Dayu Shan Oolong from Taiwan

[debunix]

Is anyone familiar with this tea?

I was given a small sample today while purchasing some other teas at Wing Hop Fung today, and I have not heard of it before, nor do I see a lot of references with a quick googling.

Their web site says it is grown at higher elevation than most teas, and it should be minty, vegetal, and refreshingly sweet.

http://www.birdpick.com/110173.html

[steanze]

I would think that it is tea from Yu Shan, the highest mountain in Taiwan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yushan_%28mountain%29

I got a sample from Theformosa.com but I have not tried it yet. Let us know what you think about it

[Victoria]

Probably Da Yu Lin aka DaYuLing. Should be very green floral and sweet.
Let us know!

[cindyt]

Probably Da Yu Lin aka DaYuLing. Should be very green floral and sweet.
Let us know!

DaYuLing is also my guess. Ling means "high mountainn" and Shan is "montain" in Chinese. DaYuLing is a famous high mountain in Taiwan.

[Chip]

Looks great Debunex! How I wish there was a shop like that around here.

Quite a nice selection. So WHF is the B&B for BirdPick?

[debunix]

It's a little more confusing than that: BirdPick appears to be a separate online company related to WHF--IIRC I read someplace that it was started by a member of the family that owns WHF.

Buying teas at WHF is fun, but also quite frustrating: the labelling is minimal on the big jars of tea, and the label names are often quite opaque when I'm trying to figure out what a tea corresponds to. When I ask for a taste first they brew with near boiling water so I don't get a true sample of what I would likely experience as I brew it at home. Also, the teas are in these big glass jars, which do seal somewhat, but are obviously not light-tight, and are huge, so the teas are exposed to a lot of air. Not ideal conditions for the most delicate teas.

So I generally buy very small quantities when first trying a new tea from them. I was disappointed in the 'hunan silver needle yellow tea' I bought at the last visit, but positively giddy over the gorgeous An Ji 'precious rare white tea' from the same trip--running out of my first cautiously purchased ounce was the rationale for yesterday's visit.

I can be more confident with some of my online suppliers, because there are more clear descriptions, and I've ordered enough from my first site, norbutea.com, that I can now pretty accurately interpret how I will experience the teas based on how he writes about them.

[Chip]

Thanks Debunix! Jeez, B&Bs almost seem to go out of their way to ruin tea! Very frustrating indeed!!! The BIG glass jar is everywhere. It is like there are those who simply choose not to know any better.

[wyardley]

It's a little more confusing than that: BirdPick appears to be a separate online company related to WHF--IIRC I read someplace that it was started by a member of the family that owns WHF.

It's a brick and mortar shop as well as an online company. I believe it's run by the daughter of the owner of Wing Hop Fung, but owned by WHF directly.
http://birdpick.com/story.html

Also, the teas are in these big glass jars, which do seal somewhat, but are obviously not light-tight, and are huge, so the teas are exposed to a lot of air. Not ideal conditions for the most delicate teas.

Keep in mind that their turnover is pretty quick, though, and they're in the back of the store, so it's not a lot of direct sunlight.

I don't like the way they brew there either, but I don't think it's the water temperature that's the issue.

[debunix]

Their turnover is definitely quick for many teas, as I've discovered to my sorrow when the tea I came to get more of is sold out....but there is almost always something else exciting to try. I wouldn't buy sencha from there, and have to consider that the foot square compressed puerh plaque that probably has a poem impressed upon it is for show rather than drinking, but I happily explore their oolongs, green teas, white teas, and the less expensive puerhs.

I have never left there without tea, even when I am ONLY going to pick up a replacement for some piece of teaware that I've broken. ONLY. Yeah, right!

[Victoria]

FYI if you love that tea, you can find it here for less.
http://camellia-sinensis.com/tea/fiche/?id=Da+Yu+Lin

I've had it and it's very, very good. Or you can wait till Floating Leaves restocks for Spring.