teaddict

1.6 grams in 50mL tiny porcelain gaiwan (lots of broken bits because I was prying a bit off of one side and it got a little messy)
Water 205 degrees

Flash rinse—did not save—and only noticed later that a bit of water was left, like a grandpa-style ‘root’, that got incorporated into the first infusion, which is….strong. Campfire smoky gym socks strong. Still only a hint of bitter, but very powerful stuff.

2nd infusion, 10 seconds then poured, still very strong smoky umami stuff, but the sweet is able to show up at the front of each sip, and the aftertaste is spicy and herbaceous and bitter and still smoky.

3rd infusion, poured in, replaced kettle on stand, and poured out, less than 10 seconds: still very powerful stuff. I am so appreciating this lovely little gaiwan right now, the fit and the pour and the function for these fast infusions are just excellent. The tea is still transporting me back to childhood campfires, with a bit of sweet here and there.

4th infusion, same pour in/kettle/pour out, between 5 and 7 seconds, can’t be doing much more than rinsing what is already sweating out on the surface of the leaves, and still it has a powerful kick. A little more sweet apparent, though.

Side note: simply because I was in the mood for it, I started my day with some Tie Guan Yin, couldn’t exhaust those leaves with the time available before leaving for work, and am working on some more infusions after the leaves were stored int he fridge for the day, drinking one infusion of this to a couple of the puerh. It’s astonishing how clean and refined the flavor is in contrast to this rambunctious smoky pu!

5th infusion, still crazy-smokey-rambunctious, ham and campfire and sweet and bit of bitter herbs. 6th is settling in a bit, but I can see that it’s going to take a lot of infusions and a kettle full of water at 40mL per infusion to tame these leaves. 7th similar, the smoky veil is showing a little more of what is behind it, but still, powerful smoke.

If overwhelming, outrageous flavor now is a good predictor of aging well, this should be fabulous. But the kettle is empty and I do have to get some sleep eventually, so I’m setting the leaves aside for more tomorrow.

Took this tea out of the fridge again after 2 days (previously up to 8 infusions): starting the first few infusions with a meal of cheese and crackers, and like any good puerh, the tea cuts the richness well. And the strong cheese also helps mellow the smokiness of the tea.

By the 16th infusion, the tea is tasting more strongly of herbs and sweet anise, with the umami nearly gone.

The 25th infusion is still strong and deliciously herbaceous, astringent but not truly bitter. Very pleasant stuff.

Up to 30, and brewing by my thirst—some flash infusions, basically sweet water, to wet the palate, then a few more substantial, slower, showing persistent flavor beyond simple sweet water, amazing stamina this stuff has. Saying uncle at 32 infusions, that’s enough for now.

I am very encouraged to think of what this tea will be after it has settled a bit and the wildly smoky start has softened.

(Rating here is tough, because the early infusions were pretty rank, but they’re not representative—I think—of what this will be like in the future when I will want to be drinking it. Nor did the first day’s wildness fit well with the wonderful mellower later infusions—those would rate very highly indeed. So no rating for the session now, as a whole).

Adding to the versatility displayed by this tea, I accidentally started a session with the Pino kettle set to 205 degrees. Realized my mistake 30 seconds in, and the tea was still drinkable (although it did improve on diluting a bit). That’s a very fine quality in a ‘green’ tea.

I can’t really recommend that high a temp (I did prefer it diluted when brewed so hot), but it wasn’t a tossout, so props to you, Xue Dian Mei Lan!

A nice session with this tea this evening—sweet, mellow, a little hint of floral, just pleasant and nice: started 160 degrees, up to 180 degrees after 5-6 infusions.

2g tea in 50mL yixing

Flash rinse, 205 degree water
1st 10 seconds
Woodsy, aged, sweetish, no bitterness
2nd 30 seconds
Very similar to first, but a little richer; strongly reminiscent of an aged puerh.
3rd 1 min….and out to 3-4 minutes by the 8th infusion, still similar—woodsy tea. Quite nice, pleasant, but not really revelatory.

I don’t know that my unknown Dong Ding is related to the one described above, but it’s a sample from a teaSwap, and if I recall correctly, the swapper didn’t know much about it. But this is a lovely grand tea, a marvelous blend of the roasted, toasted, traditional style, but still full of the deep spicy flavor I associate with Alishan oolongs.

Nice stuff. I’d mostly dismissed Dong Ding, but this convinces me I need to keep exploring.

Can’t pu the time/temp slider on the phone: brewed to fill gaiwan about 2/3 full when hydrated, water 195 degrees, infusions 45 seconds to several minutes by the time i am ready to stop, perhaps 6 or 8 infusions into the session.

I opened one of my last vacuum-sealed packages of this over the weekend, and have already indulged 3 times. I have a lovely new little porcelain teapot (1) that is fantastic with this tea, and last night it just kept going and going and going, a dozen infusions, the last of them still sweet—so different from the Alishan oolongs that keep their spiciness longest—and then I ran out of gas before the tea did.

Yes, I rate this one 100, perfect, nirvana, because I lack the imagination to see how it could get better than this tea, brewed in this pot, drunk from this cup (2), with this cat (3) on my lap.

(1) Pot
http://www.flickr.com/photos/debunix/5847746556
(2) Cup
http://www.flickr.com/photos/debunix/5859058796
(3) Cat
http://www.flickr.com/photos/debunix/3713650278

Almost finished with my first batch of this tea. Today I was prepping a thermos full of it and realized I only have one more bulk brewing session or two more selfish solo sessions left. Fortunately, I am not too far away from the store, and can go buy more soon. I would miss it too much if my supply were cut off. It’s not a tea that I crave daily, but it’s very comforting to know that it is there, available, reliable, delicious, when I do need a hit.

Finally finished off the last of a 2010 packet of sencha, and have now started my first 2011 shincha:

Very deep green leaves, most fairly small pieces, sweet rich scent

between 5 and 6 oz water, 160 degrees in my Petr Novak kyusu, about 45 seconds first infusion

sweet, nutty, vegetal, lightly grassy, and delicate green color but can’t judge that well against the blue glaze of the teacup

2nd infusion, 20 seconds, 160 degrees, very similar, some grassiness a little more prominent towards the end of the infusion

3rd infusion, 170 degrees, 30-45 seconds, sweet, vegetal, a little less nutty, sugar snap peas rather than asparagus

4th infusion, 170 degrees, 1 minute, sweet, light, astringency absent

There was a 5th, but I was too distracted to note much—it was 180 degrees, for about a minute, quite light and tasty.

Addendum: 2nd series of infusions, about the same setup, except I started lower, 145 degrees, working up to 180 at the sixth, still all delicious, perhaps even a little moore so than the first time. Nice that it’s so flexible.

One sad note: my packet is 100 grams, so given my 2-4 times weekly sencha habit, it may not all be drunk while still ‘shincha fresh’. And that would be sad.

This tea got shuffled to the back of the cupboard for a long time, unopened, and now I’m enjoying a first series of infusions, spicy, roasty, floral, sweet. It’s quite nice. The first was a little light, because I started with less tea in the kamjove than I usually do, but I didn’t adjust the infusion time. A little tweaking and reinfusing and all is much nicer now. I think it sat long enough (more than a year in the back of the cupboard) that it’s no longer competition grade, but still, a very nice tea.

Another wonderful infusion of this bright tart fruity tea last night. It’s a fantastic herbal tisane, balanced between tart, spicy, and sweet: highly recommended if you’re ever lucky enough to encounter some.

Another day, another tasting. I opened this bag planning to enjoy a rich floral sweetness like the 2009 spring version I’d bought before, and this didn’t disappoint. It might not be quite as rich as the spring version was, but it is fantastically floral, and lasts for a moderate number of infusions quite delightfully. Compared to the Diamond TGYs, it’s not as durable through multiple infusions but it’s rich, smooth, and sweet in its own right, quite a bargain.

I had been reading a lot of praise from various people on TeaChat for Da Yu Ling, from a variety of suppliers. Norbu, my number one supplier, hasn’t carried one so labelled, so when I placed an order from Dragon Tea House, I added some of this to check it out. Although their description praises it as a cold tea, I mostly drink my teas hot, so I have both some brewing up cold in the refrigerator for later, and am brewing up some hot now. I’d estimate I used between 1 and 2 grams of tea for my 60mL korean pot, and water 205 degrees. It is a very nice summery spicy Alishan-type oolong, but not dramatically different than those I’ve been enjoying from Norbu. I’m at about the 5th infusion now, and the leaves have expanded to nearly fill the little pot. The floral is gone and spicy grassy notes predominate.

All in all, I’d have to say its quite a nice tea, but not one that makes me feel like I must go out of my way to seek it in preference to the Alishans I’ve been enjoying.

I’ll add some notes on the cold brewing later.

I’ve been having trouble with this one: I bought it hoping it would be a little less intense or touchy than the full on Dan Cong versions, and that it might permit some bulk brewing for sharing with a wider group. It works decently gongfu, but not for the bulk brewing. So for the purpose I had for it, the rating should be low, but as the tea is meant to be brewed, its fine but not fantastic.

This is my first infusion of this tea. It smells like forest loam, earthy, a deep rich compost of decay. I made the first infusions timidly, not a lot of leaf (I only have a few grams) and short, 20 seconds apiece, and they were…..light, thin, clean flavors of compost, but not so interesting. I decided to push to see what I could get and did 3+ minutes with a smaller volume of water at 212°F/100°C, just enough to cover the leaves, and got some sharpness that was a little unpleasant, more intense earthy flavors, but other than the added sharpness, still very similar.
A little while later, the next pair of infusions were done with very hot water, not so long, and the flavor is still very like damp forest earth, but a nicer balance than the first three. I am not getting the fruitiness I like in my favorite young she puerhs or the long sweetness of my favorite young shengs. Quite interesting.

Unfortunately, this was another session where I stopped keeping track as my other activities took over, so I can’t say when the leaves ran out of gas. I am sure I went at least a dozen infusions, but can’t say more than that.

I was a bit afraid of this one as my first encounter was with an unbearably bitter version, and no matter what I tried, I couldn’t avoid the bitter (short infusions, cooler water, less tea, nothing helped). So I only bought a little of it to try out from a different source, because I couldn’t believe that first batch was truly representative of a tea that is traditionally on many ‘10 famous teas of china’ lists.

2.5 grams of tea, water to 185 degrees (as per DTH)

in about 6 oz water in my glass mug

‘until leaves sink to the bottom’ of cup: Still vertical at 1 min 20 seconds, and I’m getting nervous: stopping brewing to drink now.

Brilliant stuff: light yellow liquor, delicate, vegetal, grassy, green-tea-like, but not green tea. This is far better than my first experience with the stuff. There is a richness and sweetness here that is distinctly like a fine oolong, but the vegetal greenness is distinctly different. Wow. This is what I expect from a ‘famous tea’.

The leaves—downy deep olive green needles—are very similar in appearance to the WHF version that was so powerfully bitter, but the bitterness is powerfully muted, at least in this first infusion.

2nd infusion, 1 minute.

More of the same, beautiful stuff.

3rd infusion, 2 minutes.

Still rich, delicate, sweet, vegetal, clear golden-yellow liquor.

I stopped writing at that point, although I did not stop infusing. I was doing chores and moving around the house, brewing infusions rather carelessly and untimed, but I did get at least six and probably eight before I stopped. Yummy stuff.

I made my second batch of this tea today, and it was a lot more impressive the 2nd time around. I’m not sure what the difference was—both were bulk brewed and drunk from a thermos. The first time, my impression was not that different from my long-time everyday TKY—roasty, toasty, tasty but not that exciting. Today, there was a revelatory addition of spiciness along with the rich toastiness, and my tongue is still pleasantly buzzed. Interesting.

No notes yet.

Finally finished off my stash of this, the last package gone. It was rich with a quality that I am having trouble describing—a bit like cantaloupe, perhaps, almost a hint of umami, not just floral and sweet nor caramel warmth, but rich and fruity. Sigh. Are the jassids biting this year?

No notes yet.

Found a bit of this sample left yesterday, and made a brilliant batch of tea brewed up with osmanthus blossoms. Fruity delight.

I posted a combined review of this and a few other Alishans from Norbu on my teapages. Unfortunately, the one package of this that I had was opened a bit early, and suffered some loss of freshness and ‘zing’ before the review. So I can’t really rate it properly.

http://www.well.com/user/debunix/recipes/AlishanOolongs.html

I missed making a note first time around for this tea. I broke off a small quantity of this one to enjoy now, although I intend to let most of it age a while.

Tonight, just 1.8 grams of tea in a very small gaiwan, which holds 50-60mL, and tap water at 205 degrees.

The dry leaf is quite dark, with some paler leaves twisted in with the rest. The scent is light, herbaceous, soil-like.

First a flash rinse, wait a minute or two, then a first flash infusion. Strongly herbaceous, some bitterness waiting in the wings, hint of sweet but only a hint. Leather, fresh-cut wood, umami noticeable after cooling, sipping more slowly.

2nd infusion was similar. 3rd infusion, still flash infusions, more sweetness starting to come to the fore, although the leather/earthy/umami is still dominant. 4th infusion, waited 5 seconds before starting to pour: sweet, anise/herb notes are stronger again. The leather/umami is still there but lightening, less overwhelming but still stronger than anything else. 5th, 10 seconds before pour: more sweet. 6th, similar, the long sweet finish starting to really take over. Yes, there is some bitter in there too, but my taste buds are doing a happy dance now. Nice nice nice. One more and I’ll be done for the evening [nope, make that 3, we’re up to 9 before retiring for the evening]. This is definitely one to continue tomorrow—want to see how far it can go.

10 and 11 down before I had this note open to edit: sweet, delicious, holding up well to some strong onion flavor in what I was eating before starting back with the tea. 12 was too short, about 5 seconds, just sweet water. 13, was barely patient enough to go 20 seconds (I am thirsty)—more flavor of herbs to back up the sweet—14, 15, 16, similar, beautifully balanced between sweet and herbaceous and sweet forest duff, tastebuds doing happy dance again. Then a horrible moment—I looked over for infusion 17 and the gaiwan was EMPTY. Filled, infused again, world righted itself on its axis. Whew.

18, 19, 20 still delicious, but starting to lighten up. Need to lengthen the infusions again. 21 to 2 minutes….still needs more. #22 will be 3 minutes, and was a little better. Going to push #23 for 5 minutes…..and it is again very nice. 10 minutes on #24, and it is nice, but back to nearly sweet water. Time to add water and go do some chores for an hour or two, maybe. #25 lost something to cooling down; #26 suggests the leaves are finally done.

Overall, an excellent experience, and this is while it is still only an infant tea.

First time back with this tea in a while, after pushing a lot of alishan (opened several bags to do a comparative tasting a while back and was dutifully trying to finish them off before returning to the other greener oolongs). I really packed the gaiwan. Mmm….so floral and rich and sweet. I adore the spiciness of the Alishans, but my heart belongs to TGY!

Finished my sample off with only a small quantity of it left, in a small glazed gaiwan. It has an earthy, forest-floor, mushroom background, mild sweetness and hints of spice & herbs. Very nice stuff. Still only about 10 infusions into it, but because I only have a small quantity left—fully hydrated, they take up only 1/4 of the gaiwan volume—I expect it won’t go as many infusions as it did the first few times. But I can’t hold that against the tea. I was the one who only bought a tiny sample!