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OOTD- oolong of the day

Well, in the spirit of SOTD's intense popularity, the not-so-surprising quietness surrounding the similar shu thread, I have decided it appropriate to make this thread as there has been almost no talk of oolong in the cafe.

To kick things off, I got my oolong order in from Houde today and have been drinking for three hours! :eek:

First was the 2008 Winter awarded Dong Ding "Lugu Producers Asstn'" (whatever). Delicious Dong Ding- not as fruity as I've come to expect. A little light on the roast and oxidation, but the mouthfeel is superb and silky. Good stuff.

Now I'm drinking an early 90's Pin-Lin Baozhong. Absolutely fantastic. Caramelized plums, a little Dianhong malty sweetness with none of the tang or sourness associated, and best of all not a single bit of astringency which makes this tea friendly to forgetful steeps. Amazing cup of tea!

Next up I plan to tackle my most looked forward to oolong of every spring, Houde's 09 Nan Tou Dong Ding. At 14.50$ per 4oz, it's one of the most consistent good values out there in the tea world. Hurry up and buy this as it won't last.
 

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Nice thread! I love everything about oolong except the price. :thumbup:
 

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I agree, but there are some bargains to be had out there. For instance Jing Teashop has an excellent everyday (budget) Dancong and Shui Xian. How does 5$ for 100g sound?

http://www.jingteashop.com/cat_everyday_oolong_tea.cfm

These days, I automatically convert the price of everything (cars, salmon, pizza, whatever) into pu'er.

$5/100g roughly corresponds to an $18 bing, and I can think of a dozen good ones off the top of my head at that price point.

You can always get a reasonably priced basic oolong, but the good ones rapidly appproach (or exceed) the $100/lb mark.
 
Buying a car must be a painful experience.

Preferring pu that has been lying around for a while means it's much of a muchness in price for me.
 
Now I'm drinking the 09 Nantou Dong Ding from Houde. Tastes very similar to last years, although for this one it seems the roast is slightly stronger, while also being slightly less oxidized. Rather curious, it keeps the original delicious flavor while adding a slight spiciness. As always it's an excellent value.
 
Beidou No. 1 from TeaSpring. This is a very roasted Wuyi but seems quite different from other roasted yan cha that I have had, very black tea like. Not as aromatic and seems a little less lush in the mid tones. Not bad, however, and it may improve with a little age.
 
Beidou No. 1 from TeaSpring. This is a very roasted Wuyi but seems quite different from other roasted yan cha that I have had, very black tea like. Not as aromatic and seems a little less lush in the mid tones. Not bad, however, and it may improve with a little age.

Beidou was recently recommended to me as being a great value in yancha. I have a sample of some cheap beidou coming to me soonish, I'll update this thread with how I feel about it when I get it. The interesting thing about beidou is that it's usually used in blends trying to replicate Da Hong Pao. In fact some DHP consist entirely of beidou and are being touted as DHP, or at least that's what I've heard. If it wasn't slightly expensive for what it is (then again it's slightly aged) I would get the beidou available from Jing; http://www.jingteashop.com/pd_oolong_bei_dou.cfm

It also looks a little light.
 

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Stjynnkii membörd dummpsjterd
Grade 5 green oolong fron Ten Tea for Mrs. O. It's the least expensive one they sell (~$28/lb.) that is satisfactory. She finds my pu'ers to be too smoky, so I always keep some "chick tea" on hand. It's smooth and floral, and nearly as good as the twice as expensive grade 4.
 
Zen8tea - Alishan oolong 30% roast - First infusion is a little too roasty for my tastes but there are mild floral notes hidden in there. I prefer the later infusions.....number four to be exact where the roasted flavor has almost vanished and it is better integrated. Large leaves make me think this is fall tea. Overall Im on the fence.....I doubt I would order this again even for the reasonable price of 15.00 for 150g.
 
Supreme + Tie Guan Yin from the Rich Barbarian on ebay. This has been a big hit with several people on TeaChat, but I am not so enamored of it: it has always seemed too week. Today I tried brewing it with about a third of the leaf that I have been using and it is much better actually.

It's always amazing in tea brewing when less is more. Seems to happen surprisingly often.

I think of the highest quality green oolongs as having virtually 100% whole or nearly whole leaf sets. These leaves are largely ripped and broken.
 
Floating Leaves Tea's Taiwan Wuyi Baozhong. A wuyi varietal grown in Taiwan was processed like a baozhong instead of a yancha and this is the result (whew, what a mouthfull!) Extremely tasty with plenty of that amazing baozhong mouthfeel. It's a good mix of yancha and baozhong, but more on the baozhong side of things. Cheap and complex, it's hard to beat.
 
Jing's everyday Dancong. Keeping it simple today with a decent and cheap Dancong that's actually fairly easy to brew.
 
Jing's everyday Dancong. Keeping it simple today with a decent and cheap Dancong that's actually fairly easy to brew.
I just ordered some of that and am looking forward to it. I also ordered some of their Ba Xian AAA which I had a sample of a couple months back and I was floored by the high quality, easy to brew and very impressive stuff.
 
I just ordered some of that and am looking forward to it. I also ordered some of their Ba Xian AAA which I had a sample of a couple months back and I was floored by the high quality, easy to brew and very impressive stuff.

It's really simple Milan Dancong with that peach citrus taste and aroma. I like it because it's more about flavor than anything else. I forgot to order some of the 09 when I bought a basket of liu'an from Jing recently. Oh well!

Today I drank three baozhongs in a row. Six infusions each in my new 120ml Dayi gaiwan. All were using five grams, water just off boiling, and infusion times of; 20s, 15s, 25s, 45s, 1:15, 2:00- no rinse. The three baozhongs were from Floating Leaves Tea, and included the Taiwan Wuyi, the Farmer's Choice, and the Honorable Mention 2nd Place. I'm testing them to see which one I would like to buy a large amount of. I'll be doing this at least one more time by myself, then once with my friend James. I'll be covering all of this madness in my blog the next week.
 
It's really simple Milan Dancong with that peach citrus taste and aroma. I like it because it's more about flavor than anything else. I forgot to order some of the 09 when I bought a basket of liu'an from Jing recently. Oh well!

Today I drank three baozhongs in a row. Six infusions each in my new 120ml Dayi gaiwan. All were using five grams, water just off boiling, and infusion times of; 20s, 15s, 25s, 45s, 1:15, 2:00- no rinse. The three baozhongs were from Floating Leaves Tea, and included the Taiwan Wuyi, the Farmer's Choice, and the Honorable Mention 2nd Place. I'm testing them to see which one I would like to buy a large amount of. I'll be doing this at least one more time by myself, then once with my friend James. I'll be covering all of this madness in my blog the next week.

Can't wait for the update!
 
Zen8tea - Wenshan Baozhong

For the price this is quite nice. Subtle...floral and made it through 6 infusions nicely. A pleasure to drink.
 
Mid 70's Baozhong from Teamasters. Nice roasted taste similar to the dark chocolate notes in some well roasted yancha. It has a decently thick mouthfeel, and the huigan is huge. Chaqi makes me feel calm, yet flushed in the face. Decent tea.
 
Nothing as exotic as some of the tea listed on here but had some nice Premium Champagne oolong from Pu-erh Shop. Nice way to start the day!
 
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