Fu Shou Shan 2017, reality & sanity check

[Se7en8ight]

I just came back from Taiwan and got 2 tins of FSS I'm surprised you couldn't get any. I love this tea! Floral and also a bit umami... very intoxicating and heady mix of aromas and flavor! Love love love! Very complex and multi-faceted tea. Unlike anything I've ever tried!

The first time I came across FSS I lucked out... the shop owner also wouldn't brew any for tasting as he said it was too expensive but as luck would have it I had struck up a conversation with a fellow customer who turned out to be a favored and loyal patron of the shop. On his account the shop owner brewed some for me to taste. It's definitely an unparalleled favorite. Never goes bitter but will scald when brewed with water that's too hot.

78

[kyarazen]

I just came back from Taiwan and got 2 tins of FSS I'm surprised you couldn't get any. I love this tea! Floral and also a bit umami... very intoxicating and heady mix of aromas and flavor! Love love love! Very complex and multi-faceted tea. Unlike anything I've ever tried!

The first time I came across FSS I lucked out... the shop owner also wouldn't brew any for tasting as he said it was too expensive but as luck would have it I had struck up a conversation with a fellow customer who turned out to be a favored and loyal patron of the shop. On his account the shop owner brewed some for me to taste. It's definitely an unparalleled favorite. Never goes bitter but will scald when brewed with water that's too hot.

78

haha! lucky you all my local FSS clients drink FSS to get that "mountain/misty" morning dew feel. thats what they prize. but water appears to significantly affect how this tea behaves. on my recent trip we took water from a mountain spring, incredibly high in minerals, that worked to give FSS a lot of headspace and complexity that we did not expect, the brew was umami like a light chicken soup. but the same water flattened out yancha and many other high mountain teas.

[Se7en8ight]

haha! lucky you all my local FSS clients drink FSS to get that "mountain/misty" morning dew feel. thats what they prize. but water appears to significantly affect how this tea behaves. on my recent trip we took water from a mountain spring, incredibly high in minerals, that worked to give FSS a lot of headspace and complexity that we did not expect, the brew was umami like a light chicken soup. but the same water flattened out yancha and many other high mountain teas.

Ohhhh... so that's how you make it more umami! Amazing, this tea has so much to offer! So many layers... so complex. The umami I was picking up was seaweed-y like how japanese greens can be. Have you ever had like a cooling sensation in the back of your palate when you drink FSS? Like breathing in cold air or mint without the mint flavor... i'm not making much sense. LoL

78

[kyarazen]

haha! lucky you all my local FSS clients drink FSS to get that "mountain/misty" morning dew feel. thats what they prize. but water appears to significantly affect how this tea behaves. on my recent trip we took water from a mountain spring, incredibly high in minerals, that worked to give FSS a lot of headspace and complexity that we did not expect, the brew was umami like a light chicken soup. but the same water flattened out yancha and many other high mountain teas.

Ohhhh... so that's how you make it more umami! Amazing, this tea has so much to offer! So many layers... so complex. The umami I was picking up was seaweed-y like how japanese greens can be. Have you ever had like a cooling sensation in the back of your palate when you drink FSS? Like breathing in cold air or mint without the mint flavor... i'm not making much sense. LoL

78

yes that is the mountain air/misty feel that we all are looking for but this note is the hardest to preserve and retain. once oxidation starts after a pack is open or if kept sealed for a couple of years, this note goes away and turns into fruit

[jayinhk]

Getting inspired now so I'm brewing a couple of rolled balls of the 2016 fushoushan right now grandpa style as of debunix suggestion. Fantastic alluring aroma.

Very elegant, balanced tea. As with all high-end teas there is the fact that there are no flaws to be found.
You can brew this tea overnight with hot water and the tea and no bitterness showing up in the cup the next day.

I first had the opportunity to try legit fushoushan farm tea back in 2011 from Guang.

Worth every penny. Thanks Kyara for sourcing!
Hope there will be more opportunities to source this tea in the future.

Also decided to drink FSS today--only my third session with this tea. Using a 100ml hongni pot I bought in Taipei.

Wonderful session. The flavor seems to have opened up and I am getting more complexity. I am also stacking infusions by retaining the last cup worth of tea in the pitcher, which makes for a much more rounded brew.

The cooling sensation is powerful. I believe I attributed this solely to drinking hot tea and then breathing in cool air after, but nope. Definitely something special here!

[Se7en8ight]

Also decided to drink FSS today--only my third session with this tea. Using a 100ml hongni pot I bought in Taipei.

Wonderful session. The flavor seems to have opened up and I am getting more complexity. I am also stacking infusions by retaining the last cup worth of tea in the pitcher, which makes for a much more rounded brew.

The cooling sensation is powerful. I believe I attributed this solely to drinking hot tea and then breathing in cool air after, but nope. Definitely something special here!

Heya Jay

Curious, what temp are you brewing at?

Also, I've always been kinda scared to brew in porous clay as I am scared it will dull the tea? As I know nothing of clays, is HongNi very porous? Have you tried in porcelain and have you noticed a difference?

78

[jayinhk]

78--brewed right as the water stopped boiling, then hotter water for the fourth and fifth infusions. High fired hongni is about as non-porous as you can get with Yixing clay. It's almost porcelain and makes vitreous type 'clinks' when you put the lid on. I've tried the tea in porcelain as well; hongni seems to smoothen the tea a little and improve mouthfeel, and keeps the temperature up better than a gaiwan for the long infusions necessary with gaoshan.

[Se7en8ight]

78--brewed right as the water stopped boiling, then hotter water for the fourth and fifth infusions. High fired hongni is about as non-porous as you can get with Yixing clay. It's almost porcelain and makes vitreous type 'clinks' when you put the lid on. I've tried the tea in porcelain as well; hongni seems to smoothen the tea a little and improve mouthfeel, and keeps the temperature up better than a gaiwan for the long infusions necessary with gaoshan.

Interesting... I've been brewing mine @max 90 degrees... 85 at times...

[jayinhk]

78--brewed right as the water stopped boiling, then hotter water for the fourth and fifth infusions. High fired hongni is about as non-porous as you can get with Yixing clay. It's almost porcelain and makes vitreous type 'clinks' when you put the lid on. I've tried the tea in porcelain as well; hongni seems to smoothen the tea a little and improve mouthfeel, and keeps the temperature up better than a gaiwan for the long infusions necessary with gaoshan.

Interesting... I've been brewing mine @max 90 degrees... 85 at times...

Try more heat--good Taiwanese gaoshan can take it!

[Bok]

I have been told the government totally controls FSS. I do not understand how it would matter whom it is bought from as long as one is not getting counterfeit tins, if what I was told is true.

I have also been told that only 1 of the 2 mountains where the tea is grown will be used for tea after this year which might make next year's FSS exceedingly expensive.

Not the government, but the KMT (Kuomintang) party, which had ruled Taiwan with an iron fist for decades, before slowly handing it over to democracy. They appropriated a lot of property and land, a large part they still do not return to the public. The farm was originally given to soldiers of their army. Long story short, that also explains why this tea is hard to come by (apart from the quantity) - a large part is never for the open market, only for KMT and connected. Worth noting that FS has more than one quality of leaves and the top grades are not available unless connected.

Anyway, better not to think of what amazing teas are out there, if they are out of reach, just drink what makes us happy and what we can afford!

[Tead Off]

I have been told the government totally controls FSS. I do not understand how it would matter whom it is bought from as long as one is not getting counterfeit tins, if what I was told is true.

I have also been told that only 1 of the 2 mountains where the tea is grown will be used for tea after this year which might make next year's FSS exceedingly expensive.

Not the government, but the KMT (Kuomintang) party, which had ruled Taiwan with an iron fist for decades, before slowly handing it over to democracy. They appropriated a lot of property and land, a large part they still do not return to the public. The farm was originally given to soldiers of their army. Long story short, that also explains why this tea is hard to come by (apart from the quantity) - a large part is never for the open market, only for KMT and connected. Worth noting that FS has more than one quality of leaves and the top grades are not available unless connected.

Anyway, better not to think of what amazing teas are out there, if they are out of reach, just drink what makes us happy and what we can afford!

For the history buffs; Here in Thailand, tea production began in the north through the KMT and the Chinese refugees (Yunnan army) that settled here after the war. At first, it was opium production that supported these people, but the Thai gov't struck deals with the KMT and converted much of the opium production to tea cultivation. This is how the connection was made to Taiwan and the Taiwanese tea cultivars that are widespread here.

[jayinhk]

Very interesting stuff, guys! Thanks for sharing!

[bagua7]

The fushoushan is different, but still very nice--the flavor profile is less fruity and more fresh and floral to me. I still have most of my can!

I finally got around brewing the first of the 2 cans I got.

Awesome tea, thanks heaps again to our kyarazen brother for sourcing this tea to our small online community. I have to say the quality is on a par with Tony's Dayuling and Alishan I purchased 3 years ago (or even better! I jay can't really recall it right now, it has been a bit too long since then).

Hey, have you tried brewing this particular oolong in a thin walled tallish zhuni (or straight to gaiwan to be perfectly safe)? Definitively fresh is the main note but also a hint of loquat and white grapes. Delicious tea which suits perfectly in Queensland's (Aust.)
subtropical climate.


And agreed as mentioned earlier: it never goes bitter! This oolong is a winner.


Cheers!

[jayinhk]

The fushoushan is different, but still very nice--the flavor profile is less fruity and more fresh and floral to me. I still have most of my can!

I finally got around brewing the first of the 2 cans I got.

Awesome tea, thanks heaps again to our kyarazen brother for sourcing this tea to our small online community. I have to say the quality is on a par with Tony's Dayuling and Alishan I purchased 3 years ago (or even better! I jay can't really recall it right now, it has been a bit too long since then).

Hey, have you tried brewing this particular oolong in a thin walled tallish zhuni (or straight to gaiwan to be perfectly safe)? Definitively fresh is the main note but also a hint of loquat and white grapes. Delicious tea which suits perfectly in Queensland's (Aust.)
subtropical climate.


And agreed as mentioned earlier: it never goes bitter! This oolong is a winner.


Cheers!

Yes, I brew it in a meiren high fired hongni pot (modern zhuni). It's a very pleasant tea for sure!

[ethan]

Mix-up here. Quote attributed to me about FSS not from me. I never had a tin of it. Thread was started to decide whether I should pre-order some.