Li Shan

29/05/2011, posted by Cha in tea

Jumping on another mountain,  I tried the Li Shan (Pear Mountain).

It is said  that Li Shan is similar in style with Ali Shan. That may be true, in terms of shape and rolling, but I find them very different in terms of taste, after taste  ( and maybe effect). I have noticed from start, even before brewing, that leaves are smaller.  I got my pouring right again, but I have decided to step the first infusion (no wash)  a little bit longer. I was wrong. You can notice that in the pics the first one has a somehow more accentuated color.  The ‘green’ part of the tea made itself clear in this first  infusion, which was still very nice.

Next infusions were really surprising.  Taste didn’t dropped until infusion eight or so. The aftertaste was really incredible, and overall, I felt it as a nice tea.  There are certainly some resemblances with the Ali Shan I have tried, but again, it’s different.  This one is much more ‘green’, and I guess the fact that Li Shan tea plantations grow between 1700 and 2600 meters plays its role.

I received this sample from Canton Tea, as well as some other oolong samples (Like the previous Ali Shan). I started the oolong learning process now. I hope to be able to cover at least 1 oolong tea per week.  It is going to take a while until I will finish with them all, but I hope I will gain  a new  kind of understanding  after I will finish.

Ali Shan

27/05/2011, posted by Cha in tea

Many of you know about Ali Shan already. It is a oolong from the Ali Shan mountain in Taiwan, grown on high altitude. This one is from Canton Tea. I find it excellent. Oolong tea of this caliber has a very distinct shiny appearance that is difficult to catch on photos. I find it difficult to catch the infusion color (especially with my camera).

On another note, I’m starting to have most of my  oolong pourings right.   After some practice, I am finally confident that I gained the necessary skills to go further with my oolong (very long) sampling. As I told you, this year I want to learn more about oolong. More in term of brewing , taste and nature. I recently added a curiosity to my list of oolong samples: A japanese oolong.

I believe I have around 40 oolong types from different areas and years waiting inline.  The only problem is to find as many beautiful days so I can fully enjoy them.

I am also experimenting a lot with tea setups, but that is also difficult to catch on camera.

Jicuzan

22/05/2011, posted by Cha in teaware

Recently I have traveled to Barcelona, and there,  following a hint i got on twitter (thank you Brandon)  I went to check Caj Chai teahouse.

I noticed they have a great selection of good teas and that they really know how to brew them.  If you find yourself in Barcelona, do go there.  If you don’t enjoy Japanese or Chinese tea, you can try a  Chai there, which I bet it is very nice for those who love it.

After I was served with a very nice gyokuro, I have purchased this teapot, called Jicuzan. I really enjoy the shape, color and feel of this teapot. I plan to use it to brew gyokuro and perhaps some other Japanese greens.  I find Japanese greens  to have an unique cooling effect, which I especially enjoy during hot summers.

2003 CNNP Yi Wu High Mountain Wild Arbor

14/05/2011, posted by Cha in tea

It has been a while since my last blog post. Life kept me busy, but I never stopped drinking tea. In fact,  almost every morning starts with a tea session.

This is a tea sample I got from one of my readers, which probably has it from Yunnan Sourcing. As soon as I saw the tea i knew I will like it.  I really enjoy Yi Wu sheng  teas . In my case, they  produce a particular sensation when brewed with care.

I have found that I  almost never remember the taste of the teas I enjoy, but I do remember the sensations.  I brew and choose teas according to what  sensation or effect I require.   I never brew special teas to guests because I want to maximize that effect, and I never brew a tea that I haven’t tried to guests. This is because I don’t want to make a tea look bad because of my inability.  This is the same reason for keeping some samples until my brewing ability reaches a certain point.

Now back to this puerh. I have found that I prefer to help the cake loosen, especially if it is loose pressed.  That is why the leaves in the pic look like they are not pressed.  After that, I don’t pour directly on the leaves and i rinse it once. The tea releases much faster than I do it this way.