The first time I tried this tea, the first steep presented a semi-soapy taste which faded quickly in subsequent steeps. I don’t recall this tea producing that taste consistently each session I tried it, so it may have just been an issue with my water, or a fluke in the leaves. Besides a roasted Taiwan TGY that I tasted last year and disliked, a roasted Mao Xie, and a highly-roasted, aged Dong Ding, I have not tied many roasted ball-style oolongs. I found this one to be enjoyable, though. The roast is not overpowering, but it is close to that line and is very prominent. However, as steeps progress it recedes into something more tolerable. For some reason, I do not have many notes on this tea, which usually means I frequently drank this sample for comfort sipping while doing other tasks. From the notes I have and what I remember, it was a nice daily drink and did especially well in low leaf concentrations and longer steeps.

Thanks, Teavivre.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C

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I’m fanatic about all things tea-related. Lately, I’ve been fascinated with Wuyi yancha, aged Taiwanese oolongs, and sheng pu’ercha. Nearly all of my sessions as of late are performed gong fu, with pu’er tastings comprising probably eighty percent of them. My collection of pu’ercha is small, but growing steadily. Much of the specimens I drink daily are various samples, although I dig into a cake every so often.

I love trying new teas and I am always learning all I can about the world of tea. Hence, I spend a majority of the time I devote to tea either drinking, writing notes in my journal, or reading. But mostly drinking, as I think it should be. Since I have handwritten logs of everything I drink, I cannot usually find the extra time to log my notes here, and unfortunately my online log is underrepresented.

When drinking, I look for a tea that presents a unique experience, something that involves every sense and provides intrigue in every aspect throughout steeps. I search for teas with balanced complexity and something that makes me keep reaching for my cup. I yearn to find all the positives a tea possesses and every subtle nuance hiding among the leaves. I try to be detailed in my notes and deliver a more comprehensive view of the tea, paying attention to things other than simply flavors and qualitative aspects of aroma, such as the form of the liquor and its development in the mouth. Things like this are much easier to compare between teas, as I find them to be more consistent between sessions, and also make distinctions between a good and mediocre tea easier to make.

Teaware
Adagio UtiliTEA electric kettle.
For gong fu, a 100 mL porcelain gaiwan and a 100mL Yixing di cao qing xi shi pot dedicated to mostly young sheng pu’er.
I drink all green teas in small (maybe 450mL) glass tumblers in the traditional style, with off-boiling water.

Location

Fort Myers, Florida

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