Wow! - Stunning New Dancong

[Herb_Master]

Huge leaves – pale ones, orange ones, tan ones,

5 Grams

10 Grams

Wash / Rinse about 2 seconds

10 Grams in a Seven Cups Sunrise Pear
similar to this but they don't stock mine anymore, mine is smaller [225ml] with a different lid
http://www.sevencups.com/tea_shop/produ ... 285&page=1
This is mine


Rinse water


1st Infusion – Perfume, Perfume, Perfume!
Water at 96 15 seconds

The first sip onwards the whole mouth is filled with a light delicate perfume. Delicious perfume. Did I say light? Maybe not! It reaches every corner of the mouth and lingers! Maybe I should call it an immense, delicate perfume.


I don’t tend to like bottled perfumes, why do I like this? Perhaps because it seems so natural, Sweetness, Flowery, Herbal, Fruity and countless more that I cannot catch – a myriad turntable of fleeting flavours too momentary to pin down. And a sort of savoury mineral content that provides an excellent contrast. As the last bowl from this pot is consumed it has cooled too much but a pleasant, woody, earthy background is showing.

The Second Infusion - Mineral and Savoury
Water at 96 25 seconds

The perfume is nowhere near as dominant, still there, but the mineral and savoury elements have come to the fore.

Mmmmn! Now I am taknig big gulps as the tea goes through my mouth, and draing the small bowl quickly. The savoury mineral taste spreads over the top of the tongue, and the perfumes are back clouding across the roof of the mouth and up the back of the mouth to the back of the nose area.
Towards the end of this pot I can see some similarities with Ba Xian Dan Cong I enjoy so much.

mm - Overcome, need to stop writing sit back and contemplate - this tea is talking to me.

[Victoria]

Nice, I'll take a cup.

[Herb_Master]

3rd Infusion shows bitterness creeping in

water 96 35 seconds [but not concentrating enough it may have been 45]

Slight bitterness now, but not unpleasant - is this time to reduce the temperature ?
Or did I increase the steep time too much ?
Or uis it only to be expected ?

bitterness is offset by an earthy, mushroomy taste.



A slight edge reminiscent of sweet crab meat that was cropped up a couple of times in the 2nd infusion has totally gone now. Rather than walking through a flower garden by the sea, I am now walking through the Autumn woods kicking over dried leaves and accidentally destroyin wild mushrooms releasing their essence into the air.

The bitterness edge is riding through the whole pot, but not unpleasant. The perfumes are still playing romance with the roof of my mouth.

The thrice infused leaves [and once washed] have not swelled any further up the pot, there was probably an awful lot of space before.

before the wash


after 3 infusions

[ABx]

That's the one from Hou De, right? I rather like it as well.

You should give it a try with less leaf in an eggshell gaiwan, as Imen prescribes, and let us know how it compares Here is what she told me by email:

The key to brew good Dan Cong is thin vessel, be it clay pot or gaiwan, the thinner the better. I use either Chao Zhou pots or a gaiwan as thin as egg shell. Hot boiling water first and 2nd brews and lower temp for later brews. Try it with fewer leaves (2-3 g) in a small gaiwan.

[edkrueger]

That's the one from Hou De, right? I rather like it as well.

You should give it a try with less leaf in an eggshell gaiwan, as Imen prescribes, and let us know how it compares Here is what she told me by email:

The key to brew good Dan Cong is thin vessel, be it clay pot or gaiwan, the thinner the better. I use either Chao Zhou pots or a gaiwan as thin as egg shell. Hot boiling water first and 2nd brews and lower temp for later brews. Try it with fewer leaves (2-3 g) in a small gaiwan.

I've been hearing about that method, the thinner walls sound like they may be good, but the ratio is completely different than what I've heard. Is that for 100g vessel or something smaller?

[ABx]

I believe 100ml. I've been hearing it a lot, actually. Especially since people have been having a hard time with Guang's Dancong.

I just tried this same tea in a ~100ml eggshell, half full of leaf (probably 2g or so), and indeed got better results. I found it to have a bit more refinement, character, and flavor. I had used a yixing gaiwan with twice as much leaf previously and got mostly perfume with a slightly leafy (like fallen leaves in your yard leafy) character. What I'm getting now is more complex. Subsequent infusions bring out different characteristics (fruity, floral, etc) than the first, as well as more hui gan and possibly a bit thicker.

[Herb_Master]

That's the one from Hou De, right? I rather like it as well.

You should give it a try with less leaf in an eggshell gaiwan, as Imen prescribes, and let us know how it compares Here is what she told me by email:

The key to brew good Dan Cong is thin vessel, be it clay pot or gaiwan, the thinner the better. I use either Chao Zhou pots or a gaiwan as thin as egg shell. Hot boiling water first and 2nd brews and lower temp for later brews. Try it with fewer leaves (2-3 g) in a small gaiwan.

Yes, it's

Hou De's "Yellow Leaf DanCong" or
2007 Winter FengHuang WuDong Old Bush DanCong "Huang Jing"
http://www.houdeasianart.com/index.php? ... cts_id=909
I am not sure how you get these large leaves into a small Gaiwan
Nor how my Clumsy hands will accomodate pouring a stream of hot water gently onto the side of the Gaiwan rather than onto the leaves.

I find with a small yixing only half full of leaves that missing the leaves as I pour the water is too difficult, yet alone trying to bend my wrist in 2 to go round the upper interior surface of the pot in a circular motion

And with these leaves for the second infusion onwards the swollen leaves don't leave much room at all for me to find any pot to aim the water at

Perhaps I will practice with a Gaiwan on one of my less favoured Shui Xians, until I am (hopefully) comfortable with the technique.

[ABx]

Not really that hard - the leaves aren't that big. I just filed a ~100ml gaiwan about half way (loosely). These leaves are thick enough that I didn't worry too much about how I poured the water in.

As far as holding the gaiwan - as long as the lid is still on, and only cracked enough to let the water out, I've never found much of a problem with it (but then again I'm not all that new to gaiwans, although I didn't have any real trouble in the beginning either). Just set the lid where you want it before you pick up the gaiwan.

I do know what you mean about the amount of leaf in a yixing. Before this I had always brewed this (and other dancong) in a yixing gaiwan or pot. Using an eggshell gaiwan just makes a profound difference.

[Herb_Master]

Resurrected last night's leaves.

4th Infusion
Got my tea bath out and got the pot really warm before giving another 35 seconds

Magic it was just like the first infusion, perfume everywhere, but this time with some light bitterness.

5th Infusion 60 Seconds
Good body, less perfume, very similar to 2nd Infusion and added bitterness only background

6th Infusion 90 seconds
Bitterness has totally gone, taste good.
A combination of flavours as before, but no earthy, autumnal elements this time. Perfume fading on the roof of the mouth. The flavour mix still suggests many elements but rather than each one appearing for a fleeting glimpse it is a steady homogenous combination.
Starting to seem weak, perhaps the leaves are spent

7th Infusion - 7 Minutes and 30 seconds
Great Deep colour, looks promising. Initial impression is good but soon becomes noticeably weak there is absolutely NO aftertaste now.
Leaves are done!

[Herb_Master]

I believe 100ml. I've been hearing it a lot, actually. Especially since people have been having a hard time with Guang's Dancong.

I just tried this same tea in a ~100ml eggshell, half full of leaf (probably 2g or so), and indeed got better results. I found it to have a bit more refinement, character, and flavor. I had used a yixing gaiwan with twice as much leaf previously and got mostly perfume with a slightly leafy (like fallen leaves in your yard leafy) character. What I'm getting now is more complex. Subsequent infusions bring out different characteristics (fruity, floral, etc) than the first, as well as more hui gan and possibly a bit thicker.

My Gaiwans are about 65ml, I presume you measure to the shoulder where the lid rests!

I do have one larger one that seems to hold about 110ml that will be the one I start with - for large leaves at least!

[Herb_Master]

As far as holding the gaiwan - as long as the lid is still on, and only cracked enough to let the water out, I've never found much of a problem with it.

OK, that's it I am going to buy an eggshell Gaiwan. But where from?

Browsing around I found one at
http://www.teatrekker.com/tea_equip/tea ... h_half.htm
but preferred the one here.
http://www.treasuregreen.com/product/200512
Never mind, assemble the cart - and just before I press the buy button my Internet Explorer collapse doe to an error with some helper I did not know was running - so on restarting IE I thought I would run my spyware before making the deal.

So while the spyware was in action - it came up with 1 tracking cookie - I carried on browsing

and found a possible alternative solution would be a Gaibei rather than Gaiwan, would presumably make pouring easier!!

Have you ever come across an eggshell gaibei?
or recommend a different eggshell gaiwan?

[ABx]

I get all mine locally for cheap, so I don't really know. You might take a look at Dragon Tea House's selection, if you don't mind waiting for shipping.

The only gaibei that I know of that might be thin enough is the one that zen8tea (on eBay) sells.

AFAIK, your main deciding factors are just price and your personal sense of aesthetic. Just take a look around, pay attention to size, and pick one you like.

[Herb_Master]

You might take a look at Dragon Tea House's selection, if you don't mind waiting for shipping.

The only gaibei that I know of that might be thin enough is the one that zen8tea (on eBay) sells.

Yes it was zen8tea's Gaibei that attracted my attention. But it was the constant reference to 'eggshell' porcelain that stood out in your (and others' posts)

Dragon, Zen8, YunnanColorful, and many others have some outstandingly aesthetic looking porcelain gaiwans, but none of them specify eggshell porcelain.
Google throws up so many that are called 'eggshell porcelain' but when you open up the details it proves to be an 'eggshell glaze' or an 'eggshell colour'.
No worries, I have ordered from treasuregreen BECAUSE it specifies 'eggshell porcelain'

I may try the zen8 gaibei at a future date, even if only out of curiosity.

I am also now keen to discover more about porcelain :-

JingDeZhen seems to be quoted by so many online sellers as a porcelain of note, and one I shall pursue sooner or later.

blue and white porcelain (Qinghua),
exquisite porcelain (Linglong),
powder color porcelain (Fencai)
and color glaze porcelain (Yanseyou).

http://en.ce.cn/Insight/200801/23/t2008 ... 1298.shtml
maybe Linglong would fit the bill for danCong - maybe even one from Frantz

For a long time, China only has a region brand-Jingdezhen, but hasn't any renowned product brand." Said Lin Qilong, General Manager of Haichang Frantz Co., Ltd. FRANTZ brand is planning to make best quality porcelain products for international market

'White Jade Porcelain'
sounds fine (as in weight) I wonder how it rates. Possibly one from the Ouhua pottery.

but is this just a type of JingDeZhen ? That is also imitated elsewhere!
Much more colourful descriptions and increasing the 4 types to 6?

Thanks to their hard working, Jingdezhen porcelain has formed its own four special features, that is,
“White like jade, bright like mirror, thin like paper, sound like chime”.
Different kinds of porcelain wares shown here, will help you get acquainted with Jingdezhen’s
“colorful famile-rose porcelain”,
"elegant blue and white porcelain",
"delicate and transparent rice pattern porcelain",
"exquisite egg-shell porcelain",
"brilliant colored glaze porcelain"
and "vivid sculpture porcelain".

http://www.buy-porcelain.com/index.php? ... yright.dwt


Possibly too heavy for a delicate DanCong but maybe useful for Wuyi are
Borneol
Liyou

and tempted to buy a Liyou Guanyou set because this fair cup looks gorgeous
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Lotus-pottery-Fai ... m153.l1262

[ABx]

The term 'eggshell' is just used to denote a particular thinness, however it can be difficult to gauge how thin something is on a tiny little picture online unless it specifies.

Don't forget that you can always contact vendors, though. With zen8tea, she will actually give you 5% off if you order by email instead of through eBay - I assume because of eBay's fees, which can be a little steep. Of course you've already ordered from elsewhere, but just in case you ever want to order from her or others

The one you got is a bit bigger than what I prefer (5oz, 1oz being 30ml) but it is quite beautiful You'll probably want to use about 5-6g of leaf with it.

[chrl42]

I am also now keen to discover more about porcelain :-

JingDeZhen seems to be quoted by so many online sellers as a porcelain of note, and one I shall pursue sooner or later.

Jingdezhen is of 2 major centers of teaware along with Yixing.

Long-time tribute center for royal products, but Jingdezhen reached to its peak when Ming royal picked it as 'goverment's own' with a name of blue-and-white (Qing Hua). Small village of Gaoling is an origin term for kaolin as well.

1) Qing Hua 靑花 (or You Shang Cai)
drawing a cobalt on kaolin - glazing - fire at 1300C

2) Fen Cai 粉彩 (or You Xia Cai)
glazing a kaolin - fire over 1300C - drawing on glaze - fire at 700C

3) Tou Cai 豆彩
drawing cobalt - fire at 1300C - drawing on glaze - fire at 700C (using Qing Hua and Fen Cai)

4) You Zhong Cai 油中彩
glazing a kaolin - fire at 1300C - drawing on glaze - fire at 1300C twice, so that dyes get assimilated into glaze


Jingdezhen, like Yixing, quality differs a lot. Most of them are imitations of old stuff and sophiscated ones are only produced from studio or master himself. Situation is like Yixing, kaolin in Gaoling exterminated already. So most of em come from nearby areas.