Official what Oolong are You Drinking Right Now?

[ethan]

Sorry for not being clear. I meant that you used plenty of leaf & time to bring out body. I do not think any way of preparation will bring out a lot of body for that tea. I'd love to know if I am wrong.

[victoria3]

Sorry for not being clear. I meant that you used plenty of leaf & time to bring out body. I do not think any way of preparation will bring out a lot of body for that tea. I'd love to know if I am wrong.

Well you are right Ethan, I just tried a little more leaf and less time and the results are similar between Yixing at 6.7gr/120ml/195f/80sec. and Gaiwan at 7.7/120/205f/20sec-17-20-35-55. Slightly more mouth feel with lingering palate, maybe a bit more buttery, or my taste buds are just becoming accustomed to this Lishan.

I am steeping in my Edo Period (mid 1800's) Japanese Gaiwan aka Chawan Chazuke (used to make a rice with tea). It has wonderfully primitive drawings of a tea house using bold brush strokes. And sipping out of a mid 19th century Cantonese bowl which also uses playfully primitive drawings of teahouses. A nice overlap of cultures and periods.

[ethan]

I love your teaware. I like seeing that it is being used, not just on a shelf.

I tasted a lot of gaoshan in January that had body (& too much of vegetables for me). I think it is difficult to find our individual perfect.....
The organic dayuling from Dr Chen was perfect when he or his wife were preparing it in a porcelain bowl w/ a porcelain spoon. I tried to imitate their preparation & was not as successful. I ended up using tiny yixing pots which somehow were great for that great dayuling..

[victoria3]

I love your teaware. I like seeing that it is being used, not just on a shelf.

I tasted a lot of gaoshan in January that had body (& too much of vegetables for me). I think it is difficult to find our individual perfect.....
The organic dayuling from Dr Chen was perfect when he or his wife were preparing it in a porcelain bowl w/ a porcelain spoon. I tried to imitate their preparation & was not as successful. I ended up using tiny yixing pots which somehow were great for that great dayuling..

At some point I'll post about my small but growing blue & white collection. It all started with my breaking a British tea bowl that turned out to be from 1894 and impossible to replace, at least so far.
How great that you were able to spend time with Dr Chen and be served so propitiously.

[daidokorocha]

Victoria, where did you get the Edo period piece? I do not know that much about vintage Japanese teaware, especially in the late Edo period. If I know anything it is about sengoku to early Edo period wares. However, the market I know nothing about, and I always wonder how much those kinds of things go for.

I am off to have a dayuling session.

[victoria3]

Victoria, where did you get the Edo period piece? I do not know that much about vintage Japanese teaware, especially in the late Edo period. If I know anything it is about sengoku to early Edo period wares. However, the market I know nothing about, and I always wonder how much those kinds of things go for.

I am off to have a dayuling session.

I just got this Imari piece and then got two more (six were available). Three are still up on eBay ~ offer half the price if you like them. I would have gotten them all but am running out of space. http://www.ebay.com/itm/232010899578?eu ... Tags=bu=bu

I've been focusing more on Canton pieces but really liked how these looked. So no I'm not an expert, although I do have a good eye and I believe these to be accurately described. The vendor specializes in Asian antiques and seems reputable. According to vendor "Dating is determined by the type of blue that was used, in which subtle variations in shade were utilized during different periods because of various trade arrangements and producers of the pigments. Also, the mark is a traditional Sometsuke (blue & white) porcelain mark found on Imari from the late 1700s and into the 1800s. These may be even earlier than 1800." Here is a link that will give you more information. http://www.imari.com/mark3.html

[Frisbeehead]

Having some Wu Dong Mi Lan Dan Cong AAA from Jing Tea Shop at the moment, steeping it in my Hokujo shiboridashi. Hokujo's clay is wonderful for phoenix dan cong, as many others have previously mentioned. I bought this shibo for high quality sencha, but lately I've been using it mostly for phoenix dan cong.



I need to start drinking through some of the sencha from Hiruma soon

[victoria3]

Having some Wu Dong Mi Lan Dan Cong AAA from Jing Tea Shop at the moment, steeping it in my Hokujo shiboridashi. Hokujo's clay is wonderful for phoenix dan cong, as many others have previously mentioned. I bought this shibo for high quality sencha, but lately I've been using it mostly for phoenix dan cong.
I need to start drinking through some of the sencha from Hiruma soon

Lately, I have been experimenting with my Tokoname Hokujo Sake set to steep various high mountain oolongs. It is made with Yakishime (high-fired unglazed stoneware) and looks very similar to your clay. I never use the set for sake so thought I'd give oolong a try in the pitcher using a top from another pot. I havn't noticed any beneficial effects really for oolong, if anything the high-fired stoneware may suck out some of the flavour....Your shiboridashi is beautiful!

[Frisbeehead]

Having some Wu Dong Mi Lan Dan Cong AAA from Jing Tea Shop at the moment, steeping it in my Hokujo shiboridashi. Hokujo's clay is wonderful for phoenix dan cong, as many others have previously mentioned. I bought this shibo for high quality sencha, but lately I've been using it mostly for phoenix dan cong.
I need to start drinking through some of the sencha from Hiruma soon

Lately, I have been experimenting with my Tokoname Hokujo Sake set to steep various high mountain oolongs. It is made with Yakishime (high-fired unglazed stoneware) and looks very similar to your clay. I never use the set for sake so thought I'd give oolong a try in the pitcher using a top from another pot. I havn't noticed any beneficial effects really for oolong, if anything the high-fired stoneware may suck out some of the flavour....Your shiboridashi is beautiful!

Thank you! Yes I believe yours are made of the same clay as my shiboridashi, Hokujo uses the same clay in the majority of his pieces (from what I've seen).

EDIT: Ah I thought you said Hokujo made your sake set, but looking back at your post I see all you mentioned was that it is Tokoname. Indeed it still does look like similar clay.

Your sake set is beautiful, it looks like it would be wonderful for grandpa brewing.

It depends on the oolong I think, so far I have only tried phoenix dan cong and traditional dong ding with it. The clay doesn't really mute much of the fragrant floral notes of dan cong, and gives the tea an even fuller body. Very enjoyable. The traditional dong ding (medium roast) was very good in it as well, something I would definitely want to try again sometime. Though I don't want to use it for roasted teas too much, I wouldn't want that to taint the fine sencha I also use it for.

I have heard from others that Hokujo's clay is very good for the traditional dong ding, and I would love to own one of his smaller teapots made from the same clay.

[victoria3]

Having some Wu Dong Mi Lan Dan Cong AAA from Jing Tea Shop at the moment, steeping it in my Hokujo shiboridashi. Hokujo's clay is wonderful for phoenix dan cong, as many others have previously mentioned. I bought this shibo for high quality sencha, but lately I've been using it mostly for phoenix dan cong.
I need to start drinking through some of the sencha from Hiruma soon

Lately, I have been experimenting with my Tokoname Hokujo Sake set to steep various high mountain oolongs. It is made with Yakishime (high-fired unglazed stoneware) and looks very similar to your clay. I never use the set for sake so thought I'd give oolong a try in the pitcher using a top from another pot. I havn't noticed any beneficial effects really for oolong, if anything the high-fired stoneware may suck out some of the flavour....Your shiboridashi is beautiful!

Thank you! Yes I believe yours are made of the same clay as my shiboridashi, Hokujo uses the same clay in the majority of his pieces (from what I've seen).

EDIT: Ah I thought you said Hokujo made your sake set, but looking back at your post I see all you mentioned was that it is Tokoname. Indeed it still does look like similar clay.

Your sake set is beautiful, it looks like it would be wonderful for grandpa brewing.

It depends on the oolong I think, so far I have only tried phoenix dan cong and traditional dong ding with it. The clay doesn't really mute much of the fragrant floral notes of dan cong, and gives the tea an even fuller body. Very enjoyable. The traditional dong ding (medium roast) was very good in it as well, something I would definitely want to try again sometime. Though I don't want to use it for roasted teas too much, I wouldn't want that to taint the fine sencha I also use it for.

I have heard from others that Hokujo's clay is very good for the traditional dong ding, and I would love to own one of his smaller teapots made from the same clay.

Yes my sake set is made by Hokujo. I steeped Lu Gu Oolong from my local Bird Pick in it, steeped 4 times and then let it sit overnight to see how it tasted. I was curious how this clay compared to my yixing CCCI pot since I'd been reading quite a bit on high fired clay and oolong and how it affects taste. It is possible a medium or higher roast oolong could work. Or a cold brewed sencha might work better, letting the ice melt for several hours. I'll try that next.

[ethan]

After a week at a friend's where I drank so many blends of black tea & flavored tea, I am back home. I started w/ Imperial Pearl from Mountain Tea (lately my first tea of the day); then, it was time for an aged oolong from Taiwan. This is > 16 years old, maybe 20 or so. It has a distinct taste I associate w/ good Rui or Dancong, a particular old strongly roasted flavor side by side w/ a sour taste. This is something I like to have in my drinking rotation. Not everyday but often. Because I have not had such a tea for several months, I will not think about how good this one is, worth the $, etc. I will say that this category of tea is not one that I would venture to buy for others. I don't feel I will soon (or perhaps forever) get a confident comprehension in this.

Second infusion is lighter in the roasted taste. Just as delicious but different.

[victoria3]

After a week at a friend's where I drank so many blends of black tea & flavored tea, I am back home. I started w/ Imperial Pearl from Mountain Tea (lately my first tea of the day); then, it was time for an aged oolong from Taiwan. This is > 16 years old, maybe 20 or so. It has a distinct taste I associate w/ good Rui or Dancong, a particular old strongly roasted flavor side by side w/ a sour taste. This is something I like to have in my drinking rotation. Not everyday but often. Because I have not had such a tea for several months, I will not think about how good this one is, worth the $, etc. I will say that this category of tea is not one that I would venture to buy for others. I don't feel I will soon (or perhaps forever) get a confident comprehension in this.

Second infusion is lighter in the roasted taste. Just as delicious but different.

That Imperial Pearl sounds very interesting, they list it as a dark 'brandy oolong'. Their prices are at the lower end. On a scale of 1-10 how would you grade this companies oolong quality? I don't see it listed under oolong vendors.

[victoria3]

I first tried Floating Leaves 2016 Spring DaYuLing Oolong in my new Edo lidded bowl @ 7.7/120ml/25sec. and it was way to light for me so I put the liquor back in the bowl, let it sit a while, and then really enjoyed sipping out of my new Edo bowl. The bowl is the perfect size for sipping with the leaves right there. I can use the lid to keep leaves away or simply sip directly. A very nice intimate and more casual way to enjoy oolong. After 4 or 5 steeps I let the leaf sit overnight and enjoyed yet another moment.

Today I steeped this DaYuLing in my yixing with slightly more leaf/time and the liquor results were far superior 9.6/150/195/80. With a preheated pot dry leaf has no particular aroma. After steep; emerald green wet leaves, aroma and liquor very buttery, smooth and lingering palate. Subsequent steeps are more more floral. An enjoyable DaYuLing.

[ethan]

Victoria, Imperial Pearl is a tea I like a lot; yet do not think it is a great tea. It just happens to work for me. Most mornings I drink two rounds of 3 1/2 oz. w/ pleasure but enjoy teas that I drink afterwards much more. I got Imperial Pearl in a wholesale group-buy from Teachat that made it a very good buy. When first getting into oolong, I did enjoy some of Mountain Tea's other teas somewhat. I was not tempted to buy them again when the group buy was on.
MT's Black Pearl pleased when I first tried it. It was good for only one infusion, but was close to an excellent laoshan black for much less $. When I bought more a year or so later it did not seem as good.

I am on my 5th infusion of this aged oolong. (Not gongfu) Quick steeping gives me an emphasis on tartness, longer on the charcoal roasting. The first 2 infusions were much stronger in flavor but all are good The leaves were expensive. Am I happy? Yes. I have 4 oz. I would not buy more. Life is funny & decisions are........Cheers

[victoria3]

Victoria, Imperial Pearl is a tea I like a lot; yet do not think it is a great tea. It just happens to work for me. Most mornings I drink two rounds of 3 1/2 oz. w/ pleasure but enjoy teas that I drink afterwards much more. I got Imperial Pearl in a wholesale group-buy from Teachat that made it a very good buy. When first getting into oolong, I did enjoy some of Mountain Tea's other teas somewhat. I was not tempted to buy them again when the group buy was on.
MT's Black Pearl pleased when I first tried it. It was good for only one infusion, but was close to an excellent laoshan black for much less $. When I bought more a year or so later it did not seem as good.

I am on my 5th infusion of this aged oolong. (Not gongfu) Quick steeping gives me an emphasis on tartness, longer on the charcoal roasting. The first 2 infusions were much stronger in flavor but all are good The leaves were expensive. Am I happy? Yes. I have 4 oz. I would not buy more. Life is funny & decisions are........Cheers

Interesting, if I understand correctly, I too am in the habit of having my 'everyday teas' in the morning, High Mountain, Lu Gu & or Jasmine Pearl all from Bird Pick, all reasonably priced. They are fine casual brews, satisfying though not fit for an Emperor or Queen. I am looking for new casual everyday options (as well as primo topshelf). Though lately I am consciously switching back to sincha in the morning, since caffeine content is so much greater and I'd like to finish 2013 open packets.