China Fujian Banyan 'Da Hong Pao' Oolong Tea

Your “wet rocks but not mineral” makes me think of the way Turkey Creek smells after a flash flood :)

There you go, making me miss Midwest thunderstorms. I did get to experience a hair-raising one in Florida a few weeks ago.

Every da Hong pao I’ve ever tasted has reminded me of pine cones boiled in bong water. Not in an unpleasant way just weird. Goes nicely with a Szechuan hot pot but otherwise not something I crave

There’s a big difference between Dahongpao that is composed of Beidou and/or Qidan cultivars compared to many that are mixes of ‘brick weed’. Lighter processing can give me that flavor reminiscent of bong water. A lot of times I pick up on cannabis in lighter roasted yancha. Darker roasts of Dahongpao made with Beidou and/or Qidan can produce some surprisingly complex and smooth teas without that funk. Some people may mention the difference between Banyan- and Zhengyan-grown teas; I don’t have enough experience comparing the two since Zhengyan teas are generally prohibitively expensive. Glad you can enjoy the funky ones.

Hah, forgot to write in the note… sipdown 60!

Wow! Masks with nano filters required…so many masks I see here are not worn properly and many are just a scarf around the face. They are trying to open things up here now and we passed by a high school football game in a small town today and it was so so strange to see people gathered. It was nit a big crowd, though, and I expect the people were sitting in “pods”. Sounds like they are taking it seriously where you are.

All the best, and prayers!

Wow. That is harsh. Cases are dropping here so people are getting careless. Trying to get vaccinated in this city is an exercise in absurdity. Stay safe, Martin.

ashmanra: Unfortunately, it’s the case here too. People just wear it as a scarf, as you wrote. It is better with the respirators though now, but still the situation is bad here. And currently, there is no exception for going to another city to pick up technical books in university library. I think I will not obey the rules word-by-word and I will try to explain. And well, I have friends elsewhere than my region. Hard to live in this situation. And what grinds my gears the most… industry is still going on. Testing there won’t be mandatory, because state can’t get enough tests? But almost all small businesses are closed down, you can’t buy new shoes or clothes, because “it’s dangerous”.

White Antlers: Yes, it’s harsh. But probably somehow necessary. I am trying to get over it and think it’s the best. It’s hard, see reply to ashmanra above :( — getting vaccinatation here is hard here as well. If only I could register my grandma!