So out of the box, the leaves don't fit in!

So any of us that have been around the block a few times realize we have our own preferred brewing styles for nearly every single tea we come across.  Having heard good things about Da Yu Ling, I picked some up from a newly started vendor.  Initial impressions were lack luster, they seemed to fall quite flat.  Turns out I brewed it incredibly too light.  Even though that is how I usually approach brewing Taiwanese oolongs. 

Through talking with the vendor, I pulled out the stops and brewed it his style, and cameras were rolling while I talked through my impressions for the first three infusions.  ( I am currently on infusion 10, and I've heard it can go for far far more).


So without much more ado,  I present to you this video.   (The title of this post will make sense when you see it).

Lets brew some Jade Tie Guan Yin

A new video, in which I brew some Jade Tie Guan Yin.  A very nice Tie Guan Yin which honestly didn't shine until the second infusion and later.  I of course in my own fashion stumble to talk about what I am tasting and feeling about the tea while brewing the first few infusions.

Enjoy!

Chinese Yancha Video!

This is the video I am expecting the most negative feedback on, though actually I'll expect that with any Chinese/ Taiwanese tea video I do.  On youtube it seems there is a lot more people heavily denouncing other peoples brewing on Chinese/ Taiwanese tea videos, while Japanese tea videos are more about learning and enjoying.

In this video I brewed up a fairly stuffed ( not super stuffed), pot of Yancha.  I do apologize for how long it took for me to stuff that little pot, the biggest problem with small pots is small openings.  Well sit back, relax, and watch me brew up a very potent and incredibly mind opening session of tea.  ( Right after I finished this session, I near instantly solved the second half of a homework assignment that had been stumping me).

Hou De 2009 Spring Zhen-Yen Handcrafted Da Hong Pao

This tea is a real treat as its not often you can order Wuyi claiming to be from the Scenic Area of Wuyi-shan and believe it. It says the cultivar is Bei Dou #1 which according to Toki over at the Mandarins Tea Room is a very old cultivar.

This has the best dry leaf smell of any Wuyi I have smelled in quite some time. Raisins, cinnamon and prunes assault my nose in the nicest way possible.

The color is rather amazing, its a weird mix of orange, and brown and red, making it not quite the color of a moderately aged puerh, but it is so incredibly dark compared to the Wuyi's I have been having lately.

The aroma is so incredibly sweet, like all sorts of roasted vegetable goodness, (think Cauliflower, parsnip, and the likes roasted in the oven perfectly). I had been forgeting why I liked Wuyi so much in the past, and with this I am remembering quite vividly and fondly as to what a good Yancha can be like. Its got a good sweetness with lots of baking spices and hints of baked apples, and all sorts of wonderful fall goodness.

The wind rushes past,

While countless leaves colors turn.

Wuyi is now King.

--Adam Yusko.

Premium Yun Xaing Tie Guan Yin

Occasionally I feel people need to eat their words, and admit that they have been completely wrong an a type of tea. I hope I was not to open about it on this blog, but I know I voiced my opinion often through other means.

But Basically this post is a long time coming, in part due to the generosity of some friends who really opened my eyes to the glory a Green Tie Guan Yin can achieve. This particular offering is from Chinese Cha Dao on Ebay, and these samples were sent to help enlighten me.

The problem comes about when asking the question: "Is it worth it?" Which I hope I have attained a certain level of tea appreciation that when I taste these teas I can appreciate how good they are. That being said while I have had some Phenomenal Green Tie Guan Yins these past few months, I am not sure if I myself personally are willing to spend the money on them, as all these Tie Guan Yins that have made me go wow, also cause the same reaction when I look at the price.

So what I will say about this tea, is this one flirts with the bottom of the range of quality that I find not boring, and not "bad". The tea is mellow with lots of good flavors hidden in its gentleness. To many budget TGY even with the carefullest of brewing are either insipid, or incredibly bitter (and not the good way like with some young Puerh).

The Mandarins Tea Room High Fire TGY

First off this tea's dry aroma is incredibly appealing, caramel apples, which came out more and more and more as I followed Toki's instructions of opening the bag and letting it sit exposed to the air for 10 days before consuming.

I am making this tea Chao Zhou style, so I crushed a third of my 60 ml pots worth on the bottom and then filled it mostly full with fuller leaves.

The aroma is great, while the Clarity is Impeccable. The aroma has hints of the Caramel apple along with I dare say a hint of fruitiness like its usually found in red wine. The taste is rather amazing perfectly balanced between astringency and sweetness, with an amazingly sweet aftertaste.

Each sip definitely leaves you wanting more, and strangely the sweetness is incredibly cooling.
It was a rather successful Chou Zhou style session as all 4 infusions were nearly identically, though incredibly delicious.

Andao Wuyi Golden Tortoise

Well I have been drinking a decent amount of tea, but sadly I have had little time to write about it. One of my biggest dilemmas has been dealing with my new Yixing. For the sake of informing everyone.

The vendor told me it should be used for green TGY, and nothing roasted. Whereas when talking with Toki he says at this stage of its use, there are no rules. Either way it is a wonderful pot, and after drinking a lot of Wuyi and TGY (yes out of the same pot). I settled down to the fact that the more this pot got used, the better the Wuyi seemed to taste.

So consider this a bit of a test, I am going to make the Wuyi Golden tortoise in my new yixing and see how it behaves today.

Looking at the color of the first brew, it brings up a question in my mind, are there any Yancha oolongs that have great clarity on the first infusion, or is it something about the processing that the first infusion tends to be a bit murky. I will have to run through pictures. Clarity is something I have started to really look for in a tea. Its a little thing, doesn't mean much taste wise, but lits just nice to not have a cup that looks murky. Which is probably why I've backed off the deeper steamed Sencha's.

I apologize my nose seems to be broken. As I know from previous times brewing this tea that it does have an aroma though I'm hard pressed to find much of one today. What I do get is a slight hint of buttered pastries, with hints of cinnamon, and possibly some fruits. I really can not get that more specific as like I said my nose is not working today.

The taste though, is quite nice, perhaps a bit strong, but the roast is evident, and the mouth feel is great. The taste is a bit "creme bruele" which has to be the first time I have pulled that out as a descriptor.


On the third infusion my nose started to work a bit more, it had a nice peppery aroma with hints of many other spices. The flavor though seems to have started to fade into a smooth but incredibly drinkable concoction. The only hit of astringency comes though in the finish.

This tea has its flaws, but perhaps I have a bit more of an acceptance for Wuyi Yancha flaws than most other tea's. Or perhaps its that I need to as I tend to drink an excessive amount of Yancha that I could not afford amazing stuff all the time.

Which reminds me of a post I was thinking of putting out about Price points in Tea and Teaware, and if I feel they are worth it. Though in short I feel the higher the price per gram of tea, the better it is "likely" to be. The likely qualifier is much needed, as I am sure there are always those people selling tea at inflated prices which does not command such a high price.

Andao Tea Wuyi White Rooster Crest

Another Wuyi Tea from Andao Tea, I wish I could give some facts about this Cultivar but its Chinese name is Bai Ji Guan, and it is one of the Si Da Ming Cong. Besides that I know little, and I have considered learning Chinese to do some further research but that seems to be pretty far on the back burner.

Its color brews up a deep almost coffee like color, it's aroma is chocolate like with a hint of a citrus fruit (ever so slight). Its taste is like a really good coffee, and slightly biting in a bitter sense but still nice. This reminds me of a really high Cocao content dark chocolate.

The second infusion lightens up a bit, the second infusion smells fruity and is somewhat lacking in taste, perhaps I shouldn't have gone with a shorter infusion.

The third infusion brews up an ruby red with an amber hue to it. I am actually rather amazed at how fresh this tea is starting to smell after the first infusion was so chocolaty. With the longer infusion the mouthfeel I love about Yancha is back, and so is the lengthy dry finish.



The sips have passed,
how many times through my lips?
Tasting just began.
--Adam Yusko

Kept 6 months Everyday Shui Xian

A hair over 6 month ago I reviewed this tea the Everyday Shui Xian from Jing tea Shop. And while I said I would not touch it for 4-5 years, I think a 6 months check up is needed to see how it is doing, to see if I am possibly on the right track.

While the dry leaf aroma does not smell nearly as potent, the rise smells a bit on the acrid side. And perhaps my storage method did not do enough to keep moisture out, as it is almost a bit sour smelling. But actually it is quite an interesting aroma, and once you get past the harsh shock of it, its got quite a bit of promise.


While this is far from the best wuyi I have ever had, it is quite an improvement over what was there 6 months ago. A fruit and chocolate profile emerged from the high roast that was there. It actually tastes like a fruit based dessert and coffee all rolled into one tea.

It was certainly interesting, and I feel the tea is much improved. If it will continue to improve is anyones guess.

Andao Tea Wuyi Big Red Robe.

Some of you may know that I did review this tea last August. As I state in the post the tea then was not my favorite, but I did eventually figure out how to brew it, and thankfully I still have not forgotten. This is a brand new bag, but as Andao does not label some teas with production years it is rather hard to know, if what I had in August was the same year or production run as this tea.

Wuyi in my mind is best brewed with a completely attentive mind. Brew this tea with an attentive mind and it will be good to you, great mouth feel, great aroma, only the flavor is slightly lacking. It is rather plain and not that strong. But everything else was great.

A reunion of sorts,
A reflection off a teapot,
Life comes forth.
--Adam Yusko

Aged Ti Kuan Yin (Blue Foil)

Alright so In my Last order from Chinese Kung fu Tea Arts, I got a digital scale, so I will now try and post the number of grams per size of vessel I am using. In that was also 250g of each of his Aged TGY. I do not quite like the fact that I only learned through talking with him that he has two different types of Aged TGY both from 2001 ( I think) but he only has one post on his site. As the Aged TGY I reviewed before was the Red foil bag, which is not the one he has actively been selling.

Though He does say that he likes the Blue foil bag better. Perhaps it is just this bag but the leaves seem slightly more broken up, but they have a distinct nice sweetness. I am using 1 packet (roughly 8g) in my 100 ml gaiwan.

From the leaves after the rinse came a great peach like aroma, I only hope that carries through for the infusions. The aroma of the broth is subtle in nature, but there is a unique peach, spices and herb like aroma coming from it but not a powerful peach like the smell of the wet leaves. There is a slight hint of a roasting present. The broth is interesting, very satisfying but not potent. I will have to steep it longer ( I did roughly 25 seconds on this one). But there is a roasted note, combined with notes of a wide variety of fruits, oranges and peaches to name a few.

Its mouth feel is not bad though, its almost oily, in the way it coats everything.

The Second infusion smells Sweeter, while the taste in this 40 second infusion is much more pronounced, and there is something distinctly citrus like in there. But it is far from the sourness that can be associated with aged oolongs.

at the price of around 50 dollars for 500 grams I knew this would be nothing to write home about, but I have 300 grams in storage for years down the road, and the rest I'll be happy to drink occasionally as a casual drinker.

Perhaps it is the smaller leaf to water ratio, but I feel the blue foil pouch does not last as long as the red foil pouch, though it is still satisfying on the 7th infusion or so it is little more than sweet water.

Chinese Kung Fu Tea Arts Light Roast Tie Guan Yin

I'm hoping this tea turns out to be as good as the last oolong I had from them, the 2001 Aged Tie Guan Yin. The dry leaf smells very fresh, with just a hint of a nutty roasted component, but the leaves look mostly green with just the yellow color you often associate with a lighter roast Tie Guan yin.

If I had to rate this tea off of the smell comming from the leaves after the first infusion, it would be a spectacularly rated tea, while the aroma from the tea broth itself isn't as "wow" it is still good with a fair bit to keep you interested. I smell buttered sweet potatoes, brown sugar, and I believe bamboo. In my mind it is the roasting that brought this tea to life. its buttery but the roasting ads that savory flavor, and probably a hint of sweetness.

If this tea has a fault it is that the taste is somewhat flat, and is far better in the aroma category.

As you can tell from the picture I like my teas on the strong side, and this tea and the aged oolong comes in little packets, and as I only have my small and large gaiwans at my parents house right now, I use one packet for the small gaiwan, so probably 7grams for 60ml.



While I said the taste was a little flat, it does not mean your mouth will not be interested, I'm pondering how to describe this mouth feel which I want to say is either going to be a love it or hate it sort of thing. Its like a light roast attempt at the mouth feel obtained from Wuyi Yancha the what I describe as velvety (soft but coarse), this is coarse but soft would not be the right word to describe the other part of the sensation.

Jing Tea Shops Premium Shui Jin Gui

This is the last pot of wuyi I'm having from my order of Jing Tea shops samples placed a few months ago. I'll probably post pictures at a late date but upon reading on tea tools by a certain Mandarin I finally remembered to grab a large chinese brush I was given a few Christmas's ago. It is now my Tea brush, and I'll now use it on my yixing.

The color of the brew as pictured is quite dark. But yes it exhibits everything I love about wuyi, the slight bitting bitterness, the warming feeling and the characteristic sweetness that comes from a heavier or higher temp roast.

While the second infusion brought on the velvety mouth feel that I've only really ever had from a wuyi, but the flavor is some sort of roasted root vegetable can not quite pin which one, with lots of fall spices.

I know I say fall spices a lot especially when refering to Wuyi teas, so to be clear fall spices include things like nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, pepper... basically things that go into spice cookies and give warm savory flavors.

The brew is a color that comes with a lengthy roasting
While the taste is classic, and awakens the inner soul.
Such a wonder tea brings, especially from Wuyi-shan.
- Adam Yusko

Aged Ti Kuan Yin (Red Foil)

I believe the year on this tea is 2001, and I was told it was a high temperature roast, and it was reroasted every two to three years. While I would not say the leaves look black like a Classic/Traditional/Charcoal roast, they are far from green, more of an olive tending towards the brownish side.

But the dry leaf aroma is actually quite welcoming lots of dried fruits, and a sweeter candied smell I assume coming from the roast. But upon rising the leaves the aroma of the roast becomes much more pronounced.

This tea came from Kung Fu Tea Arts on ebay.

The aroma is most interesting, a combination of the dry leaves and the leaves after the rinse, but all the while smelling very sweet.

The flavor is mild, but delicate, and sweet like a good fruit should be sweet, not like candy bar or sugar sweet. And with longer infusions the color has a hint of a ruby tinge to it, though the leaves now look basically black.

The aroma of the second infusion is much different a bit of a sour almost rubarb note came out, but the flavor is still delicate and tantalizing.

It changes ever so slightly over the next few infusions getting slightly more sour, and slightly less sweet, but still always interesting an never really over powering.

I do want to say that this tea is characteristic of aged tea in that its not giving up all that easily, I think the better parts of it are behind it, but its still got more to give after the 6th or 7th infusion. I did not count but I want to say this tea was the first tea I've had in a long time that lasted this many infusions that was not a puerh.

Jing Tea Shop Fujian Yong Chun Fo Shou

I've put off trying this since I got the package because upon reading the name I was very hesitant. I have had a few Yong Chun Fo Shou's in the past, and they have never been great. They always seemed like they were an attempt at a Green Tie Guan Yin, but it lacked in certain areas, and nothing set them apart in a postive fashion. But as I have been thrilled with just about everything else I have tried from Jing Tea Shop, I'm reserving a bit of optimism for this tea.

The aroma gives a hint as to the taste. And this one is distinctly different than all the Green TGY's I've had so far, while it still has the same buttery sensation. This tea seems to give a hint at an animal fat sort of situation, as in its not just the dairy fat its meat fat also. Weird description but its what I'm picking up on as the key difference.

It opens up and gets much more Floral, and Fruity later on. This one is making me second guess my thoughts on Green Oolongs and definitely Yong Chun Fo Shou.

This tea, an image
of a Buddha's hand at peace,
passing on such bliss.

Kung Fu Asian Art Tie Guan Yin

I had two of these packets thrown in with my first order from them. I talked with the owner as this was completely unlabeled, I could only venture to guess that it was some sort of balled oolong, so I was guessing a TGY. This one came in a Golden Foil individual packets, and I believe he said this was either the 09 Autumn Premium or the regular 09 Autumn, I am unsure which.

The dry leaves smell nice, and they do not look the most picturesque, they look about on par with most green TGY leaves I have seen so far.

The color is pleasing, and the tea overall seems incredibly delicate, which amazes me as usually the green TGY have a flavor that cuts through everything and is dominating, this is a subtle mix of many flavors, but perhaps too subtle?

But its buttery, and slightly fruity, but in a non sweet way.

If you push it (steep it extra long) on an early infusion its still drinkable but the non sweet fruity notes are replaced with strong vegetal notes, such as spinnach, and broccoli.

Jing Tea Shop Qi Lan

I must say I have one more wuyi to try from Jing tea shop, and so far I have been thrilled, I hope this one does not disappoint. But I'm already guessing it will not as the dry leaf aroma is very sweet like caramel with almost a woodsy hint to it also.


The unfurled leaf is the same huge leaf from The Tea Gallery's Hundred year tree. I pressed it in a book and now I have this little memento.

I should note that I'm boiling the water in my Lins Kettle which should probably be assumed for Aged Teas and Oolongs from now on. Possibly greens also. But I did not like what it did to young sheng one bit, it took away just about all life from it.

I know much has been said about harmony but in my wuyi experience, which on the scale of things is somewhat relative, I have a hard time finding Yancha's that are more balanced. I brewed this strong becaue I wanted strength, but at the same time its pleasantly sweet, but just biting enough to not be cast aside.

In later infusions the sweetness and bite merge together into a mollasses like taste, and with its color and way it sticks to your mouth I'd almost think I was drinking mollasses.

Chinese Kung Fu Tea Arts 2009 Da Hong Pao

This is a small store I stumbled upon, and despite my hesitation on some of their older Yancha's possibly from the same source who I believe stored them in the same room they smoked. I was actually talking with him the other day regarding his business. He runs a store through ebay, and if you are in the market for a hand painted Gaiwan he is supposedly going to start carrying them in a partnership with another seller.

But while my conversation with him did not stray far from tea, he seemed very helpful to answer any questions I had about his products, but like any vendor he's trying to make a living so everything must be taken with a grain of salt.

Onto this tea... This tea already shows great promise as its lacking the cigarette smoke aroma and coming off rather sweet and fruity smelling.

The tea itself is very candy and floral smelling, while it tastes like a mixture of brown sugar and butter.


And I am completely sure my new Lins Ceramic Kettle is altering the water I even did a bit of a side by side taste test. And I am really enjoying this oolong, but I do not know if it is the oolong or the altered water, but I'm getting next to no astringency out of this, a bit of a sharpness but no bitter and drying astringency. This second infusion was rather creamy and cooked root vegetables.

All in all I like this tea, but there is little anything spectacular about it other than its sweetness. It is a standard wuyi not quite as complex as others, but perfect if you want to drink a nice smooth and gentle tea, with some flavor.

Jing Tea Shop Traditional Shui Xian

I am not sure which teas I have come to think of fall more when enjoying Puerh or Yancha (Rock Tea, wuyi mountain oolongs).

But this tea I seems to give a good representation of what a Shui Xian should be like when young. Sweet root vegetables with a decent bit of roasting. Something about this reminds of of Sweet Potatoes/ Yams.

I'm going to make this a short post, buy saying when brewed gong fu everything that happened in the head to head, a few posts back, holds except stronger and more pronounced. But a rather enjoyable tea.


Enticing aromas from a simple little tea cup.
How I would desire you to be forever steaming
with seasons progression is reflected in your spirit
--Adam Yusko

2007 Wuyi-star Da Hong Pao Brick

I picked these up to age, hopefully close to the great success of the1997 Shui Xian brick. I should note that from the vendor I picked these up from I have not been entirely happy. If it weren't for the tea of his I tried last night and this tea being nearly air tightly packed in what looks like some sort of factory packageing, I'd almost believe that they had been stored in a place where many people smoked. Otherwise I have to just guess that the roasting was done to a such an extreme on these such that a 2 year wait on this, and more than that on the other tea from him, that for the first couple of infusions the predominate flavor is ash.

This is servering as a note for further aging. The brick is very very hard to break apart, harder than the '97 SX brick. and The cake is thicker even in the thin parts which makes it hard to break off a stick, so you sort of need to chip it from the brick.

But I think this tea has promise, and hopefully the really heavy roast deminishes. It has a rather spicy aroma to it otherwise, with hints of chocolate and malt.

I'm surprized at the durability of this tea in the later infusions already, and while the initial infusions might be very strong, the later ones are of good quality.

I look forward to tasting this again in a year.