I get asked now and then what I’ve bought and where to buy from. Despite some past efforts of transparency and publicly shaming, I haven’t talked as directly about teas I’ve bought. If you read between the lines you can probably get some idea of what I go for. Over the last few years, I’ve slowed down an awful lot, first in terms of sampling and now in terms of buying. A few cakes I’ve bought in the last 8 or 9 months.
(more…)Category: Taiwanese Oolong
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Wang Family Tea Alishan High-Mountain Oolong [Episode 314]
This episode, Denny and I return to an old favorite, a high-mountain Alishan. It’s been a while since we’ve tasted a fresh high-mountain tea making this a really pleasant treat.
This Alishan was kindly provided by Miguel of Wang Family Tea. Thanks Miguel!
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Old Tea: 1967 Baozhong
I picked up this tea from a vendor in Taiwan in 2017. Generally speaking, I lean skeptical of age and even moreso extreme claims of this extent. But I spent considerable time with this vendor and trust them more than most. Call me a chump, but I mainly believe it in this case. Finding tea this old is not common and I wanted to document the experience since I have not encountered many oolongs that I reliably consider this old and doubt I ever will.
About this Tea
This tea was picked in Pinglin which isn’t too far outside of Taipei and was one of the primary growing regions in Taiwan during that period. Like other teas, the processing of Baozhong has changed substantially over the years. I had the opportunity to try a (young) Baozhong produced in an older style when Origin Tea was still in business and it fit firmly into the category of a darker, roasted oolong. Today, the tea is typically processed very green and is usually considered one of the greenest oolongs on the market. (more…)
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1987 Everlasting Teas Aged Baozhong Oolong [Episode 285]
This episode Denny and I drink an old Baozhong grown in Taiwan. The tea is cherry sweet, earthy, and very clean. Thank you to Sammy for providing the tea!
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Everlasting Tea’s Baozhong Oolong [Episode 283]
This episode Denny and I drink an old favorite, Taiwanese Baozhong, from the reliable Everlasting Teas. The tea is rich, green, grassy and full bodied. Thank you to Sammy for providing the tea!
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2015 Chen Bug Bitten Taiwanese Oolong [Episode 280]
This episode we drink another solid oolong from Farmer Chen. This tea is his bug bitten oolong from 2015.
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Farmer Chen’s Primitive Charcoal Light Roast Lishan [Episode 275]
We drink Farmer Chen’s Lightly Roasted Lishan Tea. This one is very similar but also a little bit different from a few generes of Taiwanese oolongs. Thanks to Nug at Dead Leaves Club for the sample.
You can find more of Farmer Chen’s teas at Leafy Green Tea.
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Tea-Side, Vendor Profile & Interview
I had the pleasure of meeting tea vendors and Russian expats Valerii and Jane when I went to Chiang Mai. I had not been planning on any tea meetups on this trip, but Valerii happened to see I was traveling to Chiang Mai on Instagram and we met up for tea. Valerii’s family was very generous and we ended up meeting up a few times during my brief trip, including an outdoor excursion and tea session to the scenic Bua Tong waterfall. After we parted and he sent me home to Seattle with a ton of samples, we agreed to do an interview on the interesting niche he occupies, selling Thai teas. (more…)
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Garrett Pre-Taiwan Travel Diaries [Inbetweenisode 171]
In this episode, we discuss Garrett’s upcoming trip to Taiwan in September. We talk about shopping for tea abroad, what he hopes to buy, and some aspects of traveling there.
After he returns from his trip in late September, we plan to do a recap episode.
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Some Reasons You Should Consider Aging More Oolong & Less Pu’erh
Sometimes when I’m sipping a particularly delicious aged oolong, I’ll glance over at my tea fridge and then to my wine cooler and get some major self doubt. I enjoy drinking pu’erh and happen to own enough that I’ll be aging it for a very long time. But I I also really do enjoy aged oolong… And for partly inexplicable reasons have hardly even a pu’erh cake worth of oolong put away for the long haul. (more…)