Official what Oolong are You Drinking Right Now?

[jayinhk]

Fook Ming Tong Mt Phoenix Dancong in a cheap gaiwan I bought on Hainan Island a few years ago. I wanted to see if my hongni was taking much away from the dancong and it really wasn't. in porcelain, this tea reminds me of my home-roasted baozhong, especially in the later infusions. Even the wet leaves have a buttery/grassy smell that is reminiscent of my baozhong. My guess is the varietal and roasting process is similar (around 100 Celsius for a prolonged period of time) to get such similar results. The FMT has a nice lychee aroma and taste to it, along with the sweet orchid, and even with boiling water, it doesn't get too bitter. The cheaper stuff I describe below was more bitter.

Yesterday I tried some very cheap dancong I bought a few years ago. When I bought it, I was scared it had been adulterated. Now I see that it really wasn't; it smells much like the good stuff and has mellowed out over the years without losing all aroma. Quality-wise the cheap stuff isn't much to write home about, but it is certainly drinkable. The new stuff is considerably more expensive, but not as expensive as the FMT. Let's see how good the 2016 stuff is when it comes in!

[ethan]

debunix, Highly oxidized oolong like the red Alishan from Norbu was sold out by mid-January in Taiwan by vednors who are not extremely expensive. When I return there I hope to get some. (I have a one-way frequent-flyer ticket to Taipei for December 21st. I don't have $ for rooms etc. yet). An interesting & tasty surprise was one farm allowed some of the tea that would usually become Oriental Beauty to oxidize completely. It was too expensive for me to buy.

I assume the red Alishan from Norbu is better than the Imperial Pearl from Mountain Tea (which I like a lot though sometimes I feel it is a bit "rough"). There is a noticeable difference in price.

This morning I am drinking white tea from Nepal. Sometimes when I drink the dongfang meiren (Oriental Beauty), I think it tastes like this white, but always when I drink the white, I think it is unique. Drinking tea a lot certainly is interesting.

[debunix]

I assume the red Alishan from Norbu is better than the Imperial Pearl from Mountain Tea (which I like a lot though sometimes I feel it is a bit "rough"). There is a noticeable difference in price.

....Drinking tea a lot certainly is interesting.

I do prefer the red Alishan to the Imperial Pearl, but not just because of price or perceived global quality: the Red Alishan has those brandy notes but also a spiciness that is mostly missing from the Imperial Pearl. Fortunately my tea budget is generous and I'll be able to order more of it.

So many teas, not enough time to explore them all. But I'm giving it a good try.

[debunix]

2007 Ba Xian Dancong from Tea Habitat. Floral, fruity, mellow with a hint of spice.

[jayinhk]

Spring 2016 charcoal roast dancong from old bushes--nice stuff. Smooth and delicate orchid aroma with fruit I can't yet identify. Tried to prolong the fourth infusion for more flavor and...bitterness. Gotta remember not to try that with dancong!

[ethan]

Medium-roast Tie Quan Yin. Found ideal parameters for my tastes; so, now I correct earlier post. I had said there was not much difference between the medium & dark roasts of TQYs. I was WRONG.

This medium-roast is sweet when steeped for 30 seconds at 85C. The specific taste(s) of roasting are much lighter than when I prepared for 15 seconds at 92C which for me are the best parameters for the dark-roast TQY. Ideal parameters for the medium-roast yield a lighter-bodied drink w/ some sweetness not in the dark-roast.

The medium-roast is yielding 3 good infusions. The dark gets 2 or 3 more infusions & some notes of fruits I don't get from the medium.

[jayinhk]

Medium-roast Tie Quan Yin. Found ideal parameters for my tastes; so, now I correct earlier post. I had said there was not much difference between the medium & dark roasts of TQYs. I was WRONG.

This medium-roast is sweet when steeped for 30 seconds at 85C. The specific taste(s) of roasting are much lighter than when I prepared for 15 seconds at 92C which for me are the best parameters for the dark-roast TQY. Ideal parameters for the medium-roast yield a lighter-bodied drink w/ some sweetness not in the dark-roast.

The medium-roast is yielding 3 good infusions. The dark gets 2 or 3 more infusions & some notes of fruits I don't get from the medium.

Ethan, how are you measuring temperatures so accurately? When brewing TGY, I prefer to fill a teapot or gaiwan 1/3 of the way up and use very short infusions. For a high roast level I'd use 100C, and 90-95C for a medium roast. My first few brews would be maybe 10-15 seconds long. I feel like I'd miss out on a lot of flavor if I went cooler than that. 85 is what I use for green tea!

Also roast flavor subsides with time, so if you hold onto that tea for a while, it should mellow out. Lighter roasts do tend to be sweeter, aside from standard Chinese green TGY, which is an entirely different beast from the Taiwanese kind, for whatever reason.

[debunix]

Spring 2016 charcoal roast dancong from old bushes--nice stuff. Smooth and delicate orchid aroma with fruit I can't yet identify. Tried to prolong the fourth infusion for more flavor and...bitterness. Gotta remember not to try that with dancong!

I usually don't try longer infusions until the 10th steep or more with the fancy Dancongs from TeaHabitat....

[jayinhk]

Spring 2016 charcoal roast dancong from old bushes--nice stuff. Smooth and delicate orchid aroma with fruit I can't yet identify. Tried to prolong the fourth infusion for more flavor and...bitterness. Gotta remember not to try that with dancong!

I usually don't try longer infusions until the 10th steep or more with the fancy Dancongs from TeaHabitat....

I don't usually have the patience to push a dancong for 10 steeps, but yes, pushing it too early is a bad idea for sure!

[debunix]

Spring 2016 charcoal roast dancong from old bushes--nice stuff. Smooth and delicate orchid aroma with fruit I can't yet identify. Tried to prolong the fourth infusion for more flavor and...bitterness. Gotta remember not to try that with dancong!

I usually don't try longer infusions until the 10th steep or more with the fancy Dancongs from TeaHabitat....

I don't usually have the patience to push a dancong for 10 steeps, but yes, pushing it too early is a bad idea for sure!

For men's powerful leaves, a little goes a long, long way.

[jayinhk]

Spring 2016 charcoal roast dancong from old bushes--nice stuff. Smooth and delicate orchid aroma with fruit I can't yet identify. Tried to prolong the fourth infusion for more flavor and...bitterness. Gotta remember not to try that with dancong!

I usually don't try longer infusions until the 10th steep or more with the fancy Dancongs from TeaHabitat....

I don't usually have the patience to push a dancong for 10 steeps, but yes, pushing it too early is a bad idea for sure!

For men's powerful leaves, a little goes a long, long way.

Sounds like I should pick some up for comparison! I'm only five to six hours drive from Chaozhou so it's definitely worth the trip to see if I can find better stuff.

[ethan]

Jay, I have a Bonavita variable temperature kettle that is very accurate at heating water to the temperature one sets it for. It has a readout for timing also. Very easy to be exact using it. I also have a digital timer w/ alarm. I compare that w/ some stretching I do so I don't need to depend on technology.
I use much less leaves than most people on teachat seem to. I don't weigh but have a good idea by using the same spoon which I used w/ a borrowed scale to learn how much it carries in weight for cut leaves, pearls, long leaves w/ stems.... I don't use > than 1 gram per 50 ml of water & often less.
Green oolongs give me trouble often, even after I think I found the best parameters & teaware. They also seem to change more in the tea caddy than other teas. (I usually don't buy any but the dayuling from Dr Chen in Tainan was obviously so special & I like it). For the dayuling I am at 94C lately. The substantially roasted TGYs seem to be consistent. I can stick to the parameters that experimenting led me to.
I am mostly using a small, thin-walled porcelain pot that holds 150 ml but also porcelain gaiwans, a celadon pot, & tiny yixing pots. My results don't change hardly at all w/ the teaware for the roasted TGYs (even in the tiny yixing pots I have). For the dayuling the yixing takes away some sharpness of vegetal flavor (which I dislike) & brings out another flavor I have no word for (which I like).
Not referring to your post, but interesting to me is: how much it matters to preheat pots & gaiwans & how a flash rinse opens up pearls enough to improve the first infusion.
For all good teas my methods yield at least 2 good infusions & more for many teas.

[jayinhk]

Last night's baiye (white leaf--supposedly because the leaf is still pale as it is harvested early in spring) dancong went ten infusions, even with the 30 second fourth infusion (oops). I was drinking shu pu erh earlier in the day and I guess I wanted more flavor. Dancong is much more delicate, so I can't expect that kind of intensity. Going to try Imen's protocol for dancong brewing. I am still amazed at how my home roasted baozhong turned out so much like dancong! Both go too many infusions for me--I tend to get bored after four or five infusions no matter what I'm brewing. I have three teas going at once right now! Shu, Oriental Beauty and the new Dancong.

Edit: just brewed infusion 11. The aroma was back after resting overnight. I can taste chlorophyll now, as I would with my roasty baozhong. Definite lychee to the flavor, which is something I always seem to detect in dancong.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BEFKsdKyCst/

Ethan, I'd store the dayuling airtight, and even airtight in the fridge. It'll degrade fast in a caddy! Green gaoshan is definitely more finicky than roasted balled oolongs.

[ethan]

Jay, Thanks for advice on keeping dayuling fresh. A day before I had put it in a pouch & sealed it & put it out-of-sight because I was afraid I would drink it all away. I want to sell half of my stash which comes to 50 grams. I could use some pocket $, but also a real lover of this kind of oolong should be drinking it. I like this dayuling; some days I love it, but the medium roast & dark roast oolongs are really what I want in my cup.

[JRS22]

I purchased a Maekawa Junzo 65 mm Shudei pot this winter and I'm finding it the ideal size and shape for brewing yancha.

I've been using it for a mix of yanchas that I wasn't happy with. It improved the mix to the point where it was drinkable, just OK. Right now I'm in the middle of a session of Tea Hong Wuyi Cassia Extraordinaire 2013 that I purchased based on a recommendation here. remonds me why good yancha is worth the money.