Traditional Shui Xian

[JustinW]

Hello,

After a long Pu'erh hiatus (that's what I'm going to call it ), I've decided to come back to the world of oolong, Wuyi in particular. Before I was swept away by Pu, I tried a couple samples including TeaCuppa's DHP, and Shui Xian. I remember liking them so I just ordered a couple samples from Jing: Traditional Shui Xian, Shui Jin Gui, and the cheap DHP (I'm thinking it would be a good walking around the house type tea like TeaCuppa's $12 Da Ye).

Anyway, I just gave the Traditional Shui Xian a go, and it turned out rather bland, or at least not like I remember TeaCuppa's turning out to be. I used 6 grams to a 100ml gaiwan.

1st - flash - really light.
2nd - 15s - better but not good.
3rd - 40s - I was able to muster something up on that one.
...

Am I doing this right? I'm thinking I need more leaf. Maybe I should just eyeball it to about 3/4 full. I remember Teacuppa's DHP to be excellent at 5 grams (even though it's not Shui Xian like this tea).

Thanks everyone,
Justin

[tingjunkie]

Yep 3/4 to 4/5 sounds about right. I like my yancha on the stronger side. Start with around a 10-15s first infusion and adjust from there. If that tea doesn't work out, Seven Cups is still having their year end sale and I like their Shui Xian for the price.

[orguz]

Speaking for myself I fill a 80ml pot completely full with tea leaves, and find yancha is better with a stronger deeper taste, when using a cha chung I still use leaves (dry) filled to the rim. I have never weighed the dry tea leaves but if the tea is broken up I would think 3/4 sounds OK, mine are intact though I still press/pack them in to fill and fit the tea pot.

Experiment and blowing through your tea stash should do the trick, this is my personal experience :>

[brandon]

Traditional Shui Xian - crush 1/4 to 1/3rd of the leaf you intend to brew in your hand and put it in the bottom of the pot. Put whole leaves on top. Enjoy.

[JustinW]

Traditional Shui Xian - crush 1/4 to 1/3rd of the leaf you intend to brew in your hand and put it in the bottom of the pot. Put whole leaves on top. Enjoy.

What is the reason for this? Is that for a bit of an astringent-type flavor or something?

Thanks guys.

Justin

[Intuit]

If you have a reasonably high leaf:water ratio in a small working volume (pot), and you use fairly short infusion times, you can enrich the flavor without getting a lot of bitterness and weakening later steeps, if you break a small portion of the leaf into fragments, releasing oils.

[JustinW]

Ok, I see.

I'm assuming that this should be done with all Wu Yi?

I'm having the Traditonal SX again today, and it has turned out much better, but I think I can still get more out of it.

Thanks for your help.

[Tead Off]

To the OP, there is no one formula that is going to work for everyone. Traditionally, Chinese drinkers fill a pot with leaf, crush a percentage of leaf to release more flavor, fill with water, and, depending on how strong you want it, pour rather quickly.

For myself, I don't like to drink like this. The amount of leaf you use is what I use and I steep much longer than you do. This lets me get lots of flavor out of the brew without any astringency. The Shui Xian I drink is rather chocolatey and smooth. No woody/roasty flavor. I like this tea very much but you will have to try different vendors and see what you prefer. I use flatter yixing pots for my Wuyi teas. Zhuni, of course.

[Maitre_Tea]

Traditional Shui Xian - crush 1/4 to 1/3rd of the leaf you intend to brew in your hand and put it in the bottom of the pot. Put whole leaves on top. Enjoy.

+1

I tried this with the same traditional Shui Xian, and I had amazing results. The molasses-like sweetness and "stickiness" that's the hallmark of SX really shines. I brewed using 1:1 ratio even with crushed leaf. Man, I really feel like one of those CZ old timers when I brew like this.

[JustinW]

Man, I really feel like one of those CZ old timers when I brew like this.

Yeah! I like this way of brewing, but I think I need to get a smaller gaiwan. I think I would prefer it anyway. Maybe 60-80ml.