Official what Oolong are You Drinking Right Now?

[debunix]

Bird Pick's Zhejiang Tiekuanyin, a minimal roast version. Superficially tasty, but not the richness I associate with the best TGYs. Still, pleasant, warm and wet--the key attributes while battling this cold.

[yalokinh]

... while battling this cold.

I feel you, my cold is so bad I have stop drinking tea fora free days, I can't taste a thing

[victoria3]

Wishing you both well and good speed with your colds. With that menthol on my mind:

Really enjoying Chen's DongDing this morning. It is so expansive, rich and complex with notes of roasted sweet chestnuts musk and menthol. It's perfectly fermented and roasted. Am still tweaking steeping times, but now with a little extra time the body is thicker (less thin) and more nuanced notes are appearing. Not sure where Chen's DongDing is grown and roasted?
Steeped in HongNi Duo QiuShui inside a teaboat for extra heat. Perfect.

[Psyck]

... while battling this cold.

I feel you, my cold is so bad I have stop drinking tea fora free days, I can't taste a thing

Tea with honey can be soothing during a cold, even if one cannot taste or smell it

[ethan]

Wishing you both well and good speed with your colds. With that menthol on my mind:

Really enjoying Chen's DongDing this morning. It is so expansive, rich and complex with notes of roasted sweet chestnuts musk and menthol. It's perfectly fermented and roasted. Am still tweaking steeping times, but now with a little extra time the body is thicker (less thin) and more nuanced notes are appearing. Not sure where Chen's DongDing is grown and roasted?
Steeped in HongNi Duo QiuShui inside a teaboat for extra heat. Perfect.

Sounds wonderful, Victoria. I don't think that is wonderful tea because it comes from particular spot of "Dong Ding territory" but probably because good leaves were harvested at the right moment & likewise oxidized & roasted perfectly by a tea-master. Perhaps every stage accomplished ideally.

If farmers know that a field of leaves is ready for harvest, it does not mean he can get all of them into baskets that day. Nor can all leaves be roasted at once either, of course. Only so much can be "ideal".

Here in Taiwan, I have tried Dong Dings several times; none were close to what you describe. Fortunately, I managed to obtain "ideal" tea from Lishan.

I am still tweaking steeping times also, going a little longer each session. I also raise the temperature in small increments. Cheers

[jayinhk]

Drinking pretty cheap Thai baozhong from Spring 2016. This stuff isn't as flavorful as I'd like--it may not just be very good tea, or it may have lost flavor between the spring and now. I'll give it a roast at 105 degrees C to see what it turns out like as my previous batch of top grade baozhong from Pinglin turned out wonderfully after a 100 degree roast and several months rest. I'm going to bump the temperature up ever so slightly to see what the tea turns out like.

[kuánglóng]

Sipping some certified organic mainland Oriental Beauty I got from a friend.
Nice fruitiness, primarily peaches and some mango, honey-ish sweetness, a bit of muscatel, taking on notes of malty chocolate in later steeps. Solid body, depth and aftertaste, too good to drink on the side without paying any attention.

[ethan]

Sipping some certified organic mainland Oriental Beauty,... too good to drink on the side without paying any attention.

Sounds great. I did not know mainland Oriental Beauty came that good. Nice gift! I'm jealous. I had to work damn hard to find quality O.B. while yours was just handed to you. I agree w/ you, such good tea deserves attention.

[victoria3]

......Really enjoying Chen's DongDing this morning. It is so expansive, rich and complex with notes of roasted sweet chestnuts musk and menthol. It's perfectly fermented and roasted. Am still tweaking steeping times, but now with a little extra time the body is thicker (less thin) and more nuanced notes are appearing. Not sure where Chen's DongDing is grown and roasted?
Steeped in HongNi Duo QiuShui inside a teaboat for extra heat. Perfect.

Sounds wonderful, Victoria. I don't think that is wonderful tea because it comes from particular spot of "Dong Ding territory" but probably because good leaves were harvested at the right moment & likewise oxidized & roasted perfectly by a tea-master. Perhaps every stage accomplished ideally.

If farmers know that a field of leaves is ready for harvest, it does not mean he can get all of them into baskets that day. Nor can all leaves be roasted at once either, of course. Only so much can be "ideal".

Here in Taiwan, I have tried Dong Dings several times; none were close to what you describe. Fortunately, I managed to obtain "ideal" tea from Lishan.

I am still tweaking steeping times also, going a little longer each session. I also raise the temperature in small increments. Cheers

Ethan, I'm sure it is much easier to be a tea connoisseur as consumer, than it is to be a connoisseur as purveyor in search of perfect teas, balanced with price/volume/longevity. Your tea explorations in Taiwan are interesting to read about, so thanks for sharing here.

I was curious where Chen sources his leaf for DongDing, because I understand the fermenting/roasting method is now what gives it its name and not necessarily the location. Mountain Tea, that I tried, states that they don't source their DongDing in the district, but somewhere else at an elevation of 1400ft. I have read others source DingDong in LiShan, and in other parts of Taiwan. At any rate, as an armchair traveler growing/sourcing locations are always interesting to know about and then research their microclimates, tea cultures and histories. Cheers to you on your expedition.

[Bok]

I was curious where Chen sources his leaf for DongDing, because I understand the fermenting/roasting method is now what gives it its name and not necessarily the location. Mountain Tea, that I tried, states that they don't source their DongDing in the district, but somewhere else at an elevation of 1400ft. I have read others source DingDong in LiShan, and in other parts of Taiwan. At any rate, as an armchair traveler growing/sourcing locations are always interesting to know about and then research their microclimates, tea cultures and histories. Cheers to you on your expedition.

First of all Chen is such an ubiquitous name in Taiwan that I can even say I never bought a tea from anyone who's surname wasn't Chen... no joke!

So, Chen Hau Ying, doesn't source his leaves at all, he is a farmer he grows them himself. He does that in Lugu, if I am not mistaken, so it is an authentic Dong Ding. Farm goes back a few generations so probably as close to a an original Dong Ding as you can get.

[kyarazen]

......Really enjoying Chen's DongDing this morning. It is so expansive, rich and complex with notes of roasted sweet chestnuts musk and menthol. It's perfectly fermented and roasted. Am still tweaking steeping times, but now with a little extra time the body is thicker (less thin) and more nuanced notes are appearing. Not sure where Chen's DongDing is grown and roasted?
Steeped in HongNi Duo QiuShui inside a teaboat for extra heat. Perfect.

you're referring to chen hau ying's dongding? its 100% baseleaf from the heart of deer valley, dongding nantou county from his own plantation. and all roasted by him personally. if you want the modern dongding, i.e. done in dongding style but base leaf is from other areas like lishan, cuifeng etc.. he may have some experimental amounts to offer, but that is not his main interest as traditional dongding made from mid altitude leaves in dongding region is what he wants to do and preserve.

i just took him on a trip to the wuyi mountains to meet my doppleganger in Wuyi and it was a very nice exchange between taiwan and wuyi farmers.

[victoria3]

......Really enjoying Chen's DongDing this morning. It is so expansive, rich and complex with notes of roasted sweet chestnuts musk and menthol. It's perfectly fermented and roasted. Am still tweaking steeping times, but now with a little extra time the body is thicker (less thin) and more nuanced notes are appearing. Not sure where Chen's DongDing is grown and roasted?
Steeped in HongNi Duo QiuShui inside a teaboat for extra heat. Perfect.

you're referring to chen hau ying's dongding? its 100% baseleaf from the heart of deer valley, dongding nantou county from his own plantation. and all roasted by him personally. if you want the modern dongding, i.e. done in dongding style but base leaf is from other areas like lishan, cuifeng etc.. he may have some experimental amounts to offer, but that is not his main interest as traditional dongding made from mid altitude leaves in dongding region is what he wants to do and preserve.

i just took him on a trip to the wuyi mountains to meet my doppleganger in Wuyi and it was a very nice exchange between taiwan and wuyi farmers.

Yes Kyarazen, I was speaking about Chen HauYing's DongDing which I got from him via your invitation. I really enjoyed its body, complexity and nuances. Thanks for the clarification.

I'd like to ask you about the LiShan I received with my order from Chen HauYing. Is this also grown by Chen HauYing in LiShan or...?
Also, I have read some of your commentary regarding southern traditions and styles in Taiwan. Do they still roast their oolongs longer? Prefer stronger longer steeps in general? Curious.

[kyarazen]

Yes Kyarazen, I was speaking about Chen HauYing's DongDing which I got from him via your invitation. I really enjoyed its body, complexity and nuances. Thanks for the clarification.

I'd like to ask you about the LiShan I received with my order from Chen HauYing. Is this also grown by Chen HauYing in LiShan or...?
Also, I have read some of your commentary regarding southern traditions and styles in Taiwan. Do they still roast their oolongs longer? Prefer stronger longer steeps in general? Curious.

nope! it is grown by his friend in Li Shan. these are a group of next generation farmers that are not "bowing" to mass production and keeping to small farms, proper ways of making tea, etc not sure if you could understand chinese but i can forward you a video link to Chen's talk on the subject. for Li Shan wise, i've been working with him on seeking out more interesting teas from the farmer group, i.e. high altitude garden located between fushoushan and da yu ling, li shan "wild" leaves, and li shan "secret/private" tea garden teas.

taiwan is a mixed bag now.. so is china.. essentially longer roasted/multiple roasted teas can be brewed more intensely and steeped longer as the roasting rounds off the tea

[jayinhk]

Drinking 'horse meat' rou gui from the protected area in Wuyishan via a friend of the family! He has lived in Hong Kong for most of his life and receives tea from his garment suppliers on the Mainland regularly. He's known my family for over forty years.

He sent over some tea he received and I wasn't expecting much. Turns out I got high fire rougui from the Horse's Head Cliff/Rock and some good Souchong too. I haven't tried the Souchong yet, but I brewed up the rougui in 90s zisha. Very good tea with a full flavor that lasts for a LONG while on the palate. There is a note of something unpleasant underneath, however, which I am less than enthused about--tastes like roach spray to me. I hope what I'm tasting isn't pesticide residue! I brewed 10g in an 85ml pot, so quite an intense session. I have a half jin left, so I'll work my way through it over time, or toss it if I keep detecting that hint of roach spray under what is a very nice rougui otherwise.

Note to self: call your uncle and thank him! I'll probably give the souchong a whirl tomorrow.

[kyarazen]

Drinking 'horse meat' rou gui from the protected area in Wuyishan via a friend of the family! He has lived in Hong Kong for most of his life and receives tea from his garment suppliers on the Mainland regularly. He's known my family for over forty years.

He sent over some tea he received and I wasn't expecting much. Turns out I got high fire rougui from the Horse's Head Cliff/Rock and some good Souchong too. I haven't tried the Souchong yet, but I brewed up the rougui in 90s zisha. Very good tea with a full flavor that lasts for a LONG while on the palate. There is a note of something unpleasant underneath, however, which I am less than enthused about--tastes like roach spray to me. I hope what I'm tasting isn't pesticide residue! I brewed 10g in an 85ml pot, so quite an intense session. I have a half jin left, so I'll work my way through it over time, or toss it if I keep detecting that hint of roach spray under what is a very nice rougui otherwise.

Note to self: call your uncle and thank him! I'll probably give the souchong a whirl tomorrow.

show you a picture of horse head tomorrow i was there just 2 days ago.