Tag: oolong tea

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Red and Honey Bug Bite Oolong from Third Culture Bakery

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Today’s oolongs are from Third Culture Bakery – a brick-and-mortar California shop known for its Mochi Muffins! It is awesome to see a cafe carrying good tea, but also the ability to purchase online. The sourcing of these oolongs is a 3rd generation farm in Luye Valley of Southern Taiwan, which is 20 minutes from the Third Culture Bakery owner’s mother’s house! Red Oolong from Third Culture Bakery At this time, Third Culture Bakery sells their oolong in compostable tea bags. Each bag has 3 grams of leaf, which is awesome for flavorful tea. Most bagged teas contain only 1-2… Continue reading, hoot!

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2023 February Old Ways Tea Club feat. Bei Dou

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Hello to the 2023 February installment of the Old Ways Tea Club, a Wuyi tea box that arrives every 2 months. This month we have 2022 Cousin’s Bei Dou, 2021 Zuhuo Bei Dou, and 2022 Jin Xuan. 2022 Jin Xuan from the 2023 February Old Ways Tea Club I tried last year’s crop and enjoyed how different the oolong was from the usual green and milky Jin Xuan. The leaves smell warm, nutty, and sweet with a hint of plums. For all teas today, I used 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, gongfu style in boiling water.… Continue reading, hoot!

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2022 November White2tea Club feat. Canton Cannon and Autumn Badger Stamp

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For the 2022 November White2tea Club we got an Autumn 2022 Old Arbor sheng mini cake, Badger Stamp. In addition, Canton Cannon, a heavily roasted Tieguanyin. Canton Cannon This tea was absolutely difficult to photograph – the rolled balls are inky black and shiny, and my camera was just so angry at it. Canton Cannon has a deep roasted scent. In a hot gaiwan, the scent is powerfully charcoal. My gongfu ratio is 1 gram per 15ml, using boiling water. A rinse opened up the leaves to almost burnt pastries. A sip of the rinse and I know I’m in… Continue reading, hoot!

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Aged Heritage Wuyi Oolong from Floating Leaves Tea

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Floating Leaves Tea recently came back from Taiwan with a lot of goodies, and one of the first teas I got was their Aged Heritage Wuyi Oolong. Dive deeper into the details, and this tea is from 2011, a Wuyi cultivar, grown in Shi-Ding where Baozhong is grown. It was processed with higher oxidation and roast, similar to a Wuyi tea. Leaf and Steeping Method The leaves smell like an old cupboard filled with roasted nuts. I went with a gongfu ratio of around 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, steeped in boiling water. After a rinse,… Continue reading, hoot!

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2022 Crème de la Crème Dancong Shou Puer from Bitterleaf Tea

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Today’s tea is one I did not hesitate to purchase as the concept sounds amazing! Bitterleaf Tea’s 2022 Crème de la Crème Dancong Shou Puer is a blend of 2022 spring Yashi Xiang (duck shit oolong) and a 2020 Menghai shou puer. Body & Soul, a hong and shou blend, is one of my favorite teas for daily drinking, so I have high hopes for a dancong shou. Leaf and Steeping Method Appearance wise is strange. If I didn’t know what this tea is, I’d guess it is a wild sheng due to the autumn dark leaves. The oolong aroma… Continue reading, hoot!

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2022 December Old Ways Tea Club feat. Fo Shou

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I was very excited to see 2022 December Old Ways Tea Club has multiple Fo Shou teas! For this month – Cousin’s Fo Shou, Friend’s Fo Shou, and 2022 Tongmu Old Tree Charcoal Roast Black. Old Ways Tea read my mind as I’ve been craving the big honking leaves of Fo Shou (aka, Buddha Hand) and I’m always up for more hongcha. Cousin’s Fo Shou For both Fo Shous, I used a 90ml tea vessel, so a very strong 1g to 12ml ratio or so. Cousin’s Fo Shou leaves are fragrant, like a bag of juicy fat raisins. First, Second,… Continue reading, hoot!

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2022 Winter Diva High Mountain Oolong from Floating Leaves Tea

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For the past couple of seasons, I’ve seen Floating Leaves tea come out with the Diva High Mountain. I keep meaning to try it, so I snagged the latest 2022 Winter Diva High Mountain oolong during their anniversary sale. This Qing Xin cultivar oolong was grown at 1500 meters at Smangus village in Northern Taiwan. Diva High Mountain Oolong is a more traditional style, so it is not as green as other high mountain oolongs. Leaf and Steeping Method Opening the package of oolong releases an explosion of scent. The leaves have a heavy floral scent of orchids and butter.… Continue reading, hoot!

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2022 October Old Ways Tea Club feat. Tea Master’s Set

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The theme of 2022 October Old Ways Tea Club is Tea Master’s Set, an educational tasting of teas throughout its development. It seems the 2021 October Old Ways Tea club box was also an educational box. Maocha from 2022 October Old Ways Tea Club This Mao Cha has huge long leaves with plenty of sticks. For me to make a 8g serving, I removed almost 2g of sticks. I didn’t separate the different leaves, but you could for further experimentation. The scent of the tea is strongly fruity stone fruit. The early infusions are sweet and mellow. Even as raw… Continue reading, hoot!

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2022 August Old Ways Tea Club feat. 2022 Taiping Houkui

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It is time for the 2022 August Old Ways Tea Club! Finally, we have the much anticipated fresh Taiping Houkui. In addition, Jin Qian and Bai Rui Xiang White Winter Daphne 2022 Taiping Houkui from the 2022 August Old Ways Tea Club Right away, I dived into the fresh green tea. I always love Taiping Houkui as the leaves are fun, especially the high quality ones as they are massive. The leaves smell like toasted white bread and fresh grass. As much as I use a glass teapot or a thermos, I went with a nice glass and stacked the… Continue reading, hoot!

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2022 June Old Ways Tea Club feat. Mei Zhan, Zuhuo Dahongpao, Shui Xian Tea Cake

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This is a fun month for the 2022 June Old Ways Tea Club – lots of exceptional oolongs, including a tea cake! Also included are more Fuding White Tea Cake minis, which were in the last club’s box. Zuhuo Dahongpao from the 2022 June Old Ways Tea Club I did enjoy the previous Old Ways Tea’s Sister’s Godmother’s tea, Chunzhong Dahongpao, so let’s see how the sister dupe is. First off, the leaves have a deep, sweet, roasted plum bark scent. Gongfu ratio wise, I was nutty and it is a very high leaf, so around 1 gram per 12ml… Continue reading, hoot!