Aged Oolong Sampler Group Buy, Update 10-30-15
A few tips:
Comparing the 05’ from ChaWang and the 09’ from Tea Trekker will show you how smooth a rock oolong can be. The 05’ will be strong and smell offputting, but the taste is nice and awakening. The 09’ will be elegant and smooth.
Green Heart; after washing this one, it’s like a STRONG pu’erh and I suggest seven second steeps. You can try the difference between 30 seconds and 7 for yourself, it’s quite interesting.
The square oolong pu’erh… I believe everyone got two, I forgot. This is my second time playing with them.
Two squares in 90c for a 30 second wash so I could break them apart because the middle leaf is different than the outer. After that I dried different times and find the 10 to 15 second steeps to provide less of a mineral taste and more gentle notes to it. It’s certainly an interesting tea, especially when the leaf opens up.
I’m happy to say that I’m not even half way through these which makes me smile because the session seem to run quite awhile and keep me entertained.
11/29 Couldn’t wait to try the 88’ ginseng because it sounds so unique. Bit of a warning on this one, don’t smell the leaf after it brews… it smells horrendous.
wow. Love the ’86 Lishan. Its got a creamy nose to it, the steeped leaves smell wonderful, and its soft but complex and not too roasted. just checked, and yeah its never been re-roasted, just aged well.
I think 20/25/30..etc second steeps work for me on this one.
I could drink this stuff all day. really delightful
Drank the 2005 Da Hong Pao from Chawangshop. That is one roasty tea. Even twelve steeps in I was tasting charcoal roast. Not one I would buy but it was fairly smooth. I think there was a sweet note behind the charcoal trying to get out.
The 2009 Shui Xian will be 5 times smoother, it’s a real treat to compare the two.
Now that everyone has theirs and everything seems to be settled for this, I have two questions:
1. Going into 16’, I will have three or four group orders to put together. One has already been announced (the 2016 Sheng Olympics) and I am looking for any negative remarks on this group buy. I did change the way that people will buy in so the numbers of grams and pricing won’t change, but I am interested about the shipping method, communication, labeling, time frame, or anything else.
2. Some of the teas that I ordered 200g of I received 205g to 207g so I have few teas that I can get out to another person who didn’t participate. If anyone has a friend who may benefit from this sampler let me know because I may be able to help them try out a few of these.
I was very, very satisfied with the entire experience. I had little experience with this type of tea, so it was doubly valuable. I also really liked the What-Cha buy, even though I wasn’t wild about some of the individual teas.
This is more economical than the normal sample process, due in part to the smaller quantities and the ability to combine shipping from multiple vendors. You’ve also demonstrated an ability to seek out interesting teas. You put a lot of effort into this, and I really appreciate it.
1979 Aged Beauty… reminds me of an aged 90’s sheng.
I ask that you please make it to the third or fourth steep, it becomes a bit more gentle and I find it to be a wonderful tasting liquid.
http://imgur.com/uPzK9tX
90c x 30s, 30s, 30s, 15s, 30s, 15s (playing with the steeps, about to steep it 6 to 8 more times)
So…
I decided to try one of the random teas I put in this being the 2012 Chang Yun Oolong Pu’erh from Dragon Tea House. They claim it’s an oolong so I thought it was a fun addition. After trying it tonight, this is clearly a pressed black tea. While it may be a decent black tea, similar to a dianhong, I apologize. Many have their own opinion about Dragon Tea House and I was just trying to include some fun stuff…
Tried the 2009 Shui Xing from Tea Trekker today. This one had a medium roast profile and a charcoal aftertaste. It wasn’t bad but I won’t be buying any.
New Years with the 1975 Wenshan Baozhong: https://www.instagram.com/p/_-lA1XxYHi/
I have to admit, I’m enjoying this more than the heirloom from Taiwan Sourcing. It’s one broth of a tea :)
However, coming close to my journey, as I have put 3g of each tea away for next year, I must say that the 79’ Aged Beauty blew me away. I did not expect it to have characteristics of a 90’ish sheng. This journey has helped me discover which oolong to look out for in regards to being aged or even to age myself.
Huge shout out to everyone who helped with this, especially the shops who gave suggestions and even some gave free shipping! Did anyone else notice that a few are out of stock now? I’m glad I got them to others to try before that happened, but I/we are the cause for some :p
I’ll probably be doing a private group buy to acquire more aged oolong to not just sample but keep in my stash with a decent amount. If you are interested just shoot me a PM. It won’t happen until I have the 2016 Sheng Olympics finished up, but it’ll probably only be a few people with a small selection.
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