harvest

by sherubtse » May 22nd, '13, 06:56

Tead Off wrote:If we don't use those markers as elevation landmarks, then each vendor should tell you at what elevation the teas they are selling are grown at.
As I understand what Tony said, the markers are for distance along a road, not necessarily elevation. (Of course I could have misunderstood the whole thing, and didn't really "get it" after all. :lol: )

I agree that vendors should show elevation of the tea they are selling.

Origin Tea does this. For example:

http://www.origintea.net/oolong/2013-sp ... -Dong-Pian

... as does Tea From Taiwan. For example:

http://www.teafromtaiwan.com/shop/loose ... ps91j6nv13

... as does Taiwan Tea Crafts. For example:

http://www.taiwanteacrafts.com/product/ ... a-lot-206/

(I have never heard of the latter company until very recently. So if anyone has any info or experience with it, I would like to hear from them.)

Best wishes,
sherubtse

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May 22nd, '13, 09:17
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Re: Taiwanese Oolongs, Spring 2013 Harvest

by Kabouterke » May 22nd, '13, 09:17

Thanks for the info and suggestions, everybody. I appreciate it!

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May 22nd, '13, 15:10
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Re: Taiwanese Oolongs, Spring 2013 Harvest

by 茶藝-TeaArt08 » May 22nd, '13, 15:10

I'd also like to know if anyone has purchased tea from Taiwan Tea Crafts. As I've said before, we buy our tea each year in Taiwan and/or have family members that go back and forth pick it up for us and bring some home.

I like multiple things about their site:

1.They provide well-lit and expandable pictures of the tea leaf fresh-picked, rolled/processed, and brewed alongside a picture of the tea liquor.
2.They list the elevation for their tea, the varietal, whether hand picked or machine picked, roasting and oxidation level, etc.
3. Seem honest: For example, with their Fu Shou Shan they mention that there tea is NOT from the government farm and is situated nearby: "Our Fushoushan Oolong comes from a garden alongside the government farm and bears the characteristic clean, fresh, exuberantly floral aroma of Lishan teas." (In Taiwan there is so much claiming of selling 'real' Da Yu Ling or Fu Shou Shan that is suspect)
4. Their prices seem more similar to what I am used to paying in Taiwan at reputable dealer locations such as Qiu1Shan1tang2 (秋山堂) teahouse.
5. I like that they sell tea in 50g sizes. Whenever we buy tea we have it placed in 50g-75g bags, no matter what the total purchase size to keep the tea fresh between openings/brewing.
6. The website is well laid out and easy to navigate with high quality photos of their listed items.

Does anyone know what the lot # is? Does this refer to the batch of tea as it was bid upon? I've not seen this listed before.

Kabouterke,
I notice that they have what they purport to be already available versions of 2013 Dong Ding wulong: http://www.taiwanteacrafts.com/shop/pro ... d-oolongs/

Blessings!

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