So, I decided to move this blog in the direction of *coffee*.
So first *coffee* is a cinnamon flavored *coffee*.
First thing I noticed when trying it is that it's not as roasted as it used to be. This style in particular has been my favorite *coffee* since I first tried it, but it's just different now. It smells kinda like how the more roasted version smelled, but the roast seems to wash away pretty fast when brewed.
Dissapointments aside, it's a good *coffee*. It has a nice creamy texture, with a hint of sweetness. There is a slight spicy flavor to it, but it also seems just as floral as it is spicy. The aftertaste has the typical sweetness with some fruity flavors, but it's also kinda spicy.
*yancha* From Jingteashop. Guess which one.
I might try to start blogging for a little while, but I think I'm going to find ways to make the posts difficult to read.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Revist of a revist of a revist
'07 Dragon Teahouse dahongpao
Old tasting notes.
Ok, I only wrote notes for this tea once, but it feels like I've revisted this tea many times already. It's the only tea I've bought 600 grams of, and drank somewhat regularly for almost 2 years.
The reason I bought so much of it was because I really enjoyed the first 100 grams of it, and the price was right to get 500 grams. I also wanted to age some while having enough to drink while aging. So, it's about a year and a half later, and I have about 50 grams of "aged" tea. I didn't re-roast or anything, just let the "fire taste" mellow.
From the smell of the leaves in the tin, the roasted/charcoal smell is gone. The brewed tea has a slight bitterness, but has enough sweetness to cover the bitterness. It has a fairly thick and oily mouthfeel. The charcoal flavor is gone, and only a toasty flavor is left. It has a strong fruit flavor (the same one I need a new descriptor for). Maybe plum and peach would be slightly better than "fruit." The aftertaste is very similar to milan dancong in flavor and strength.
I have held onto other yancha for a while thinking it would age, but it usually just went stale. So, I'm a bit surprised how this one came out. It actually aged so that the roast mellowed, and the flavor of the leaf came out.
Although, it's hard to say if I enjoyed it more a year ago, or now.
Old tasting notes.
Ok, I only wrote notes for this tea once, but it feels like I've revisted this tea many times already. It's the only tea I've bought 600 grams of, and drank somewhat regularly for almost 2 years.
The reason I bought so much of it was because I really enjoyed the first 100 grams of it, and the price was right to get 500 grams. I also wanted to age some while having enough to drink while aging. So, it's about a year and a half later, and I have about 50 grams of "aged" tea. I didn't re-roast or anything, just let the "fire taste" mellow.
From the smell of the leaves in the tin, the roasted/charcoal smell is gone. The brewed tea has a slight bitterness, but has enough sweetness to cover the bitterness. It has a fairly thick and oily mouthfeel. The charcoal flavor is gone, and only a toasty flavor is left. It has a strong fruit flavor (the same one I need a new descriptor for). Maybe plum and peach would be slightly better than "fruit." The aftertaste is very similar to milan dancong in flavor and strength.
I have held onto other yancha for a while thinking it would age, but it usually just went stale. So, I'm a bit surprised how this one came out. It actually aged so that the roast mellowed, and the flavor of the leaf came out.
Although, it's hard to say if I enjoyed it more a year ago, or now.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Revisits
Golden Buddha (JinFo) from Red Blossom.
The dry leaves have a chocolatey aroma.
First infusion: At first, it seemed to be dominated by charcoal, but then opened up. It has an acidic touch, and finishes with a fairly strong sweet aftertaste.
Second infusion: Charcoal mellowed, and it sweetened up a bit. Slightly creamy, and a bit fruity (I really need a new descriptor for that taste). Still leaves a strong aftertaste.
Third infusion: Even less charcoal. Other than that, it's about the same as the last.
Fourth infusion: A bit lighter.
I first started writing these notes thinking it would be the first I've written for this tea. While searching old notes to try to figure out how old this tea is, I found notes for this tea. Old tasting notes I found it interesting comparing the notes. My brewing has definitely improved since then, but I don't know if the differences were from better brewing, or aging. The aftertaste was particularly strong this time, but the old notes say it had a light aftertaste. I also didn't notice the "tgy like roast" this time.
In conclusion, I'm ordering more of this tea today.
'93 Sheng
Old notes
Dry leaves still smell a bit spicy, but not nearly like the spice cabinet it used to smell like. It also smells like it has seen a little wet storage. After the rinse, it smells more malty.
First infusion: I wish I had a camera for this one, the color of the liquor is almost exactly the same color as the table it's on. Dark mahogany. Very smooth, bit a bit light in flavor. Malt, and beets (I recently tasted beets for the first time lately, and it's amazingly like aged puerh).
Second infusion: a bit darker and stronger. Spicier, and still a bit malty.
Third infusion: Still getting smoother and maltier. Although, it's not as spicy.
I think I'll stop here.
It's not a bad tea, but it's not really my cup of tea. If you like shu, you might love this tea.
The dry leaves have a chocolatey aroma.
First infusion: At first, it seemed to be dominated by charcoal, but then opened up. It has an acidic touch, and finishes with a fairly strong sweet aftertaste.
Second infusion: Charcoal mellowed, and it sweetened up a bit. Slightly creamy, and a bit fruity (I really need a new descriptor for that taste). Still leaves a strong aftertaste.
Third infusion: Even less charcoal. Other than that, it's about the same as the last.
Fourth infusion: A bit lighter.
I first started writing these notes thinking it would be the first I've written for this tea. While searching old notes to try to figure out how old this tea is, I found notes for this tea. Old tasting notes I found it interesting comparing the notes. My brewing has definitely improved since then, but I don't know if the differences were from better brewing, or aging. The aftertaste was particularly strong this time, but the old notes say it had a light aftertaste. I also didn't notice the "tgy like roast" this time.
In conclusion, I'm ordering more of this tea today.
'93 Sheng
Old notes
Dry leaves still smell a bit spicy, but not nearly like the spice cabinet it used to smell like. It also smells like it has seen a little wet storage. After the rinse, it smells more malty.
First infusion: I wish I had a camera for this one, the color of the liquor is almost exactly the same color as the table it's on. Dark mahogany. Very smooth, bit a bit light in flavor. Malt, and beets (I recently tasted beets for the first time lately, and it's amazingly like aged puerh).
Second infusion: a bit darker and stronger. Spicier, and still a bit malty.
Third infusion: Still getting smoother and maltier. Although, it's not as spicy.
I think I'll stop here.
It's not a bad tea, but it's not really my cup of tea. If you like shu, you might love this tea.
Monday, December 22, 2008
I might post today
I just decided to try writing tasting notes (one again), and ended up stumbling across a lot of old posts that would be very helpful in the future. So, I'm going to try to post them, however rough they might be.
5/22/08
'06 Haiwan laotongzhi
I was curious how my puerh is aging, so I decided to try this one. It was a favorite last year
~1/4 leaves, rinse, 30s, 15s, forgot, forgot, and forgot (I didn't list)
The aroma of the leaves hasn't really changed. Still packs a good amount of campfire smoke, a slight citrus aroma, and a bit of a "green" aroma. Still smells pretty good.
First infusion: Medium mouthfeel. Citrus shows up first, and slowly fades to cigarette smoke. Menthol cigarettes? It has a strong menthol, cooling effect on the tongue. Finishes with a good amount of astringency, no meaningful aftertaste.
Second infusion: Bitter! I obviously lost my tolerance of sheng bitterness. Kinda like green/cirtus flavor, that becomes a menthol/smoky flavor.
Third infusion: I still have hopes that this will age well. I imagine the current menthol flavors will become camphor, and the smoke will make a more "masculine" tasting old pu. I just don't want to drink it again until it's well aged. :/
On the opposite side of the fennce: laotongzhi shu. I recently found that I still have some of this left from Salsero's second best teahouse. It was one of the first few shus I've tried that I actually liked
3 small chunks in a 100ml pot. long rinse, 30s, forgot, forgot, and forgot.
Dry leaf: I finally found the rubber! Everyone talked about it smelling like rubber, but I never noticed it until now.
Wet leaf: very malty, and only a bit of rubber.
First infusion: The liquor is fairly light for a shu. I can just barely see the bottom of the cup. Very smooth, but rubber covers the more pleasant maltiness.
Second infusion: A lot darker, but still light enough to have dark ruby edges. Tastes about the same as the first.
5/22/08
'06 Haiwan laotongzhi
I was curious how my puerh is aging, so I decided to try this one. It was a favorite last year
~1/4 leaves, rinse, 30s, 15s, forgot, forgot, and forgot (I didn't list)
The aroma of the leaves hasn't really changed. Still packs a good amount of campfire smoke, a slight citrus aroma, and a bit of a "green" aroma. Still smells pretty good.
First infusion: Medium mouthfeel. Citrus shows up first, and slowly fades to cigarette smoke. Menthol cigarettes? It has a strong menthol, cooling effect on the tongue. Finishes with a good amount of astringency, no meaningful aftertaste.
Second infusion: Bitter! I obviously lost my tolerance of sheng bitterness. Kinda like green/cirtus flavor, that becomes a menthol/smoky flavor.
Third infusion: I still have hopes that this will age well. I imagine the current menthol flavors will become camphor, and the smoke will make a more "masculine" tasting old pu. I just don't want to drink it again until it's well aged. :/
On the opposite side of the fennce: laotongzhi shu. I recently found that I still have some of this left from Salsero's second best teahouse. It was one of the first few shus I've tried that I actually liked
3 small chunks in a 100ml pot. long rinse, 30s, forgot, forgot, and forgot.
Dry leaf: I finally found the rubber! Everyone talked about it smelling like rubber, but I never noticed it until now.
Wet leaf: very malty, and only a bit of rubber.
First infusion: The liquor is fairly light for a shu. I can just barely see the bottom of the cup. Very smooth, but rubber covers the more pleasant maltiness.
Second infusion: A lot darker, but still light enough to have dark ruby edges. Tastes about the same as the first.
'05 Jinzhen "South of Cloud" shu
6/8/07
I guess it's time to start writing tasting notes now that I got my order from puerhshop today.
South of Cloud http://www.puerhshop.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_6&products_id=59
5 grams of loose tea found in the wrapper in a 35cl mug. I brewed it loose in the mug.
The smell of the tea wasn't as sweet as other shus. The smell is more outdoorsy. Woody, dirt, possibly forest floor?
'04 Nanjian tuocha
4g in 8 cl pot. Rinse, 15s, 15s, 15s,
Dry leaf aroma: smoke, hay, vegetal.
Wet leaf aroma: smoke, hay, wood, vegetal. Doesn't seem like an additional year made any difference.
1: Maybe another year did make a difference. The '05 isn't very harsh, but this one is noticeably mellower than the '05. In terms of flavor, grape seems to be upfront. The smell of smoke from the leaves didn't make it into this infusion. It's mostly woody, vegetal, and slightly fruity (grape and berry).
2: Basically a stronger, harsher, cloudier version of the first. I'm assuming this has been stored in very dry conditions as it is very drying.
3: It's starting to show that it's entering the transitional period. [adolescent pu?]
I guess it's time to start writing tasting notes now that I got my order from puerhshop today.
South of Cloud http://www.puerhshop.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_6&products_id=59
5 grams of loose tea found in the wrapper in a 35cl mug. I brewed it loose in the mug.
The smell of the tea wasn't as sweet as other shus. The smell is more outdoorsy. Woody, dirt, possibly forest floor?
'04 Nanjian tuocha
4g in 8 cl pot. Rinse, 15s, 15s, 15s,
Dry leaf aroma: smoke, hay, vegetal.
Wet leaf aroma: smoke, hay, wood, vegetal. Doesn't seem like an additional year made any difference.
1: Maybe another year did make a difference. The '05 isn't very harsh, but this one is noticeably mellower than the '05. In terms of flavor, grape seems to be upfront. The smell of smoke from the leaves didn't make it into this infusion. It's mostly woody, vegetal, and slightly fruity (grape and berry).
2: Basically a stronger, harsher, cloudier version of the first. I'm assuming this has been stored in very dry conditions as it is very drying.
3: It's starting to show that it's entering the transitional period. [adolescent pu?]
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Aquarium charcoal (and other water tests)
My latest tea experiments have all been about the water used to brew tea. Some things I've discovered aren't exactly new, but they are things I never thought about before.
I started experimenting with my water after learning that I have to treat water so that I could brew different beers. Tea and hops seem to act the same, so I'm basically replacing "hops" with "tea" when reading the homebrew books. Calcium sulfate (gypsum) emphasizes a cleaner 'tea' flavor. Calcium chloride emphasizes bitterness. What really got me started was learning about bicarbonates. I still don't understand it completely, but it sounds like they combine with calcium to form scale. They raise the ph of the water, and contribute a harsh bitterness in 'tea'. To get rid of it, the water needs to be boiled so it will precipitate out as calcium carbonate. If you heat water for green tea by stopping it at the right temperature, the bicarbonates might not come out. So maybe boiling to "open up the water" is just getting rid of any bicarbonates that might be in the water.
So, I started boiling water for every tea, and went back to tossing water back and forth in pitchers to cool it for green tea. The next experiment was water hardness. We all know that dark teas like hard water, and greener teas like soft water. I finally have the ability to find out my water hardness and to change it. Using aquarium test strips to find the hardness, the brita water I've been using has a general hardness of 30ppm and almost no carbonate hardness. 30ppm is very soft, so I started adding gypsum to brita water to raise it to 70-150ppm. It made a huge difference in the brewed tea. It came out more flavorful and mellow.
Sometime later, I decided I wanted to avoid the expensive brita filter, and just dechlorinate using activated carbon. As long as the chlorine is removed, the tap water here is actually pretty good. I ran out of bamboo charcoal a long time ago, but I have some high quality aquarium charcoal (pro-carb) that I got around the time I posted the bamboo charcoal experiment. I got a few 1 gallon jugs, and let tap water sit in it a few days with the carbon. It takes about two days, but it does remove any chlorine smell. After a while, I noticed something weird. Green tea started coming out unusually dark. Since water hardness is usually the cause of that, I stopped adding gypsum. Although, that didn't solve the problem. Green tea still came out unusually dark.
So, here's my results of water with aquarium charcoal vs. bamboo charcoal. Aquarium charcoal removed chlorine in about two days (bamboo charcoal removed about the same). Bamboo charcoal seemed to sweeten the water a bit, so it's likely that it added some hardness. When I finally tested the water with aquarium charcoal, it hardened it significantly. Tap water originally has 60ppm general hardness (40ppm carbonate), but with the addition of charcoal alone, it raised to 180ppm! Dark teas could handle that, but green tea can't. So, unless you only brew dark teas, I don't think aquarium charcoal is the way to go.
I ordered some bamboo charcoal last week, and I'll test it once I get it to see how much hardness it adds in comparison.
I started experimenting with my water after learning that I have to treat water so that I could brew different beers. Tea and hops seem to act the same, so I'm basically replacing "hops" with "tea" when reading the homebrew books. Calcium sulfate (gypsum) emphasizes a cleaner 'tea' flavor. Calcium chloride emphasizes bitterness. What really got me started was learning about bicarbonates. I still don't understand it completely, but it sounds like they combine with calcium to form scale. They raise the ph of the water, and contribute a harsh bitterness in 'tea'. To get rid of it, the water needs to be boiled so it will precipitate out as calcium carbonate. If you heat water for green tea by stopping it at the right temperature, the bicarbonates might not come out. So maybe boiling to "open up the water" is just getting rid of any bicarbonates that might be in the water.
So, I started boiling water for every tea, and went back to tossing water back and forth in pitchers to cool it for green tea. The next experiment was water hardness. We all know that dark teas like hard water, and greener teas like soft water. I finally have the ability to find out my water hardness and to change it. Using aquarium test strips to find the hardness, the brita water I've been using has a general hardness of 30ppm and almost no carbonate hardness. 30ppm is very soft, so I started adding gypsum to brita water to raise it to 70-150ppm. It made a huge difference in the brewed tea. It came out more flavorful and mellow.
Sometime later, I decided I wanted to avoid the expensive brita filter, and just dechlorinate using activated carbon. As long as the chlorine is removed, the tap water here is actually pretty good. I ran out of bamboo charcoal a long time ago, but I have some high quality aquarium charcoal (pro-carb) that I got around the time I posted the bamboo charcoal experiment. I got a few 1 gallon jugs, and let tap water sit in it a few days with the carbon. It takes about two days, but it does remove any chlorine smell. After a while, I noticed something weird. Green tea started coming out unusually dark. Since water hardness is usually the cause of that, I stopped adding gypsum. Although, that didn't solve the problem. Green tea still came out unusually dark.
So, here's my results of water with aquarium charcoal vs. bamboo charcoal. Aquarium charcoal removed chlorine in about two days (bamboo charcoal removed about the same). Bamboo charcoal seemed to sweeten the water a bit, so it's likely that it added some hardness. When I finally tested the water with aquarium charcoal, it hardened it significantly. Tap water originally has 60ppm general hardness (40ppm carbonate), but with the addition of charcoal alone, it raised to 180ppm! Dark teas could handle that, but green tea can't. So, unless you only brew dark teas, I don't think aquarium charcoal is the way to go.
I ordered some bamboo charcoal last week, and I'll test it once I get it to see how much hardness it adds in comparison.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
A comparison
More samples thanks to Bhale.
These are two yanchas from Houde, both with very different price tags. The point of the comparison is to see how the cheap tea compares to the one at about twice the price.
'05 Shuixian
Dry leaf aroma: Strong roast and chocolate.
First infusion: Very smooth with a decent mouthfeel, yet feels a bit "airy." Mostly just sweet charcoal and chocolate flavors. Not much of an aftertaste.
Second infusion: Still thick yet light. Charcoal is fading fast, mostly a creamy chocolate flavor.
Third infusion: mellower than the second infusion.
Not the most interesting, but good. Smooth sweet and roasted.
'05 Dahongpao
Dry leaf aroma: immediately after adding the leaves, it had a fleating sweet "green" aroma. Some charcoal and dark chocolate. The dark chocolate smell reminds me of dark beer.
First infusion: clear copper/amber liquor. Smooth sweet, roasted and...
something I can't describe too well. It's not ripe fruit which I usually notice in yancha. It's a softer flavor. Like honey and mandarin oranges. Dark chocolate comes out near the bottom of the cup. A light lingering sweetness is left.
Second infusion: mellower roasted chocolate flavors. I was expecting it to mellow fast because it's mostly broken up leaves, but I didn't expect it to in the second infusion. It's a bit like the shuixian, but there is still a light lingering aftertaste.
Third infusion: Mostly smooth dark chocolate.
The leaves used were a bit broken up, so it didn't really make it past the third infusion.
Compared to the shuixian, it was more complex and interesting. Although, I don't think it's worth the price.
These are two yanchas from Houde, both with very different price tags. The point of the comparison is to see how the cheap tea compares to the one at about twice the price.
'05 Shuixian
Dry leaf aroma: Strong roast and chocolate.
First infusion: Very smooth with a decent mouthfeel, yet feels a bit "airy." Mostly just sweet charcoal and chocolate flavors. Not much of an aftertaste.
Second infusion: Still thick yet light. Charcoal is fading fast, mostly a creamy chocolate flavor.
Third infusion: mellower than the second infusion.
Not the most interesting, but good. Smooth sweet and roasted.
'05 Dahongpao
Dry leaf aroma: immediately after adding the leaves, it had a fleating sweet "green" aroma. Some charcoal and dark chocolate. The dark chocolate smell reminds me of dark beer.
First infusion: clear copper/amber liquor. Smooth sweet, roasted and...
something I can't describe too well. It's not ripe fruit which I usually notice in yancha. It's a softer flavor. Like honey and mandarin oranges. Dark chocolate comes out near the bottom of the cup. A light lingering sweetness is left.
Second infusion: mellower roasted chocolate flavors. I was expecting it to mellow fast because it's mostly broken up leaves, but I didn't expect it to in the second infusion. It's a bit like the shuixian, but there is still a light lingering aftertaste.
Third infusion: Mostly smooth dark chocolate.
The leaves used were a bit broken up, so it didn't really make it past the third infusion.
Compared to the shuixian, it was more complex and interesting. Although, I don't think it's worth the price.
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