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I wish I know what I did that was so distinctive, but recently I brewed up the best infusion of this tea ever. I did it a little carelessly, in bulk, for my thermos, so can’t be sure of the exact parameters. But it was floral, vegetal, and sweet, so delicately perfect that people were asking for seconds and it didn’t sit in the thermos long enough to lose that fresh-brewed perfection.

Wow.

I have not brewed up this tea for a formal tasting, but it has continued to work beautifully as a bulk-brewed tea for the thermos. After a few hours it does lose some of its charm, but it is still tasty 4 hours after brewing.

Still need to do that gongfu cha….

Tried this last night in my new Chao Zhou teapot from Tea Habitat, and compared it to a porcelain gaiwan. I’d recently tried one of my other Dan Congs in the Chao Zhou, and that particular infusion seemed to lack a lot of the high notes from the tea, so I was a little worried about that. This is a young pot, having been used only perhaps a dozen times since first seasoning, so I suspected it of taking more than giving to the teas.

As it turned out, I could not tell any difference. Both were fruity, sweet, spicy. I will continue to use the pot and work on its seasoning without worries. But I am almost out of the Po Tou, so there will not be very many more infusions to come.

Drinking it again today, right after a particularly nice set of infusions of Dragon well, and having drunk some of the Jin Xuan green tea last night, and it does have a subtly different flavor that is not particularly like those greens, or quite like a green oolong either. Can’t put a name to it yet, though.

Just opened this one, and it is lovely. First impressions are sweet, floral, delicate, with less caramel than an Alishan and yes, less sharpness than a TGY, but these changes bring the sweet and floral notes front and center. Wow.

Using a small porcelain gaiwan, about 2 grams of tea in 60mL with water 195 degrees, about 30-45 seconds per infusion to start.

I bought this tea mistaking it for the ‘commercial’ version of a Honey Orchid Phoenix oolong that I had been enjoying so much, and was brought up short by some harsher notes it expressed on first brewing. I looked again at the label and realized this was the single-bush Dan Cong version, and unsurprisingly it demands a bit more respect.

Tonight I am brewing it in the Chao Zhou pot I bought from Tea Habitat, and it is lovely. It’s flavors are sharper, spicier, and sweetness is more honeyed and distinct. It is like the prior tea brought into sharper focus.

So far I am on about the 9th or 10th infusion, and anticipate plenty more infusions are left in it.

I used about 2 grams of tea in the 60 mL pot, and infusions from 30 seconds at first to 1-2 minutes now, water 195 degrees, give or take 5, and the entirety of this gongfu session has been delightful.

Today’s infusion is so sweet, so floral, so rich and yet so delicate, so gorgeous, so perfect.

Love this brilliant tea.

Drank again this afternoon, a thermos full. So very mellow and nice.

coming back to a dear friend, after romancing a lot of sweet young things…..or rather, somewhat bitter young things…..

So, after having drunk some 2010 white buds* that are basically the same tea, uncompressed, the parallels are so clear, and the tea is so nice, that I am, naturally, falling in love all over again with this tea, as I do every few months. I’m drinking it very dilute, as this is the end of the day and I don’t want to be buzzed all night, which may amplify the similarities with the uncompressed young tea.

A moment of overconfidence and overlong brewing was a clear reminder that this is PUERH, and not to be taken for granted, yet it gave only momentary pause, not oops-dump-and-start-next-infusion-over response. Even when it’s bad it’s good.

*http://www.norbutea.com/2010_Spring_YongDeBaiYa

First try with this new tea today. They look thin and delicate compared to the Ya Bao buds I have used before. They smell of peaches and peach blossom.

2 grams of buds to 2 oz water in a small gaiwan, about 30 seconds first infusion. The tea is as promised by the scent, sweet, floral, fruity—again, notes of peach and sweet stone fruit blossom, but lighter and milder on the camphor than the Ya Bao buds. It’s closer to a silver needle, which happens to be what I was craving this morning, but didn’t have around.

A 2nd infusion, also about 30 seconds, is still very sweet, but with less of the floral and fruity notes.

Trying for a 3rd infusion, but upping the water temperature to 180 degrees, and time to 1 minutes, to see if higher temp can unlock more flavor. It does, and there is a pleasing fruitiness returning, a little tart, but overall I suspect this tea would be better brewed as a single longer infusion, to best get the fruity and floral maximized together.

Trying again, another 2 grams, but this time in a 6 oz teapot with water 170 degrees and for 5 minute infusion: this is what the tea wants, I think. Brighter floral flavors, deeper sweetness and fruitiness, the fruitiness has receded a bit, but the overall impression is better. I do think the leaves are done after this first infusion.

This is a very nice tea.