but, what did you think of the 2009 teas? I generally drink various dan congs and yan chas and generally I wasn't very happy with 2009 teas. I think shui jin gui and fo shou this year from various vendors was generally pretty good, but in comparison to 2008, honey grove from teance, aged xing ren from jing were a couple of teas that I really loved in 2008 that fell flat this year for me. I also noticed the leaves seemed to be a little thin as well compared to the previous year. The teahabitat teas I bought also needed to be stuffed full to get much flavour out of them. What say you?2009 teas?
I know how everyone LOVES gross generalizations.... but, what did you think of the 2009 teas? I generally drink various dan congs and yan chas and generally I wasn't very happy with 2009 teas. I think shui jin gui and fo shou this year from various vendors was generally pretty good, but in comparison to 2008, honey grove from teance, aged xing ren from jing were a couple of teas that I really loved in 2008 that fell flat this year for me. I also noticed the leaves seemed to be a little thin as well compared to the previous year. The teahabitat teas I bought also needed to be stuffed full to get much flavour out of them. What say you?
but, what did you think of the 2009 teas? I generally drink various dan congs and yan chas and generally I wasn't very happy with 2009 teas. I think shui jin gui and fo shou this year from various vendors was generally pretty good, but in comparison to 2008, honey grove from teance, aged xing ren from jing were a couple of teas that I really loved in 2008 that fell flat this year for me. I also noticed the leaves seemed to be a little thin as well compared to the previous year. The teahabitat teas I bought also needed to be stuffed full to get much flavour out of them. What say you?
Re: 2009 teas?
Well I had some pretty darn good ones. The most excellent being the DaYuLing from Floating leaves Tea with her LiShan a close second. On the heels of these two was an excellent AliShan from Camellia Sinensis.
I didn't have a 2009 Baozhong that knocked my socks off, but I was still drinking the 2008 stuff anyway.
I am very ready for some 2010 stuff. Can't wait!
I didn't have a 2009 Baozhong that knocked my socks off, but I was still drinking the 2008 stuff anyway.
I am very ready for some 2010 stuff. Can't wait!
Re: 2009 teas?
Hey Victoria - you're right, I didn't mention that Da Yu Ling. I was focused on the dan congs... but the Taiwanese teas I had this year were pretty good, and that Da Yu Ling had great cha qi!
Feb 23rd, '10, 19:04
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Re: 2009 teas?
I guess it's very hard to detect quality fluctuations at consumer level. In most situations, there are many sources of even the same tea, because most specialty teas are produced at family level or in small factory. A manufacture I started to explore in 2009 did tell me 2009 autumn tea production in southern Fujian was generally bad, yet their TGY was the best I've ever had. Most "real" tea drinkers drink teas that are very good but not the most expensive. For tea of this level, the dealers, wholesale suppliers and vendors always try to pick the best quality price ratio, and there are usually many choices. Therefore any quality fluctuation due to climate or natural conditions will be somewhat muffled along the trade chain, and retail price fluctuation is usually smaller than quality fluctuation.
P.S. Oh I notice you talked about dan cong. Dan Cong sources are generally not as abundant as other oolongs so they probably are affected more by annual production.
P.S. Oh I notice you talked about dan cong. Dan Cong sources are generally not as abundant as other oolongs so they probably are affected more by annual production.
Re: 2009 teas?
Yeah that was pretty hard to beat even if 2009 was an off year. Same was said for Darjeeling, but I had some of the best ever from 2009, so it's all in the particular harvest.
The opposite for me, I didn't have much Dan Cong from 2009, I was still drinking my excellent stash from 2008. I guess I better get to Tea Habitat in 2010 and see what I been missing.
The opposite for me, I didn't have much Dan Cong from 2009, I was still drinking my excellent stash from 2008. I guess I better get to Tea Habitat in 2010 and see what I been missing.
Feb 23rd, '10, 19:30
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Re: 2009 teas?
I agree with gingko; it's hard to compare at our level, especially with yancha and even more so with different vendors. There is a huge variety of yancha out there with widely varying degrees of quality. The only real way would be to get from one vendor that buys from the same very experienced producer each year, and even then it can be hard. For example YSLLC's DHP was awful until 2009, and then that producer (I verified that it's the same) seemed to figure things out and produced a great one for the price (probably just more/better roasted). I also generally don't drink yancha until it's a couple of years old, and dancong also gets better after a year or so; if you had a 2008 and 2009 yancha that were nearly identical, and you brewed them side by side, the 2008 would likely be better - smoother, fuller, deeper, etc. You'd get similar with dancong; the aroma would likely be fuller and more complex.
Taiwanese wulong is a little easier as long as you get a wide enough variety, and at least some from the same region each year. The 2009 gaoshan was better than 2008, but still not as good as 2007. I just opened a 1oz vacuum pack of some very low roast (probably 10-20%) DD, and I just haven't encountered anything with aroma like that since 2007 (and aroma like that wasn't uncommon in 2007).
I also developed a major preference for mid-roast (or higher) gaoshan in 2008, so I'm looking forward to seeing how a particularly good year's crop turns out when roasted like that
Taiwanese wulong is a little easier as long as you get a wide enough variety, and at least some from the same region each year. The 2009 gaoshan was better than 2008, but still not as good as 2007. I just opened a 1oz vacuum pack of some very low roast (probably 10-20%) DD, and I just haven't encountered anything with aroma like that since 2007 (and aroma like that wasn't uncommon in 2007).
I also developed a major preference for mid-roast (or higher) gaoshan in 2008, so I'm looking forward to seeing how a particularly good year's crop turns out when roasted like that