Don't laugh: green tea from Costco.
What's in your mug? - October 08
- Thread starter TimmyBoston
- Start date
This morning, the Menghai "Peacock of Menghai"; this afternoon, a Dianhong ("Hongyawang" - red leaf king) in my office.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Kenya AA Hiriga, roasted 12 hours ago, brewed in a Yama vacuum pot. Heaven in a cup. Intense cardamom aroma, super-citrus in the taste. Definitely a brew to wake you up.
2002 CNNP Bing Dao of Menku
This is one of the oldest shengs that I've had and its quite different from the young/er ones I've been drinking.
Brewed using filtered water and a 100ml gaiwan about 1/4 full of leaves.
The cake has lost the bright green colour that most young shengs have and is a dull green with some hints of olive/khaki. The compression is medium and the brewed leaves are about 1.5 by 0.5 of an inch with a fair number of broken leaves.
I've used too many leaves and had to take some out - the first brew was quite nice, but the subsequent brew was incredibly bitter.
Once I sorted out the leaf volume, here are my observations for brews 1 - 5
The tea brews up to a nice light copper colour, which is what I understand is about right for a tea of this age..
Gone are the high notes and sweetness I associate with a young sheng - replaced with some musty, but light, tobacco and leathery notes.
Overally, my impression of this tea is very "meh" - the tea is reasonably well balanced, has some nice flavour, but seems a touch bland- except that the tea is quite bitter. Its not bad, but it's not doing anything for me - I'll reserve final judgment until I've had a few more sessions (especially since I've got the leaf/water ratio wrong). The tea also seems to have a fair bit of caffeine as well.
As an aside, I'm really enjoying using my new gaiwan, which I purchased for the princely sum of $4.50 at a local Asian homeware shop. The sales person actually asked me if I was going to use it to drink tea - I guess that most round-eyes buy them for condiments or other uses.
The first couple of uses were disastrous - scalded fingers, spilled tea, etc. - after some practice, I've become much more comfortable with it - and will likely order a larger one.
There are two primary methods you'll see are what I call the three finger and five finger methods.
The three finger method involves just using the thumb and first two fingers of your hand - you take the top of the rim of the cup between the thumb and second finger and place the index finger on the lid to hold it in place (the saucer stays put). This is the most common method I've seen, but I find that its easy to scald your thumb and finger.
The five finger method involves taking your fingers and making the vulcan greeting sign (a "v" with two fingers on each side) and sliding your hand under the saucer with the part of the saucer that touches the table nestled snugly between your third and fourth fingers . Your thumb then goes onto the raised part of the lid to both hold it in place and hold the cup on the saucer (using just enough pressure to keep it all together - but it takes surprising less pressure than you think). You then lift up the entire cup/saucer/lid and pour. I like this one better than the three finger version as its less likely to result in burned fingers.
Here's a video:
http://anotherteablog.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-to-hold-gaiwan-like-pro.html
Its also worth checking out the videos on using a gaiwan to get a sense of how much tea you use - with pu'erh, most greens and many oolongs, the wet leaves take up between 1/3 and 2/3 of the gaiwan.
If folks think its worthwhile, I'll post some videos/other helpful links to using gaiwans.
This is one of the oldest shengs that I've had and its quite different from the young/er ones I've been drinking.
Brewed using filtered water and a 100ml gaiwan about 1/4 full of leaves.
The cake has lost the bright green colour that most young shengs have and is a dull green with some hints of olive/khaki. The compression is medium and the brewed leaves are about 1.5 by 0.5 of an inch with a fair number of broken leaves.
I've used too many leaves and had to take some out - the first brew was quite nice, but the subsequent brew was incredibly bitter.
Once I sorted out the leaf volume, here are my observations for brews 1 - 5
The tea brews up to a nice light copper colour, which is what I understand is about right for a tea of this age..
Gone are the high notes and sweetness I associate with a young sheng - replaced with some musty, but light, tobacco and leathery notes.
Overally, my impression of this tea is very "meh" - the tea is reasonably well balanced, has some nice flavour, but seems a touch bland- except that the tea is quite bitter. Its not bad, but it's not doing anything for me - I'll reserve final judgment until I've had a few more sessions (especially since I've got the leaf/water ratio wrong). The tea also seems to have a fair bit of caffeine as well.
As an aside, I'm really enjoying using my new gaiwan, which I purchased for the princely sum of $4.50 at a local Asian homeware shop. The sales person actually asked me if I was going to use it to drink tea - I guess that most round-eyes buy them for condiments or other uses.
The first couple of uses were disastrous - scalded fingers, spilled tea, etc. - after some practice, I've become much more comfortable with it - and will likely order a larger one.
There are two primary methods you'll see are what I call the three finger and five finger methods.
The three finger method involves just using the thumb and first two fingers of your hand - you take the top of the rim of the cup between the thumb and second finger and place the index finger on the lid to hold it in place (the saucer stays put). This is the most common method I've seen, but I find that its easy to scald your thumb and finger.
The five finger method involves taking your fingers and making the vulcan greeting sign (a "v" with two fingers on each side) and sliding your hand under the saucer with the part of the saucer that touches the table nestled snugly between your third and fourth fingers . Your thumb then goes onto the raised part of the lid to both hold it in place and hold the cup on the saucer (using just enough pressure to keep it all together - but it takes surprising less pressure than you think). You then lift up the entire cup/saucer/lid and pour. I like this one better than the three finger version as its less likely to result in burned fingers.
Here's a video:
http://anotherteablog.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-to-hold-gaiwan-like-pro.html
Its also worth checking out the videos on using a gaiwan to get a sense of how much tea you use - with pu'erh, most greens and many oolongs, the wet leaves take up between 1/3 and 2/3 of the gaiwan.
If folks think its worthwhile, I'll post some videos/other helpful links to using gaiwans.
There was some interest in another thread about this tea. Jay (Ouch) thought it was BS marketing, but Hobbesoxon thought that with the tea being from the Yiwu Zhengshan company, it had a chance.
Bottom line - this is a tea worth owning.
You can see this product here.
The brick was easy to pry apart, and I was surprised at the quality of the leaves. Here are some on my scale:
. They are nice and hairy, and large to boot. No mulch here. The soup is deep yellow. No funny business with the leaves to make them orange and more wulong-ish.
This is a texture tea; thick, oily, chewy. There is a lot of cha qi. After a couple of cups, I was flushed and a thobbing at the top of my head started. Nothing unpleasant, mind you, but there is a lot of energy in this tea. The taste isn't as complex as many other teas. It is low-toned and a bit fruity. It gets your lips buzzing and there is nice astringency without being overpoweringly bitter.
The huigan is huge. The sweet taste of your saliva lingers for many minutes. Overall, I think this tea is a reasonable value for what you get. It would serve as a good introductory tea for a newbie in that you can get to experience some of the more odd effects of pu'er at a low cost point, and it is quite an enjoyable tea.
Jay - knowing your tastes, I have a feeling you would like this. Drop me a PM and I'll send you a chunk.
Bottom line - this is a tea worth owning.
You can see this product here.
The brick was easy to pry apart, and I was surprised at the quality of the leaves. Here are some on my scale:
This is a texture tea; thick, oily, chewy. There is a lot of cha qi. After a couple of cups, I was flushed and a thobbing at the top of my head started. Nothing unpleasant, mind you, but there is a lot of energy in this tea. The taste isn't as complex as many other teas. It is low-toned and a bit fruity. It gets your lips buzzing and there is nice astringency without being overpoweringly bitter.
The huigan is huge. The sweet taste of your saliva lingers for many minutes. Overall, I think this tea is a reasonable value for what you get. It would serve as a good introductory tea for a newbie in that you can get to experience some of the more odd effects of pu'er at a low cost point, and it is quite an enjoyable tea.
Jay - knowing your tastes, I have a feeling you would like this. Drop me a PM and I'll send you a chunk.
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Scotto, thanks for the notes! I'm glad it turned out to be decent, and will attempt to find some soon. The non-Douji label makes for a low price 
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Cool. I like Bulang a lot- I seem to favor the stronger flavors.
Today I had a XZH dragon & phoenix, and it showed much better than usual. It's amazing how much the brewing parameters effect changes in results. This time I hit it right on the head, for a change.
Dessert was an '07 Nanjian shu tuo. Not bad, and very cheap at $3.
Today I had a XZH dragon & phoenix, and it showed much better than usual. It's amazing how much the brewing parameters effect changes in results. This time I hit it right on the head, for a change.
Dessert was an '07 Nanjian shu tuo. Not bad, and very cheap at $3.
This evening; Assam Sewpur, second flush from the Sewpur estate garden in Assam, India.
Gevalia Traditional Roast. It is my everyday coffee. It almost never disappoints me.
Tim
Tim
Duncan Donuts house blend I think. The pot is a Bunn Automatic Drip unit and we have a Bunn automatic grinder full of whole beans.
Went to see a band last night, night got a little heavy so its a bit of 12 Gentleman chun ya shen yun to clear my head.
5.30 a.m., Sunday morning: a 2008 maocha from a single old-tree, selected by Nada. More energetic than me at this time of day...
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Cup of Columbian Supremo fresh ground and brewed in a French Press. Nice start to a rainy Sunday morning in Wisconsin.
2002 Hailanghao, the first Mr. Hailang ever pressed. Fun, if simple.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Drinking an Ethopian coffee from the Yirgacheffe region. It is fair trade coffee sold by the Oromia Cooperative Union. Quite a tasty cup. Roasted to a light city.
Well, it has been man versus mushroom this afternoon. After a long morning apple picking with the family (Yum), I sat down to tackle this beast. Good luck prying a piece off; it has the density of a white dwarf star.
I eventually managed to get a 7g chunk into my Yixing pot. The liquor is dark amber, very suspicious for a 2008 tea.. The aroma is a dead ringer for Harris sandalwood aftershave; camphor, mint, etc. The taste is deep, deep tobacco. There is also ferocious bitterness if you aren't careful. When brewed just right, though, it is a very good cup. This would be great with a cigar after a winter's meal.
Verdict - quite good, and the first Xiaguan product I have actually enjoyed. This is quite different from some of their other teas, and whatever tweaking they have done to the leaves actually works.
____________
Edit: forgot to mention the other property of this tea. While many pu'ers get you energized with caffeine, qi, whatever, this tea almost put me to sleep. It induces a funny, cloudy feeling in the brain. Not unpleasant, but different. The effects of pu'er on the body are always fascinating, and something you don't get from other teas.
I eventually managed to get a 7g chunk into my Yixing pot. The liquor is dark amber, very suspicious for a 2008 tea.. The aroma is a dead ringer for Harris sandalwood aftershave; camphor, mint, etc. The taste is deep, deep tobacco. There is also ferocious bitterness if you aren't careful. When brewed just right, though, it is a very good cup. This would be great with a cigar after a winter's meal.
Verdict - quite good, and the first Xiaguan product I have actually enjoyed. This is quite different from some of their other teas, and whatever tweaking they have done to the leaves actually works.
____________
Edit: forgot to mention the other property of this tea. While many pu'ers get you energized with caffeine, qi, whatever, this tea almost put me to sleep. It induces a funny, cloudy feeling in the brain. Not unpleasant, but different. The effects of pu'er on the body are always fascinating, and something you don't get from other teas.
Coffee: Miel Noir (black honey) from Greece.
Tea: Darjeeling, Rohini, first flush.
Tea: Darjeeling, Rohini, first flush.
Ethiopian Dry Process Koratie from Sweet Maria's.
Imperial Keemun from Teavana.
Imperial Keemun from Teavana.
The DP Korate was my morning coffee. Great stuff. Do you have the WP version also?
