Official what Oolong are You Drinking Right Now?

[victoria3]

Enjoying HY Chen's Charcoal Light Roasted DaYuLin Winter, mmm so good; rich, spicy, complex with super sweet lingering palate. The aroma is intoxicating. Wow.

[victoria3]

Got my super fix of HY Chen's stash, and waited 2 days for teas to rest and acclimatized to California. What a treat, unlike some other vendors experiences I've had, his roasted oolongs are consistent and high quality. This morning tried his LiShan it is much better than last years; sweet buttery fresh green aroma and palate that is warming and rounded. Rich and creamy very fine

IMG_1833.JPG (51.83 KiB) Viewed 2239 times

Looking forward to trying this years Fushushan next.

[Ferg]

Wow, looks like quite the fix! Each a different variety or multiples of your favorites? Nice spread of teas and lovely backdrop of displays.

[victoria3]

Wow, looks like quite the fix! Each a different variety or multiples of your favorites? Nice spread of teas and lovely backdrop of displays.

Lately, my morning fix is 12gr roasted in Hokujo 220ml sooo it goes quickly, plus I share. This order was mainly to get more roasted- Medium & Heavy 100yr Graden + Roasted High Mountain, and then I added FushuShan, LiShan & Light Roasted Wild Garden DongDing.

[dizzo]

our kitchen tables match! Such great tea from him. I will be a repeat customer for sure. Glad to hear you liked his Da Yu Ling. Ive been looking forward to opening that one.

[victoria3]

our kitchen tables match! Such great tea from him. I will be a repeat customer for sure. Glad to hear you liked his Da Yu Ling. Ive been looking forward to opening that one.

You mean his roasted DaYuLing, right ? Really good

[dizzo]

our kitchen tables match! Such great tea from him. I will be a repeat customer for sure. Glad to hear you liked his Da Yu Ling. Ive been looking forward to opening that one.

You mean his roasted DaYuLing, right ? Really good

yes. I got some of the roasted and unroasted...although, I think mine says spring.
or are you saying that me putting in the spaces is incorrect?

[victoria3]

Wow, enjoying FuShoushan Spring 2017 via HYChen order above. Much more aromatic and buttery smooth thick mouthfeel than last year. An elegant sweet buttery liquor with nice mineral content. Oh yeah how I like it. Prewashed 5sec. with lukewarm water to maintain buttery flavors. Steeped in F2 125ml Hongni ShuiPing via kyarazen, leaving enough room for these leaves to expand. The lingering aroma coming off the empty glass pitcher is intense.

[jayinhk]

Wow, enjoying FuShoushan Spring 2017 via HYChen order above. Much more aromatic and buttery smooth thick mouthfeel than last year. An elegant sweet buttery liquor with nice mineral content. Oh yeah how I like it. Prewashed 5sec. with lukewarm water to maintain buttery flavors. Steeped in F2 125ml Hongni ShuiPing via kyarazen, leaving enough room for these leaves to expand. The lingering aroma coming off the empty glass pitcher is intense.

Sounds like you have your gaoshan brewing dialed in really well! How long are your infusions?

[victoria3]

Wow, enjoying FuShoushan Spring 2017 via HYChen order above. Much more aromatic and buttery smooth thick mouthfeel than last year. An elegant sweet buttery liquor with nice mineral content. Oh yeah how I like it. Prewashed 5sec. with lukewarm water to maintain buttery flavors. Steeped in F2 125ml Hongni ShuiPing via kyarazen, leaving enough room for these leaves to expand. The lingering aroma coming off the empty glass pitcher is intense.

Sounds like you have your gaoshan brewing dialed in really well! How long are your infusions?

Long, these leaves need space and longer infusions. Based on results from 2016 Winter steeps, I increased leaf slightly to 8gr/100ml/off boil/60 seconds, too light for my taste, put back into pot another minute so ended up with 2min, 2min, 4min, 8,min, 16min, 32min, 1hr, 2hr.... still steeping today, still rich.

[debunix]

Debunix, How are you cold brewing oolong? Curious since oolong leaves are thicker than 1st flush Sincha and Gyokuro which I have cold brewed over ice.

I read that post at a time when I was not able to type a reply, sorry to be so delayed!

I usually do start with water >200 degrees, filling a large tea bowl or thermos or water bottle no more than 10% full with the hot water; then I let it sit for 1-5 minutes, and fill with room temperature or even chilled water + ice. For airplane travel, I've even just poured a tiny bit over the leaves to let them wake with the hot water briefly. I take the empty water bottle with damp leaves through security, then fill with cold water from drinking fountain after I've passed through.

This past week I've been traveling: I flew to visit my sister in Columbia, MO, stayed to see the eclipse with her, and then took off with a friend for a week in the Ozarks floating rivers and visiting springs. I did a lot of cool-brewing in various ways throughout, because of the heat. I could usually manage one session of hot tea most mornings. My travel tea was all oolong: winter Alishan light roast from Norbu, milk oolong from Bird Pick (susprised me by how well it took to cold brewing, it will take over as my go-to cold brew from the Zhangshu Lake, which has a not entirely pleasant edge after long cold brew), and SeaDyke TGY (hot AM tea only as 'comfort food'). The eclipse was amazing, the cave was fabulous (ancient short-nose bear paw print & claw marks, wow!), and springs and rivers were cool and clear and beautiful.

[plod]

Lately, my morning fix is 12gr roasted in Hokujo 220ml sooo it goes quickly, plus I share. This order was mainly to get more roasted- Medium & Heavy 100yr Graden + Roasted High Mountain, and then I added FushuShan, LiShan & Light Roasted Wild Garden DongDing.

Based on the descriptions above, I should try and get hold of some of his teas. Are there any you would recommend in particular, or is it just as well to get one of each?

On a tangent: does anyone have thoughts on teapot size for rolled oolongs? I have a round, flattish teapot that measures 140ml when empty, and yields about 60-70ml once the leaves have fully expanded. This suits me fine, but several other aspects of the teapot less so. I'm considering getting a taller teapot for Taiwanese oolongs, and am debating size. An average output of 70ml would suit me fine. Would 100ml do, or 150ml be better?

[victoria3]

Lately, my morning fix is 12gr roasted in Hokujo 220ml sooo it goes quickly, plus I share. This order was mainly to get more roasted- Medium & Heavy 100yr Graden + Roasted High Mountain, and then I added FushuShan, LiShan & Light Roasted Wild Garden DongDing.

Based on the descriptions above, I should try and get hold of some of his teas. Are there any you would recommend in particular, or is it just as well to get one of each?

On a tangent: does anyone have thoughts on teapot size for rolled oolongs? I have a round, flattish teapot that measures 140ml when empty, and yields about 60-70ml once the leaves have fully expanded. This suits me fine, but several other aspects of the teapot less so. I'm considering getting a taller teapot for Taiwanese oolongs, and am debating size. An average output of 70ml would suit me fine. Would 100ml do, or 150ml be better?

Do you like LiShan? It is good this year from HY Chen, smooth rich buttery sweet. FuShouShan also- if you like LiShan it's similar in profile. His 100year garden medium & Heavy roasted selections are very good, as are Charcoal roasted DongDing, Charcoal Light roasted Wild Garden DongDing, awesome Charcoal roasted DaYuLing & a favorite ***LiShan Primitive Wild Forest*** & ***Charcoal Roasted LiShan Primitive Wild Forest***

I was not taken by Unroasted or Light Roasted 100year garden Spring. And 'DongDing Style' selections didn't impress me one way or the other - I got 15gr sample packs of these.

I use Hokujo 250ml pot for morning steeps and 180ml for more expensive afternoon roasted oolongs. I know others prefer even smaller pots. I think a round flattish pot works best overall with rolled oolong, although I have used more vertical pots too because clay is so great. It's nice to have variety to explore effects on tea.

[plod]

Thanks! I'll put together an order.

I do like LiShan, but like with most gaoshan it really depends on processing (obviously!). At its best it can be spectacular. Somewhat oxidised to increase body and aftertaste, but without getting that overwhelmingly sweet corn taste. I'm a bit sensitive to it, and find it can quickly drown other tastes and aromas if overdone. When trying a few different 2017 high mountain teas recently, I actually preferred the lighter ShanLiXi, which in this case was far greener and more nose than body, to the heavy sweetness of the Lishan/DaYuLing. Generally it's the other way around.

[victoria3]

Thanks! I'll put together an order.

I do like LiShan, but like with most gaoshan it really depends on processing (obviously!). At its best it can be spectacular. Somewhat oxidised to increase body and aftertaste, but without getting that overwhelmingly sweet corn taste. I'm a bit sensitive to it, and find it can quickly drown other tastes and aromas if overdone. When trying a few different 2017 high mountain teas recently, I actually preferred the lighter ShanLiXi, which in this case was far greener and more nose than body, to the heavy sweetness of the Lishan/DaYuLing. Generally it's the other way around.

I recommend you get several different ones then to sample, he offers 15gr/25gr/50gr in the smaller range. Shipping is very fast 4-5 days max.