Hello hello!
Denny here for Episode #2 of TeaDB InBetweenIsodes! Today we have a lovely aged orchid oolong from tea classico.
Enjoy!!
PS. If you liked this video, give it a thumbs up, and shoot me a comment with what you like and how I could improve! Thanks a ton ya’ll
-d
I’ve found that Dancong/Phoenix Oolong can run the gamut from almost nuclear green to dark roasted. I like the darker oxidized/roasted ones. My personal favorite is the Mi Lan AAA from Jing Tea Shop, I’d recommend giving it a try.
Thanks Jake, I’ll make sure to take a look!
-Denny
I have never had a roasted tea from which I can taste anything other than the roast. Maybe it’s the fault of my tastebuds, but do you have any suggestions for buying roasted teas?
Dong ding-esque? Please explain.
Thanks.
Peter,
If your tea tastes overly-roasted, it may be indicative that it may need time to age. Yancha fits this description; for example a high-end Shui-Xian would probably not be “ready” to drink for at least 12-18 months. I am not as familiar with dancong’s but they may also benefit from some age.
Another means of combating a roast-flavor is in brewing method. High-leaf/water ratios and short steep times are typically done with high-fire Yancha teas for this reason. Certain types of clay pots can also round-out a roast flavor profile.
Of course it may just not be the tea for you! I have a couple which are a challenge for me to enjoy for this very reason.
Hey Peter, great Q.
I immediately though Wuyi and asked James and he also agrees, light roasted.
He also mentioned aged oolongs lose that roast and that’s been my experience as well (although you have that aged-taste-blunting thing happening).
Hard to get in the middle of that classic dong-ding taste w/o the roast! But hope these suggestions help 🙂
-Denny
Hi Peter,
Richard and Denny both gave great advice so I’d follow what they stated above!
As Richard pointed out, just giving an oolong an extra year or so to age can let the roast flavor die down quite a bit. There are also cheaper high-fired teas where the roast is used as a way to mask lower-quality base material as well.
A couple inexpensive recommendations. Teas like the Yunnan Sourcing Rou Gui or Tie Luo Han tend to be on the light-fired end of things and you should be able to easily taste both the tea and roast for these. Mid-fired Yancha after a couple years or roasted Dong Dings are other good options.
Cheers!
-James
Very enjoyable to watch. Keep making the vids! I am always amazed by your nose and palate, and how very talented you are at finding the words to match what your senses are experiencing, and to make further comparisons and generalizations to other teas and tea drinkers at the same time. This is a huge talent you have, I keep thinking we’ll be hearing that Sotheby’s scooped you up for their tea and wine divisions.
Haha Cwyn, such nice words, thank you so much! I frankly have no clue where to place “my ability” other than growing up with a diversity of good foods, tastes, and smells and my intuition, as strange of descriptions as it might produce. I truly appreciate the compliments and wish I could live up to them!
I have two more InBetweenIsodes recorded so stay tuned! 🙂
-Denny
I think you should be careful. She’s buttering you up in case you’re a Taiwanese Businessman. A successful one, that is, and confident so as to leak information on the goods you treasure.
I’ll admit to picturing the tux.
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