Official what Oolong are You Drinking Right Now?

[the_economist]

Thanks, Bryan and Steanze!

[Puerlife]

Have you seen this video yet? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0Tr0VDx6NM
Scott mentioned the trick of vendors giving you a cup of superior tea before serving you the one you want to try so that you think the qi and possible aftertaste from the first tea is actually from the second. Well, a vendor pulled this trick on me in Yaowarat, Bangkok's Chinatown, a few days ago. I asked to try an 8,000 baht per kilo da hong pao. I sat down for the tasting and the vendor said here drink this. It was a 20,000 baht per kilo Oriental Beauty. Well, I'm not one to turn down free tea so I drank it and then the tasting of the da hong pao started but I was already wise to them, having watched the video. On my way out the door they tried to get me to think I'd agreed to buy 50 grams of Oriental Beauty. Haha, hard sell.

I did find a shop I liked. It was a small shop and the owner had a gaiwan on the table and immediately said sit down and brewed me some oolong. It was exactly the personal touch and genuineness missing from the other place. It was an OK oolong that leaves a somewhat buttery feel in the mouth so I bought 100 grams for 320 baht. It gives about 20 infusions but they're all the same and quite frankly I'm not a fan of green oolongs, although I think this one is good considering the price.

[kyarazen]

Just had a fantastic and authentic li-shan oolong, lightly oxidized. Lush, rich creamy buttery highs and the lingering oxidized scent in the empty cup is a mix of pink and bright green florals

The merchant says that these delicate type of teas are often a headache to him, needing to vacumn seal, oxy absorber and sillica gel. Even so if it gets too warm, or if the seals are not perfect, any loss of freshness results in disaster, a feeble tasteless tea.

Grabbed a load and had them well sealed in small packs! Really nice pricing straight from tea plantation owners to consumers

[hobin]

any loss of freshness results in disaster, a feeble tasteless tea.

that's how too often my gaoshan taste lately...
the last batch I ordered from taiwan spent almost 3 months in the italian customs. as a result, one packet wasn't vacuum sealed anymore...

[kyarazen]

any loss of freshness results in disaster, a feeble tasteless tea.

that's how too often my gaoshan taste lately...
the last batch I ordered from taiwan spent almost 3 months in the italian customs. as a result, one packet wasn't vacuum sealed anymore...

Ouchh 3 months!

Some of the tea shop owners i visited do not stock much greener oolongs, authentic teas like li shan tea have high costs and finicky to store. Many times they have to take in 30 jin minimum (18kg) from the farmers, in unlucky years it could take a year to sell. Sometimes no profit is made because some packs went bad etc.

Many taiwanese consumers are not very discerning, many are ok with tea doped with synthetic florals that are fuller, headier, than pay more for delicate authentic teas

[hopeofdawn]

Drinking a lovely baked Taiwanese oolong from Seattle's Best Tea--bought over two years ago, but still holding up with lovely fragrance and taste. Sadly, I no longer remember what the varietal was ... given that I'm getting down to the very end of my supply, I may soon be on the hunt for more.

[JRS22]

Drinking a lovely baked Taiwanese oolong from Seattle's Best Tea--bought over two years ago, but still holding up with lovely fragrance and taste. Sadly, I no longer remember what the varietal was ... given that I'm getting down to the very end of my supply, I may soon be on the hunt for more.

Why not bring in those last leaves to the store to see if they can identify the varietal, and sell you more.

[ethan]

Imperial Pearl from Mountain Tea: Years back this was dynamic, a better tea. I bought a pound in the group buy about 3 months ago & just opened it & am very glad it did not cost much. Glad to hear others' impressions of this year's. I'm going to shorten steeping time & amount of leaf, hoping some good notes of flavor got buried somehow.

[Frisbeehead]

Imperial Pearl from Mountain Tea: Years back this was dynamic, a better tea. I bought a pound in the group buy about 3 months ago & just opened it & am very glad it did not cost much. Glad to hear others' impressions of this year's. I'm going to shorten steeping time & amount of leaf, hoping some good notes of flavor got buried somehow.

You know, I've heard mixed reviews about many of Mountain Tea's oolongs. Some swear by their gaoshan while others think they're okay. Are there any you really enjoy?

At the moment I'm enjoying Floating Leaves' 2012 Rou Gui. Been experimenting with brewing parameters on this one, I think I like a medium-high amount of leaves (6-7g) and longer steeps, like 30sec +30sec onward. Still trying to get it just right. However no matter how I steep it it's very enjoyable.

[bonescwa]

Imperial Pearl from Mountain Tea: Years back this was dynamic, a better tea. I bought a pound in the group buy about 3 months ago & just opened it & am very glad it did not cost much. Glad to hear others' impressions of this year's. I'm going to shorten steeping time & amount of leaf, hoping some good notes of flavor got buried somehow.

You know, I've heard mixed reviews about many of Mountain Tea's oolongs. Some swear by their gaoshan while others think they're okay. Are there any you really enjoy?

At the moment I'm enjoying Floating Leaves' 2012 Rou Gui. Been experimenting with brewing parameters on this one, I think I like a medium-high amount of leaves (6-7g) and longer steeps, like 30sec +30sec onward. Still trying to get it just right. However no matter how I steep it it's very enjoyable.

Yeah it's weak. I was not impressed with it, it's the first yancha she offered though.

[ethan]

I'm drinking a Thai milk oolong that I've mentioned before. Bought at Tea-Village in Pattaya, Thailand for about $1 an ounce, I'm happy it fills the spot in my routine for a green oolong, though it is not a great tea.

Mountain Tea had provided teas that were inexpensive but enjoyable enough for me. MT's Imperial Pearl this time is not fitting into that niche.

Reading about oolong on TeaChat, it seems at any price it is difficult to obtain good oolong regularly. I feel like an on-line order is gambling. Floating Leaves often mentions that an oolong seems to be "opening up" or "might open up" nicely. For $9 an ounce or so, I need to know a tea is fantastic, not that it might be.

I will cautiously look for good oolong & hope people keep posting.

[steanze]

This one has a good price/quality balance for easy drinking: http://www.ebay.com/itm/TEAHOME-Formosa ... 230dd6b215

They also offer a larger bag to save on shipping: http://www.ebay.com/itm/TEAHOME-Formosa ... 2ea91d6d32

[Rui]

Sipping some Terre de Thes' 2015 Thai Jinxuan with my lunch.

[jayinhk]

Drinking some gaoshan I bought at the airport in Taipei two years ago. Brewed in a ceramic travel gaiwan. It's lost much of its character, but is smooth and mild drinking. Very pleasant.

[bonescwa]

This one has a good price/quality balance for easy drinking: http://www.ebay.com/itm/TEAHOME-Formosa ... 230dd6b215

They also offer a larger bag to save on shipping: http://www.ebay.com/itm/TEAHOME-Formosa ... 2ea91d6d32

Anything else good from them that you know of?