First taste of Wuyi

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


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Jan 1st, '14, 17:36
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Re: First taste of Wuyi

by the_economist » Jan 1st, '14, 17:36

Teaism wrote:
Ursinos wrote:oh wow! what a difference!

5 second steep time, and the mostly gone
Wuyi can changed quite drastically within seconds. it is good to experiment the infusion timing, quantity of tea levels etc. to calibrate to the brew that meet your palate.

Cheers and happy new year!
+1, drinking some yancha right now. Happy new year!

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Jan 1st, '14, 20:53
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Re: First taste of Wuyi

by wyardley » Jan 1st, '14, 20:53

Ursinos wrote:hmm, all the material I've seen has said brew it at 85C. I guess it's another one of those variations on brewing style.
I'd beware of any materials that give hard and fast rules. It's going to depend on the quality of the tea, and your personal taste.

My feeling is that most of the very best teas (of any type) can take water at the boil or very close to it. However, many / most teas fall short of that mark, and slightly cooler water will often help smooth things out. I also really like it for getting a more fruity (rather than vegetal) flavor out of more delicate oolongs. My suggestion is to start hotter with a new tea, and use cooler water the next time around, if you find that the water you're using is "cooking" the tea, or if you're not getting results you like. Starting hot and backing off from there lets you ensure that you're getting the most out of a particular tea.

Also, your kettle, pouring style, altitude, etc. all may have some minor effects on the temperature.

I think most people who have been brewing for a long time adjust the temperature in one way or another, whether on a conscious or unconscious level. Learning to use your senses (rather than a thermometer), is a skill that takes a while to develop, but I'd argue that it is also more rewarding in a lot of ways.

Jan 1st, '14, 22:57
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Re: First taste of Wuyi

by Ursinos » Jan 1st, '14, 22:57

wyardley wrote:
Ursinos wrote:hmm, all the material I've seen has said brew it at 85C. I guess it's another one of those variations on brewing style.
I'd beware of any materials that give hard and fast rules. It's going to depend on the quality of the tea, and your personal taste.

My feeling is that most of the very best teas (of any type) can take water at the boil or very close to it. However, many / most teas fall short of that mark, and slightly cooler water will often help smooth things out. I also really like it for getting a more fruity (rather than vegetal) flavor out of more delicate oolongs. My suggestion is to start hotter with a new tea, and use cooler water the next time around, if you find that the water you're using is "cooking" the tea, or if you're not getting results you like. Starting hot and backing off from there lets you ensure that you're getting the most out of a particular tea.

Also, your kettle, pouring style, altitude, etc. all may have some minor effects on the temperature.

I think most people who have been brewing for a long time adjust the temperature in one way or another, whether on a conscious or unconscious level. Learning to use your senses (rather than a thermometer), is a skill that takes a while to develop, but I'd argue that it is also more rewarding in a lot of ways.

Thanks for the advice. Yet another reason to keep the notebook. easier to remember what temperatures I brewed at the last time I had a particular type of tea.

Like this TGY I'm currently trying (not even labelled TGY, but "iron goddess of mercy" I believe that's just the english translation really, but it makes me think it's lower quality since it was on the same shelf as teas labelled TGY). my first brew was according to package, but I found it more palatable at a much lower brew temp.

The things I'm learning :D

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Jan 2nd, '14, 05:20
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Re: First taste of Wuyi

by jayinhk » Jan 2nd, '14, 05:20

Guanyin is also the god of mercy, depending on who you're talking to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalokite%C5%9Bvara

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Jan 2nd, '14, 05:41
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Re: First taste of Wuyi

by Teaism » Jan 2nd, '14, 05:41

wyardley wrote:
Ursinos wrote:hmm, all the material I've seen has said brew it at 85C. I guess it's another one of those variations on brewing style.
I'd beware of any materials that give hard and fast rules. It's going to depend on the quality of the tea, and your personal taste.

My feeling is that most of the very best teas (of any type) can take water at the boil or very close to it.
+1

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Jan 11th, '14, 06:43
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Re: First taste of Wuyi

by Nerys54 » Jan 11th, '14, 06:43

Had my first oolong my first Wuyi today first steep and second steep I really like this. Never had oolong before. Any suggestions for other oolongs? :)

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Jan 11th, '14, 06:55
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Re: First taste of Wuyi

by Teaism » Jan 11th, '14, 06:55

Wuyi itself has a few dozen types. If you like it you can explore various types of Wuyi. The common ones are Shui Xian, Tie Loh Han, Rou Gui. Shui Xian itself also have many types, Dancong etc etc. you can goggle for more info.

Cheers!

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Jan 13th, '14, 05:25
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Re: First taste of Wuyi

by Nerys54 » Jan 13th, '14, 05:25

Today my 2nd time making and drinking oolong I got it as a surprise sample with my online order from VerdantTea it is Wuyi montain big red robe. Yesterday I was reading at the suggested links and came accross oolong compendium which referred to different styles of brewing so I am trying out grandpa style today.Today I steeped just a few seconds longer.The aroma seems different. :)

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Re: First taste of Wuyi

by chrl42 » Jan 14th, '14, 05:17

Ursinos wrote:
Teaism wrote:For taditional Chazhou brewing style for Wuyi, the water is boiled to max. for every brew. The kettle is very small and place next to the pot and poured into the brewing pot immediately when the water boiled. The infusion time to calibrate the brew is split seconds. It is really enjoyable to see the old Chazhou grandma brew tea in this way.
You should try it out as one of your experiment.

Cheers!
hmm, all the material I've seen has said brew it at 85C. I guess it's another one of those variations on brewing style.
Not in my books though. Many instructions I've seen suggest to start from 90C. and full boil as Chaozhou style...85C. is too low IMO.

Jan 14th, '14, 12:51
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Re: First taste of Wuyi

by Ursinos » Jan 14th, '14, 12:51

chrl42 wrote:
Ursinos wrote:
Teaism wrote:For taditional Chazhou brewing style for Wuyi, the water is boiled to max. for every brew. The kettle is very small and place next to the pot and poured into the brewing pot immediately when the water boiled. The infusion time to calibrate the brew is split seconds. It is really enjoyable to see the old Chazhou grandma brew tea in this way.
You should try it out as one of your experiment.

Cheers!
hmm, all the material I've seen has said brew it at 85C. I guess it's another one of those variations on brewing style.
Not in my books though. Many instructions I've seen suggest to start from 90C. and full boil as Chaozhou style...85C. is too low IMO.
thanks for the info. I've written it down in my notebook :D

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Re: First taste of Wuyi

by ABx » Jan 25th, '14, 18:50

The only wulong that I brew with cooler temps is dancong, and then it's still not much cooler. Something like yancha can definitely take the higher temps.

To get the most of yancha, you're best using something around 80-100ml, filling 60%-75% with dry leaf, and water as hot as you can. Don't skimp on the leaf; you'll get more steeps, but they'll all be unsatisfactory. Save money by getting smaller teaware instead. Besides: you'll get more from the tea when it's hot, and brewing in small amounts helps keep it hot all the way through.

Some broken bits in the bottom is good, but you want mostly whole leaf. You might hear about crushing some leaf to put in the bottom -- this can make a positive difference, but this is a more advanced thing that I wouldn't worry about until you're more comfortable with everything. Until then just try to be conscious of how much of the bits you're scooping into the teapot so that you're not brewing mostly bits.

Something to keep in mind is that yancha is more likely to be somewhat bitter than other wulong when brewed properly (not all of them, but many), but it shouldn't be a bad bitterness. Part of developing your palate is in learning to enjoy bitter tastes, but when you do it will open all sorts of doors -- and not just with tea. Just realize that there are good bitter tastes, which have complexity, smoothness, and still feel comfortable in the mouth, and there's bad bitterness that's harsh and hard to swallow. The good stuff will also often turn sweet after you swallow (if it doesn't then you may be using too much leaf or too many broken bits; or just a crappy tea).

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