No, not yet. How do the two compare?
What's in your mug? - October 08
- Thread starter TimmyBoston
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No, not yet. How do the two compare?
'05 Yongpinhao yiwu zhengshan (thanks, Chris 
)
This lightly stone pressed bing is very easy to pry apart, and sports some big, whole leaves (as well as a few twigs). Not much in the way of powdery substance here- it would have all fallen out.
The brew is not what I would call powerful, but clean and correct. I'm not sure if this is simply the nature of yiwu, as every example I've tried so far seems to lean towards the light, elegant, and feminine side. I think it would make a nice daily drink for noncritical sessions. I liked it.
)This lightly stone pressed bing is very easy to pry apart, and sports some big, whole leaves (as well as a few twigs). Not much in the way of powdery substance here- it would have all fallen out.
The brew is not what I would call powerful, but clean and correct. I'm not sure if this is simply the nature of yiwu, as every example I've tried so far seems to lean towards the light, elegant, and feminine side. I think it would make a nice daily drink for noncritical sessions. I liked it.
The wet processed is more Yrgacheffe-like; super crisp and clean. I plan on doing a compare next week after I roast some more of the WP. For now I am enjoying the rustic fruit of the dry-processed coffee.
Right now (as in I write between 2 sips)
I drink an oolong. Anxie Tie Guan Yin, my favorite.
I drink an oolong. Anxie Tie Guan Yin, my favorite.
'05 Yongpinhao yiwu zhengshan (thanks, Chris
This lightly stone pressed bing is very easy to pry apart, and sports some big, whole leaves (as well as a few twigs). Not much in the way of powdery substance here- it would have all fallen out.
The brew is not what I would call powerful, but clean and correct. I'm not sure if this is simply the nature of yiwu, as every example I've tried so far seems to lean towards the light, elegant, and feminine side. I think it would make a nice daily drink for noncritical sessions. I liked it.
Pretty much my view - a good "general purpose" sheng that I think (again based on my very limited experience) is a good baseline for what a quality lighter sheng should taste like. I quite like this tea, and I think its very nice for warmer days or, as Ouch said, "noncritical" sessions. If your preferences run to lighter teas this is worth trying.
The nice thing is that at $22 for a 400 gram cake from YS (about $30 shipped if you were to order a single cake), you get a 3-year-old cake that has been well processed, is beautifully pressed and is obviously of high quality.
For a change of pace, I'm drinking some Taiwan Alishan Oolong from TenRen. This is one of my favourite oolongs for a couple of reasons, (i) its very high quality, (ii) its very lightly fermented and lightly roasted, (iii) I bought this tea just after my daughter was born - I went out for a walk from the hospital and walked by the store it was a quiet weekday and the sales lady took the time to allow me to taste several oolongs (very unusual for them to do this with a round-eye unless you press them) and this was one of the teas I picked.
This is one of the first high-quality oolongs I had ever tried and I was instantly captivated by it - despite the rather steep price (about $40 for 150g - although I bought it when they were having a 3 for 2 sale).
Onto the tea...
Brewed using 1.5 teaspoons of tea in a 100ml gaiwan - first brew was 60 seconds, second was 40 and the increasing brew times for 5 - 10 seconds for a few more.
This is a lighter oolong - very green - there is no bitterness and its got wonderful fruity, floral aromas and nose. Despite the lightness of the tea, it is very rich and satisfying because of the depth of the flavour.
green mountain rainforest nut - Decaf
I love teas like this. Some say it's the theanine at work. A similar thing happened to me yesterday: we came home from a Thai restaurant, it was about 2 p.m. We were full, but not drowsy. After some 2003 Lincang "Gushu Chawang" (the brown-coloured cake from the pair sold by YS), we both became massively sedated, and I woke up 1.5 hours later.
So, I'm looking forwards to trying the FT mushroom! It's been on my shelf for some time without being so much as unwrapped, and this is motivating me.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
- Thread starter
- #49
A steaming mug of Ethiopian Harar from Ristretto Roasters.
Just brewed a cup of Spring Mountain Pekoe from Specialteas.com. I brewed it too long. I'm at work and wasn't paying close attention to the clock. It steeped for about 3-4 minutes. It isn't bad though. It has a honey color to it, and a slightly sweet, kind of nutty flavor, and has some astringancy to it. I plan on giving it another infusion later.
Huge mugs of Ethiopian Sidamo from Ristretto Roasters.
Mondays....
Mondays....
Very ho hum cup of Keemun congou - not bad, but nothing to write home about either.
Breakfast-
Mid range dancong.
~5g, 100ml gaiwan.
4 nice infusions then pffft.
I love the overt, in your face floral components of dancong. A nice treat.
Snacky time-
'08 Menghai 7572, cooked
~6g, 140ml yixing
Like a cuppa joe. Still very young, but decent strength for a shu.
Served with one (okay, two) perfect chocolate chip cookie(s).
Mid range dancong.
~5g, 100ml gaiwan.
4 nice infusions then pffft.
I love the overt, in your face floral components of dancong. A nice treat.
Snacky time-
'08 Menghai 7572, cooked
~6g, 140ml yixing
Like a cuppa joe. Still very young, but decent strength for a shu.
Served with one (okay, two) perfect chocolate chip cookie(s).
The last of my city roasted Ethiopian Sidamo from Sweet Maria's 
At work today - 2006 Changtai 339 shengpu. About 7g in a 120mL gaiwan. Smoky, rich, oily, intense. There is something about this tea I really like, though by traditional standards it is likely defective. As I have said before, the vetiver of the pu'er world.
All day at a conference = ruanzhi wulong in a cup filled with hot water that was decidedly brown.
This morning I had a couple of big mugs of Kenya AA Hiriga, roasted on Friday. No Folgers here; a huge aroma of cardamom and brown sugar, black currant and malt in the taste. Very nice coffee if you like the high-toned Kenya genre.
Some more of the YS 2008 Dehong brick that I've become quite fond of.
A very good work tea - very forgiving and consistent regardless of brew technique.
A very good work tea - very forgiving and consistent regardless of brew technique.
More Spring Blossome Pekoe. Steeped for on 2 minutes this time. Much better. Looking forward to the next infusion.
