Seven Cups - Rock Ooolong sampler

[tenuki]

Just tasted this sampler today buyer style with friends, thought I would post my impressions while they were fresh. Your mileage will vary, as it should.

• Bai Ji Guan (2009) - light roast
  Suprising flavor - we finally identified it as stir fried and slightly burnt cabbage. we were split down the middle on wether that was yummy or not in a tea. I loved it
• Imperial Meizhan (2008) - light roast
  Beautiful aroma similar to a lightly roasted baozhong, pleasant but somewhat unremarkable taste also reminiscent of that style of teas.
• Tie Luo Han (2008) - light roast
  My top pick of the bunch, a really nice balanced tea with wonderful complexity, delightful aroma, robust mouth and lovely aftertaste.
• Premioum Rou Gui (2009)
  Very good Rou Gui for the price IMO, everything you would want and expect. However the charcoal is still a bit to the front, I would recommend letting this one rest a few months or more before drinking. But it's clear this one has the goods.
• Lao Cong Shui Xian (2008 old bush)
  I've grown increasingly board of Shui Xian lately. This one is no exception. I suppose its a good one.. bleh. Still, obviously good quality/price ratio here.
• Eight Immortals (2008 organic)
  Exciting and bold tea! This was the one I kept coming back to and saying 'wow, interesting'.

I would highly recommend getting this sampler, it's a winner. All the teas stood up extremely well to standing in water, no bitterness or undue astringency for well over the 30 minutes we were actively tasting, and showed good tea quality. Every tea hit or exceeded it's price/quality target IMO, all of them good values. I'm really looking forward to drinking them individually (and dipping into some of the other teas I got this order).

The online experience was seamless, the teas were well packed and shipped quickly. The prices very reasonable for the quality. Seven Cups continues to be a go to vendor for me, is it surprising why?

[TokyoB]

Tenuki - thanks! Enjoyed the reviews. Seven Cups just posted the rest of their 2009 Rock oolongs. Will keep your recommendations in mind when I order. I know exactly what you mean about the Bai Ji Guan which I had last year. The first time I brewed it I thought "what is this????" and not in a positive way. I think that's because I was expecting something similar to Rou Gui or Da Hong Pao. However once I began to expect something different I rather liked it. (Still prefer a great DHP though!)

[tea fish]

The sampler was a wonderful introduction to wuyis for me (just this past July). Before I got the sampler, I had been a bit intimidated by wuyis, but the milder flavored MeiZhan initially won me over and by the time I was through with the sampler I was digging the stronger flavored wuyis like Eight Immortals. As for the Bai Ji Guan, to me it tasted like a malty vegetable broth with dulse. (Not that I've ever tasted such a broth, but these were the flavors that came to mind!) Unusual, to say the least. It gave me some inkling of how many different things tea can taste like.

[Drax]

Neat timing (having just broke into a generic... er "genuine" rock oolong tea), thanks for the reviews!

The sampler looks like a great way to try a bunch of rock teas. I may just have to check it out. I have definitely enjoyed Seven Cups in the past...

[Drax]

Hrm, and unfortunately it looks like Seven Cups' checkout process is currently broken for me (I try to login and it just gives me a page not found/error message). Oh well... I will wait patiently while I enjoy another cup of tea...

[Drax]

Okay, sorry for the technically triple-post here, but there's time in between these.

The cart problem with Seven Cups finally cleared and I ordered (and received) the rock oolong sampler (along with the green tea sampler). I'll be breaking into these over the next two weeks. Looking forward to it! So far the one green has been quite awesome.

[tenuki]

I would recommend trying them all at once blind at a first go 'buyer style'. It gives you an opportunity to compare each of the different styles and get a firmer grip on identifying what makes a rg or a xs, etc and removes brewing variables entirely. I know a lot of you already do this, but in case you don't know what I'm talking about...

• Have someone else put the tea in the bowls and number them, this way you don't know which tea is what and can be unencumbered in your expectations and experience.
• If you have a favorite rock tea already that you know well, include it blind in the mix for reference.
• Put 3g/100ml or so of each tea in small bowls (my size bowls I put 7g since they are around 220 ml when I fill them to the typical lvl)
• Add boiling water
• Put one chinese soup spoon in each bowl, using it to decant into your sipping cup, being sure to also smell the spoon which is a great way to find aroma accurately.
• sample them slowly but continuously, going back and forth to establish differences, find all the notes, etc
• after 5-10 minutes add more boiling water if needed, and again as needed, usually I go for about 30 minutes or until I'm bored
• rate them in order of what you liked, aroma, body, etc. Try to be really specific and detailed.
• finally, find out what they are by looking at the number map the person made, ie unblind it and learn a lot.

It's fun to sample/compare 3-6 of similar style teas this way.

[tingjunkie]

I just ordered three yanchas from Seven Cups today. Shui Xian, Rou Gui, and Tie Luo Han. All 2007 versions, and all 50% off.

Pretty excited about the price. I'll report back when I taste them.

[Drax]

I got to do a taste testing today with these teas (and I threw in a Da Hong Pao from DTH). Right now, I'm about to float away, but I'll try to post some more specifics tomorrow (have some Halloween parties to get ready for now).

BTW, tenuki -- I just re-read your notes on the teas and had to laugh at the description of the Bai Ji Guan. My notes vary from 'refried beans' to 'chicken broth' to 'white peony-like'... but I agree, I enjoyed it as well, it was the most different from the others, too.