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Top-level
 Yesterday, a #friend of mine visited us. We didn't meet for a few years, and what could I do besides serve him several good teas to taste?😃 So in one teapot I had Tie Guanyin Xiang Hua #oolong, and Lao Dan Tsung Mi Lan Xiang oolong in another. Also, I've discovered a more visually aesthetic way to photo teas. 38 comments
Lao Dan Tsung Mi Lan Xiang #oolong once again has confident but still delicate aroma of the burnt tree. It's very different from the previous oolong I mentioned. But it is still that charming. The Xiao Zhong #tea. For me, it tasted like the default black (or red) tea. It was similar to the Ceylon tea I am quite familiar with. The only difference I felt was the prolonged aftertaste. I see it as a good basis for every tea collection. A little story about the saucer that I use. It’s a product of the Imperial #Porcelain Factory of Saint Petersburg. The factory is old, 279 years in 2023. During the soviet times, the name was Leningrad Porcelain Factory. Back then, my grandparents bought these dishes, so they are more than 30 years old!😃 The “ЛФЗ” on the bottom refers to the “Ленинградский фарфоровый завод”. I admire how vibrant are the colors, nothing besides the letters tells about the age. These days, I’ve tried two different shu puerhs: “Golden Buds” Jin Ya shu #puerh and Xiaguan shu puerh. I feel like I am yet to understand the big shu puerhs’ idea.😁 Recently, when talking about the #Xiaozhong #tea, we first identified it incorrectly as the Zhengshan Xiaozhong. No, these two are quite unfamiliar.😅 I didn’t expect that much from Zhengshan Xiaozhong after the previously mentioned, but it turned out to be fascinating. It was the first tea I decided to put in my collection, just feeling its aroma on the first, “technical” flush. Highly recommend it! On later brews, I became even worried that I had a sample with chemical enhancement, but the tea I tasted continued to shine. I brewed it so many times that one could think it was a white #tea, but the soft sweet aroma was still in place. The Da Jin Zhen “Big Golden Needles” black (red) #tea. It has an elegant but insistent and not shrill aroma. Added it to my collection of the desired teas. Da Yi shu #puehr tea. I can’t say that my not very big understanding of shu puehrs has changed, but at least this one had a little more gentle taste than the previous ones. However, Lapsang Souchong is still cool, and having it in a personal collection would give you a source of interesting experience. Let me quote the description of the Liu Bao #tea: > An ancient variety of Hei Cha from the province of Guangxi, which arose long before Shu #puerh. Liu Bao's technology is listed in China's intangible cultural heritage. The aroma of tea is specific, combining shades of mushrooms, wet wood, nut shells, fermented milk products and beets. The red Dian Hong Mao Feng #tea. In my opinion, it tasted like a slightly milder version of Zhen Shan Xiao Zhong. It might be interesting to have in one’s collection as it has some visual attractiveness. #GABA Amethyst #tea. Heavily roasted GABA tea differs from its siblings and strongly reminds me of Da Hong Pao. It has some GABA-specific aroma, but not enough to compete with its roast. And if it was the case, I would surely add it to my collection. It would then be the “brutality” tea. Another interesting characteristic is that leaves do not unwrap on brewing. Hei Jin Black Gold red #tea. Being a member of Xiao Zhong family, its aroma strongly reminds of Zhen Shan Xiao Zhong. However, its visual glance looks interesting and pleasing, so it’s a good alternative for the fashionable tea lover.🙂 Unfortunately, the photo doesn’t reflect the glance fully. The Tai Ping Hou Kui “Peaceful Monkey Leader” #tea (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiping_houkui). It’s a famous tea, and its fame is a deserved one. The taste and aroma are very gentle however vivid and present, not elusive. Dian Hong Mao Feng red #tea. I remember this one being a good member of the Dian Hong family. Also, I came up with an idea to photo tea closely.🙂 Tan Yang Gong Fu red #tea. It’s a good one from the Xiao Zhong family. I recommend this one. The Li Shan #oolong tea. Almost indestructible in terms of the number of brews. It has a creamy and floral aroma. The creamy aroma is more straightforward than the one Alishan Jin Xuan has, but it’s still very delicate. I recommend this one. White #tea from old Mengku mother trees. White tea from 200-year-old trees from Mengku village, harvested in autumn 2022. It’s straightforwardly sweet at the very beginning, dried-fruit later and delicate with sweet aftertaste then. It’s different from its 500+ years old predecessor, and I recommend both if you have a chance someday. After some time, the #tea path continues. This time it might be not that long as I’ve purchased 10 samples, not 30. The teas are from Taiwan and Japan. The first one tasted is the Taiwanese #oolong, Tang Bei Dong Ding. It has the strong roasted aroma with the oolongish aftertaste. I didn’t add it to my collection, as these days I have absolutely no wish to drink roasted (Da Hong Pao-like) teas.🙃 The Bi Lo Chun green #tea. It’s not from the samples I purchased, but from the collection. I like its fresh taste and recommend it to tea lovers. The Kukicha Japanese green #tea. It has a stable aroma and taste lasting multiple brews. I can’t say that I was amazed by the qualities mentioned, but it is a good tea with an interesting look, which is the result of mixing leaves with young twigs. Unfortunately, the whole-plate view picture occurred to be a low-quality one, so it’s only close look now. The Da Yu Lin #Taiwanese #oolong #tea. Either yesterday my tongue was too sensitive, or this oolong has some kind of “explosive” taste, slightly pricking the tongue at the time of drinking and then.😃 The aroma is strong and energetic, full of flowers. It was an interesting experience! The Gyokuro “jade dew” #Japanese green #tea. There is a thing about green teas that almost no tea is green once brewed. It’s usually yellow. On the other hand, there is yellow tea, which was once the drink of the emperor and one's circle. As you see, I don’t have a clear picture of tea coloring and naming.🙂 Nevertheless, Gyokuro’s drink color is indeed green. I don’t remember its taste clearly, but it was good enough to purchase more. The Shan Ling Xi #Taiwanese #oolong #tea. After drinking this one, I decided that drinking oolongs so often is not the path that I want to go. This kind of tea is highly nuanced, so I feel like I need some time to rest and miss it before taking the next one. The Genmai Cha #Japanese green #tea. Well.😅 Usually the whole point of drinking teas like a boss is to take what’s derived from Camellia sinensis and feel the rich taste without any extra aromatization. However, this doesn’t work for Japanese teas as far as I can see. Here is the #greenTea mixed with… roasted rice. Altogether brewed, it feels like a popcorn.🤪 For me, it’s a tea attraction, something like Lapsang Souchong. |
Gregory's Server
Tie Guanyin Xiang Hua #oolong has the confident aroma of a lilac tree. I served it ten times today for the same brew, and it was still in its full presence.