Fushoushan High Mountain (2600m) Oolong Group Buy - Interest Check

[steanze]

Fantastic tea. Brewed it for the first time today, with a thin porcelain gaiwan. The flavor is very clear and delicate, the most amazing thing is the strong qi it's a level of qi I would expect from a pu-erh rather than a taiwanese gaoshan

[Haddemall]

I tried the roasted Dong Ding first, its only befitting since it was Mr Chen and KZ who got us where we are. I think this a very good tea, sweetens up real quickly and infusion 2-4 are fantastic. Expertly roasted the tea goes on for at least 6 infusions. I have some Hong Shui from Jade Leaf which I had today to compare and its a astringent mess compared to Mr Chens effort. I am not a Dong Ding veteran but I rate this tea very highly.

[Bok]

I have some Hong Shui from Jade Leaf which I had today to compare and its a astringent mess compared to Mr Chens effort. I am not a Dong Ding veteran but I rate this tea very highly.

I have only had Jade Leafs Hong Shui which was not a bad tea at all, so Mr Chens must be awesome!
From what I was told about the production methods JLs is also a traditional roast. But then there are traditions and the masters of the tradition!

[Haddemall]

I have some Hong Shui from Jade Leaf which I had today to compare and its a astringent mess compared to Mr Chens effort. I am not a Dong Ding veteran but I rate this tea very highly.

I have only had Jade Leafs Hong Shui which was not a bad tea at all, so Mr Chens must be awesome!
From what I was told about the production methods JLs is also a traditional roast. But then there are traditions and the masters of the tradition!

Interesting to hear your opinion, Bok. You should know, I guess, who live there. I just preferred Mr Chen's. I'd be very interested to hear what you think once you tried his.

[Bok]

Interesting to hear your opinion, Bok. You should know, I guess, who live there. I just preferred Mr Chen's. I'd be very interested to hear what you think once you tried his.

I think I’ll need to visit him on my next trip to the middle of Taiwan
Also interesting for me, as it proves once more how little some background stories of “special” teas are actually worth (not talking about Mr Chen’s). If you don‘t mind me asking, which one was more expensive? No need for the actual price, just more or less is enough.

[jayinhk]

Bok, not sure if you noticed, but he's comparing the Jade Leaf to traditional roast dongding from Chen (which isn't a traditional roast, IMO. It's a modern 'high' roast). The tea has the hours in the oven, but the temperature was low, which preserves the terroir and aromatics much better, according to research by TenRen. A traditional roast would've been done at a higher temperature.

[Tead Off]

Bok, not sure if you noticed, but he's comparing the Jade Leaf to traditional roast dongding from Chen (which isn't a traditional roast, IMO. It's a modern 'high' roast). The tea has the hours in the oven, but the temperature was low, which preserves the terroir and aromatics much better, according to research by TenRen. A traditional roast would've been done at a higher temperature.

I'm not sure there is a 'standard' called 'Traditional Roast'. I realize that for marketing purposes, teas need to be described so buyers can be more specific as to what they want. However, I believe that tradition also includes slow, low-fire roasting that can yield any type of roast one aims for. Not all roasters are equal. Skill-sets and experience are key, I would say.

Personally, I find very few Taiwan roasted teas that I really enjoy compared to Chinese mainland teas. I have yet to have a Taiwan hong shui that could compare to a good roasted TGY. Perhaps that has something to do with the nature of the two types of tea and not the skill set of the roasters.

[jayinhk]

The kind of roast you find at old school Chinese merchants (like your guys in BKK) is a traditional roast. Roasting at 100-120 Celsius is very much a modern roast, even if the roast is for 60-70 hours. Temperature makes all the difference to roast; more so than time. Just my (limited) experience with electric roasting oolongs and from reading about it.

[Bok]

Bok, not sure if you noticed, but he's comparing the Jade Leaf to traditional roast dongding from Chen (which isn't a traditional roast, IMO. It's a modern 'high' roast). The tea has the hours in the oven, but the temperature was low, which preserves the terroir and aromatics much better, according to research by TenRen. A traditional roast would've been done at a higher temperature.

If I am not wrong JL is also not a high roast but a medium one, slow roast over an extended period. Heatsource is charcoal.
The leaf colour is still green, say a duller green than a low oxidised oolong. HK roasting seems a whole different animal, as far as what I can gather from your descriptions.

[Haddemall]

Interesting to hear your opinion, Bok. You should know, I guess, who live there. I just preferred Mr Chen's. I'd be very interested to hear what you think once you tried his.

I think I’ll need to visit him on my next trip to the middle of Taiwan
Also interesting for me, as it proves once more how little some background stories of “special” teas are actually worth (not talking about Mr Chen’s). If you don‘t mind me asking, which one was more expensive? No need for the actual price, just more or less is enough.

Slightly more but not much.

[Tead Off]

The kind of roast you find at old school Chinese merchants (like your guys in BKK) is a traditional roast. Roasting at 100-120 Celsius is very much a modern roast, even if the roast is for 60-70 hours. Temperature makes all the difference to roast; more so than time. Just my (limited) experience with electric roasting oolongs and from reading about it.

From my experience, it's not only temperature but the material used to heat the tea, ie., charcoal. I would think most tea masters would go for wood over electric. Those with experience, know how to fuse the wood fire with the tea. That is their skill set and edge. It is being lost today. Not many expert roasters.

[jayinhk]

Heat is heat, but wood imparts a little flavor. Temperature is the most important factor, followed by length of roast, but temperature is by far the most important factor. Obviously they wanna make it sound like roasting is something hard to do, but roasting tea is much simpler than roasting coffee. Try it and see.

[jayinhk]

Bok, not sure if you noticed, but he's comparing the Jade Leaf to traditional roast dongding from Chen (which isn't a traditional roast, IMO. It's a modern 'high' roast). The tea has the hours in the oven, but the temperature was low, which preserves the terroir and aromatics much better, according to research by TenRen. A traditional roast would've been done at a higher temperature.

If I am not wrong JL is also not a high roast but a medium one, slow roast over an extended period. Heatsource is charcoal.
The leaf colour is still green, say a duller green than a low oxidised oolong. HK roasting seems a whole different animal, as far as what I can gather from your descriptions.

The HK roast is a pre-CR roast. Very much traditional!

[Tead Off]

Heat is heat, but wood imparts a little flavor. Temperature is the most important factor, followed by length of roast, but temperature is by far the most important factor. Obviously they wanna make it sound like roasting is something hard to do, but roasting tea is much simpler than roasting coffee. Try it and see.

It also imparts its qi, a quality that is sought after by connoisseurs. Roasting IS hard to do. There is a lot of junk in the market.

[jayinhk]

Heat is heat, but wood imparts a little flavor. Temperature is the most important factor, followed by length of roast, but temperature is by far the most important factor. Obviously they wanna make it sound like roasting is something hard to do, but roasting tea is much simpler than roasting coffee. Try it and see.

It also imparts its qi, a quality that is sought after by connoisseurs. Roasting IS hard to do. There is a lot of junk in the market.

Qi from roasting is debatable (I don't believe it), but I don't disagree that there's a lot of junk on the market. That's more to do with poor quality base material than roast, IMO. Seriously, try roasting some old Thai green oolong at different temperatures and then letting it rest. I think it would be a very interesting experiment