Official what Oolong are You Drinking Right Now?

[dizzo]

Da Hong Pao from Teavivre. My first experience with Wuyi rock tea. I can definitely get into this.

[ethan]

Drawer 2 provided a few delicious rounds that had me feeling wonderful & left a terrific taste in my mouth for an hour or so. Also, drinking water after the session was extra enjoyable. I often enjoy water so much after a good, long tea session.

Not wanting to settle for less but wanting another session, I opened a foil-pack of Special 5. I could not remember why it is "special" so looked at my notes on Dr. Chen's teas to read it is organic, bitten by a spider (according to the whimsical son, Snac).....This is so dynamic. A bit sweet, a touch fruity, modest taste of char, a touch of gaoshan green..... Just wow!

Cheers

[dizzo]

Today I tried some 50% roasted tgy that I got from Ethan. The first infusion was robust and had a chocolate to the finish while the green of the tgy still came through. As the infusion number grew, the char subsided, and a sweetness came in, yet the liquor kept its reddish color. Very enjoyable. Thanks Ethan!

[joelbct]

http://i.imgur.com/qxCaogA.jpg - (img code doesnt seem to be working, even at 640x640.)

Sipping Spring 2016 "Imperial Grade" Lala Shan from Taiwan Sourcing, with my toddler daughter.

She likes it.

[CuppaJosh]

http://i.imgur.com/qxCaogA.jpg - (img code doesnt seem to be working, even at 640x640.)

Sipping Spring 2016 "Imperial Grade" Lala Shan from Taiwan Sourcing, with my toddler daughter.

She likes it.

The picture in the link, how long would you let your tea leafs soak for before drinking??

[joelbct]

I usually brew "Western Style" instead of Gong Fu. For greens, I do ~1.5 minutes at ~175° F. For blacks, ~4-5 minutes at 200-212°F, and Oolongs ~4-5 min at 180-200°F.

Now drinking Taiwan Sourcing King of Qing Xin "The Potion" Jade Oolong Tea - Spring 2016.

I should maybe try Gongfu Brewing with these, the leaf still smells quite fragrant after 5 min steeping.

Pricey for me at ~$20US/oz. Delicate. Definitely delicious and 'succulent' as good greens and Oolongs are.

I'm probably not a connoisseur of Oolongs enough to appreciate the difference between this and an 'everyday' high mountain type Oolong. Still, it's good.

I also very much enjoyed the "Winterpeace" that Ethan sent. I have to try it again, but it seemed to have notes of the nuttiness of a good long jing, I thought, which I gather is sometimes the Tea Oil used in the pan firing?

[debunix]

Chen's Dong Ding from the special buy last year. I'm brewing it Grandpa style, and it is responding beautifully. Just a few rolled leaves in a not-very-large cup, water, and time. Mmmm. Earthy, plummy, spicy, so fine.

[Bok]

I usually brew "Western Style" instead of Gong Fu.

I'm probably not a connoisseur of Oolongs enough to appreciate the difference between this and an 'everyday' high mountain type Oolong. Still, it's good.

The difference won’t be that apparent, unless you brew it gong fu style. Rolled oolongs can go maybe two good rounds in Western style, without any of the subtleties exhibited though.

Roasted oolongs perform marginally better Western style.

The only tea which really lends itself to Western style are black teas. But even those have more nuances when brewed gong fu.

I only use Western style for large drinking parties and low quality tea. Wouldn’t feel right to waste a good tea that way…

[joelbct]

Thanks. Yes I usually drink Black tea- Assam, Keemun, Yunnan, (and Sencha- which is fine at 1-2 min Western style), hence the habit.

Trying to get into Oolong for a change which is why I made these orders, so yes I'll be trying Gong Fu parameters, even though I own only Japanese clay teaware, no yixing- so I'll just use glassware, like a gaiwan. Maybe I'll pick up a cheap gaiwan from a local Asian store.

[Bok]

Trying to get into Oolong for a change which is why I made these orders, so yes I'll be trying Gong Fu parameters, even though I own only Japanese clay teaware, no yixing- so I'll just use glassware, like a gaiwan. Maybe I'll pick up a cheap gaiwan from a local Asian store.

Do not worry about yixing, the japanese pots should perform fine, as long as they are not too big! Unless you re prepared to spend serious tuition money into finding a proper yixing. Because the mass market so called Yixings do not have any particular positive effect on the tea.

What matters is shape and size!

Sometimes though, Japanese pots are not practical as they get to hot to handle, because oolong requires hire temperatures than their greens. Especially the Japanese versions of a gaiwan are often useless for oolongs.

[victoria3]

Finishing Mountain Tea's Medium Roast Dong Ding Oolong, Special Reserve gifted from ferg. A pretty nice roast at a very nice price I steep all my roasted DongDing's in Hokujo's Yaishime (high fired unglazed stoneware) brings out the aroma and body nicely.

[Gatollefson]

I also very much enjoyed the "Winterpeace" that Ethan sent. I have to try it again, but it seemed to have notes of the nuttiness of a good long jing, I thought, which I gather is sometimes the Tea Oil used in the pan firing?

When I visited Lingyin and Longjing village in 2014, I met a woman who had picked tea for her whole life. She invited me into the tea fields to pick tea with her and later into her home to buy some tea (of course) and she showed me how she stores her tea after its pan-roasted. From what I understand, it's roasted in in large woks using tea derived from the tea twigs and leaves, and sometimes the seeds. The nutty flavor may come from the tea/process itself, but I feel that the thing that contributes to it the most is the softball sized sack of powdered limestone that controls the humidity in the large sealed containers (hers looked just like a kiln) that the tea is kept in after frying.

[cwj]

Thanks. Yes I usually drink Black tea- Assam, Keemun, Yunnan, (and Sencha- which is fine at 1-2 min Western style), hence the habit.

Trying to get into Oolong for a change which is why I made these orders, so yes I'll be trying Gong Fu parameters, even though I own only Japanese clay teaware, no yixing- so I'll just use glassware, like a gaiwan. Maybe I'll pick up a cheap gaiwan from a local Asian store.

Keep in mind that there is also plenty of room for experimentation in-between gong fu and so called western style.
I just don't see it as "either or"...for example "western style" often means a mug plus infuser basket. It's not hard to play with the leaf and water ratio here...one could step up the amount of leaf, step down the size of the mug and easily be able to get 2-3 infusions from a good oolong.

But then there are the giant western tea pots...and it would be harder to play around with leaf amount unless one dumps in a full ounce of tea

Gaiwans used gong fu style are my main form of drinking tea. But I do have a 10 ounce "western" teapot that I use about 25% of the time. With this I step up the amount of leaf, which reduces the steep time, and makes 2 very good infusions....that's close to 20oz of tea liquid which is nearly the same amount I get when gong fu using small gaiwans after 7 re-steeps.

To me, gong fu brewing brings out the best flavors and subtleties of a tea. To me gaiwans are the best "teapot" ever invented Not to mention the ritual and aesthetics which add to the enjoyment of a tea session.
However, I see nothing wrong with brewing western style. While I would always brew with a heavy hand (more leaf than usual for this style), I simply do not look down upon those who brew their tea western style.

Anyway just thought I'd throw that out there. To encourage experimentation with the tea-ware you have now. Hopefully my rambling made some sense

[ethan]

. Maybe I'll pick up a cheap gaiwan from a local Asian store.

Keep in mind that there is also plenty of room for experimentation in-between gong fu and so called western style.
To encourage experimentation with the tea-ware you have now. Hopefully my rambling made some sense

+1

The most memorable tea sessions I've had, have been gongfu sessions; the best single cups of tea I've had were from Western style preparation; &, the most consistently satisfying drinking for me is from in-between preparation.

[ethan]

Father's Love: I have posted about this tea before. It is so special that sometimes I feel an urge to celebrate it. Also, when I have not had as much joy as I remember, I have talked about that.

Now after not drinking it for months, I have prepared Dr. Chen's best work (of what I have tasted at least) in the unglazed inside/glazed outside teapot that has been helping me enjoy medium & heavy roasted oolong. I think I won't be bothering anyone w/ posts much. Prepared in this pot, I have a drink that gives all that it is supposed to give: I taste the source, leaves grown at the highest heights & gathered at the optimum time; the roasting; the mature, flavors developed by the aging & oxidization.

I have not played w/ parameters w/ this tea & pot; maybe I won't for a long time. I got this right the first time. I will say I am confident that after pouring, I don't want to drink this as hot as one can take it--as some here suggest (at least for gongfu sessions). I think the complexity would get lost. Cheers