Official what Oolong are You Drinking Right Now?

[debunix]

Not right now, but a little earlier today when I didn't have my laptop nearby, I tried my first taste of the Camellia Sinensis Da Wu Ye sample from a tea swap. Wow. Sweet, mellow, spicy, fruity. A wonderful tea.

I had some trouble with my first couple of brewings of the Wu Ye Dan Cong from TeaHabitat--it seems more prone to bitterness than the others I've tried--but that was not at all apparent in this tea from CS. But I am not sure that they are really the same tea, as my notes call the TH version Wu Ye and not Da Wu Ye, and the tea from TH was 'single bush'.

[Victoria]

I'm really loving the CS Da Wu Ye, and will re-order. I used to get it from TeaCuppa a few years ago, but this is better.

[Sententia]

I just had Oolong#8 .. I want some more, thinking of making something else now.

[TwoPynts]

Spring 2010 Da Yu Ling.
I'm about to post a review. Mmmmm...

[MenghaiMischief]

Quangzhou Milk (WuYi) It's like a sweet milk with touches of orchid.

[TwoPynts]

Working on the same DYL leaves I started seeping yesterday - still going strong!

[tenuki]

Some serviceable Tie Luo Han - more and more I've been having yentcha for breakfast - dunno why but I like it. Later I plan on having some 93 Menghai loose shu pu that is quite tasty.

[brlarson]

I am hooked on yan cha for breakfast too. I finished a sample of Jing's Ban Tian Yao this morning. It is surprisingly savory and delicious. BTW, Hou de just made a small quantity of DHP available (Bei Dou No.1).

[britt]

I am hooked on yan cha for breakfast too. I finished a sample of Jing's Ban Tian Yao this morning. It is surprisingly savory and delicious. BTW, Hou de just made a small quantity of DHP available (Bei Dou No.1).

They also just added some Oriental Beauty.

[debunix]

2009 Old Plantation Qing Xin from Norbu
Fall harvest tea from Jenai Township, Nantou County, Taiwan

Leaves are dark, tightly rolled, some stems, toasty dark tart scent.

1.5 grams of tea into 60mL gaiwan, water 180 degrees, rinse x 15 seconds, then 20 second steep: first impression is spicy, interesting, but oops, before I can form a proper opinion, I am thirsty and it is gooood, gulp, gone. 2nd infusion is a little spicy, a little sweet, a lot toasty-roasty, but there is a smoothness here even in the 2nd infusion that often takes 4 or 5 infusions to achieve in a more assertive Wuyi rock tea or even my old supermarket brand Ti Kuan Yin. And there’s no sense that a bitterness or astringency is just around the corner if I am careless with times or temps.

I was interrupted and have lost count of the infusions, but I am pretty sure the current one is 9 or 10. The flavor is more dilute now, but there is still some sweetness and a little something else that is very Ti-Kuan-Yin-like. And the flavor was smooth but still quite definite out to the 7th or 8th infusion—that smooth 2nd infusion carried over without turning to water at the 3rd or 4th.

After the infusions, the leaves are unrolled, but still very crumply and twisted, with a dark brown color and a charcoal scent: with some determination they can be coaxed and pressed and flattened into medium sized, quite intact leaves.

Nice nice tea, need to get my order in before I post this, people order it all, and Greg runs out! [done] It really fills the itch I've been trying to scratch with several other teas, without complete success: a more refined version of that supermarket Ti Kuan Yin that I've drunk forever and a day.

[NOESIS]

From Hou De;

2009 Spring Zhen-Yen Handcrafted Da Hong Pao
2009 Spring Zhen-Yen Handcrafted Rou Gui

Both fabulous, but probably not quite on par with the 2007 harvest.

[debunix]

I have quite enjoyed the Rou Gui, but did not try the DHP. Next order I should try some.

[NOESIS]

I have quite enjoyed the Rou Gui, but did not try the DHP. Next order I should try some.

By all means, you certainly should. This particular DHP is quite complex, but doesn't come off as immediately approachable, like the Rou Gui. I think a little aging will help balance this tea.

[debunix]

2009 Wu Ye Dark Leaf Phoenix Dan Cong by Tea Habitat

This has been a tricky tea for me. It has very strong spicy flavor and astringency that can easily overpower the lighter floral notes. But when I get it just right, like tonight’s infusion, it is sweet, spicy, floral, with that extra complexity that just makes the best Dan Cong teas sing. And tonight, it’s doing a floral aria on my taste buds.

I wish I could give coherent brewing suggestions, but I can’t, because I lightly and thinly scattered the leaves over the brewing screen of my Kamjove, poured through water from my Pino set to about 190 degrees but didn’t check the temps before the infusions, and then didn’t pay attention to brewing times—1 minute? 2 minutes?—and mixed the two infusions together.

I was trying to prepare a pint of nice brew to share with some colleagues working late, so needed a larger set of infusions than I easily get from my small gaiwans, and tasted along the way rather than measured.

Anyway, this came out so nice that I am going to let this tea out of the ‘doghouse’. Will try to get the same results with a more measured brewing and report back; I’m thinking maybe 0.5 grams in my 60mL gaiwan or the 60 mL Chao Zhou pot to start. And then a taste-off vs the CS DWY from the tea swap will be in the offing.

[TwoPynts]

About to brew some Jasmine #12 from Adagio.