Ba Xian Dan Cong

24/03/2011, posted by Cha in tea

What surprised me most about this  tea was not the (excellent) taste, but the fact that I got very different results in my brewing sessions.  First time I used a gaiwan, but second time a (gongfu ) teapot.  I didn’t imagined the difference will be so great, because usually the difference is not that big.  Or perhaps I had a lucky leaf/water ratio for the teapot brewing session.

This tea has a great taste and aftertaste.   I decided it’s best to use quick infusions for this one.  For the first three or four infusions  I poured immediately after I filled the teapot with water.  The tea felt very nice.

The name, Ba Xian , literally means Eight Immortals (based on my online findings).  According to Canton Tea, this tea comes from the Guang Dong Province, Wu Dong mountain.

The reason why  I try to translate  tea names and find about the origin is to be able  to learn more about Chinese naming and classification system.  It helps a bit to know  one or two terms in Chinese when you shop for your teas (especially online). Of course, that does not guarantee anything, but I consider it a plus.  For example, when I will  see a Yunnan Hong Cha Green Tea for sale , I will definitely run away from that shop.

Red Pearls

31/12/2010, posted by Cha in tea

This tea is not a usual red tea. It comes from Taiwan and it’s name was given only in 2007.  I don’t know how you can obtain this tea other than directly mailing Stéphane Erler.

What’s very nice about it is that it actually  has cinnamon notes  and it’s very very sweet. It’s one of the best red teas I had.   The tea is  made from a luanze oolong cultivar and also rolled as a oolong tea (!).  Further more, the tea has been roasted four times after being fully oxidized.  You can read more  tasting notes about this tea here .

I have this tea for a while now, but it is one of those teas that you don’t want to stop and take photos because it is that good.

My only concern is to be able to find more of this tea after I finish my current stock.

Since 2010 almost ended, I want to thank you all who read this blog and I wish you a Happy New Year.

2003 Yiwu Raw Puerh

28/09/2010, posted by Cha in tea

This tea goes in the “I shouldn’t drink this tea alone” category.  The taste was wonderful from the first infusion, when the leaves weren’t even unfolded completely. It had a somehow fruity taste and in effect it was chilling. I can still feel the aftertaste even now after 1 hour since my last cup.  It was one of the teas that go on the back of the mouth by itself.   Stéphane has a better description here ( You can also acquire it on his blog ) . I had only one sample, but I  am considering to save some money so that I can acquire a full cake  .

This post also has two little side stories.

The three photos depicting tea  are from the same infusion.  The main reason why I posted them is to show the effect of cup color on tea color.  You may not believe it immediately, but besides the color, the taste also gets affected. Keep in mind that the cups are made of same material and have the same dimensions. Only the color differs.  The green cup had a somehow ‘fresh’ feeling while the brown one made the tea ‘stronger’ and some (forest-autumn ) notes were distinctive .  Interesting.

The teapot was initially intended to be used for green tea ( gasp) . I have read that many successfully use yixing teapots  to brew green tea (with extra care), but I failed. I was not satisfied, the results did not compare to a gaiwan. Now , this teapot is used for raw puerh.

Luanze Oolong – Gao Shan

13/09/2010, posted by Cha in tea,video

This came in one of the samples Stéphane has sent me when I acquired some teaware from him. I have to say, the teas from him are something else.  Initially I imagined the softness from these oolongs is from the charcoal, but after brewing tea  with plain water  I can say the charcoal isn’t the only reason why the oolongs from him are so soft on the throat and back of the mouth.

I had some notes regarding the taste but I can’t find them . Describing a taste is something I don’t like to do anyway.  I remember I was very surprised.  The first infusion was a little bit strange, but I think it was caused because I didn’t pour correctly.  And I was using a somehow big quantity of leaf so I was sure to use short infusions.  After the first infusion, the tea was very consistent and as I got near the end infusions, I remember the tea changed a bit to something more familiar.  It was a nice experience. The confusion at the first infusion actually added more value to the overall feeling.

Because I video recorded the first infusion (by myself) , I didn’t pour correctly and I got the tea to open right only in the second infusion.  Somebody familiar with oolongs and gong fu will see that in the video. A note on the samples I received: they yield a great number of infusions . After I brewed a lot of infusions in the first round, I had another round several hours later.

This Luanze Oolong – Gao shan is from Shan Lin Shi , Taiwan , and was harvested by hand in 10 April , 2009.  This info was all available on the sample I received.

Luanze is an oolong cultivar from Taiwan, while Gao Shan means High Mountain .  Shan Lin Shi is a high-elevation tea growing region in Zhushan, literally Evergreen Grove Creek ( according to Babelcarp )

Sheng Puerh, 2003

30/08/2010, posted by Cha in tea

I wonder why my best teas have no provenience information.  I know only the age of this cake, and that is not sure either. What is sure however is that this tea is great. More than great.

It was pretty expensive and I have been told it is a ‘family cake’, meaning that a certain family somewhere in China builds these kind of cakes using local tea trees.  Also, the cake was manufactured using traditional methods. I don’t know if that is true.  And I don’t care. I am glad to have this tea.

This tea actually has a fruity smell as soon as you add water over the leaves.  It’s taste is similar to green apple. But turns sweet after several infusions.  However brewed, it remains transparent and feels ‘alive’ .  I don’t know if this is the correct description (alive), but I can’t find any other relevant word to describe that feeling.

In the main picture the tea was brewed using a yixing teapot.  In the main gallery, with a gaiwan (as you can see). Notice the leaves, they look really really nice.

Hung Shui Oolong, Fall 2009

28/07/2010, posted by Cha in tea

This year I started to learn more about Taiwan‘s oolongs. Not in the ‘reading’ way , but in the brewing way. This Hung Shui oolong is a roasted oolong, and goes in the wow category. I am not sure if it was only the tea itself (I also used a charcoal from Taiwan), but the tea was very very soft .

Without even getting to the taste, this tea is awesome. Softness is the keyword. Perhaps the charcoal and the pouring method had their effect too, but I can’t try anymore. I  had only one sample.  I had 10 infusions , but  I only posted six pics,  because I brewed it in two sessions.  It is sweet and has  a strange combination between an oxidized oolong (like oriental beauty) and a tie guan yin.  It definitely reminds you of autumn.

This Hung Shui is manually picked, medium oxidized and slowly roasted over charcoal. The village where it was produced is called Feng Huang, and it is located near the Ding Dong region in Taiwan. Hung Shui literally translates to ‘red water’ according to babelcarp , and it’s a term that denotes medium oxidized oolong , low roasted.  So this tea would be translated as a medium oxidized oolong , low roasted, from Feng Huang.

This tea has a better description  here .