James & Denny continue their 4-episode series on Origin Tea. In episode 35, they review a Da Yu Ling 104K, from one of the highest-elevation farms in all of Taiwan. This is an extremely premium offering and like the Fu Shou Shan, this tea is minimally processed in a nuclear-green style. In this episode they also use a very unique (and powerful) method of brewing gaoshan (covered in more depth here).
8 responses to “Da Yu Ling 104K Origin Tea Taiwanese High-Mountain Oolong [Episode 35]”
So, considering how much you guys like Tony & Origin Tea, is it safe to say that his shop is the “go-to” place for Taiwanese oolongs?
Thanks.
Hey Peter, I wouldn’t hesitate to say that it is one of my one or two goto spots. Floating Leaves is local to us, so I definitely do stop in there every now and then. Denny hasn’t sampled as much from Origin as I have, so I don’t want to speak for him.
It should also be mentioned that Origin does other types of tea (raw pu/yancha/liubao) as well.
Cheers,
-James
Just want to say that I think you guys are running an excellent blog and web series here. I stumbled on TeaDB when looking to buy some high quality Taiwanese oolongs, and it looks like you guys have found some great vendors. I’ve ordered samples from a few already, and I think Origin is next on my list.
I’ve noticed from video to video that you’ve mixed up the leaf-to-water ratio anywhere from 3-12 g. Some of the vendors you’ve mentioned do not include recommended brewing instructions on their website. From experience I’ve enjoyed mixing up the leaf-to-water ratio, but what would you say should be the “standard” quantity for a first tasting of say a high mountain oolong vs baozhong vs pu-erh?
Thanks for the kind words Connor, Origin is really a great vendor and I’d definitely recommend Tony and his tea. Good question and I suspect Denny and I would both give different answers. Here’s about what I use:
Most Taiwanese Oolongs (high-mountain, Dong-Ding): 6-7g/100ml gaiwan. Oriental Beauty and Baozhong I use slightly less leaf.
Raw Pu’erh: ~7g/100ml pot/gaiwan. I actually use a lower leaf to water ratio for ripe pu’erh (5.5-6g), mainly because it tends to be a more casual brew for me.
Wuyi Oolongs: 9-10g/100ml pot/gaiwan.
In the end it is totally your preference, and there is not necessarily a right or wrong way to doing it. Hope that this helps!
Cheers,
-James
Thanks James. This is certainly more than I’m used to (about 1 gram/oz), which is probably a good thing because it will challenge the way I think that certain teas should taste.
Keep up the good work – I’m interested to see what you guys come up with.
Best,
Connor
Hi Connor,
Especially pay attention to the body and the depth of flavor when you raise the leaf to water ratio. Now to me, less leaf produces thin tasting tea.
Cheers,
-James
Hi, would you guys be willing to try this brewing method for teas from other places and comparing? I think that might be an interesting exercise.
Hi the_e,
Totally agree. Denny and I have been discussing some different ideas for episodes and brewing experiments are definitely high on our list. On that note, look for an episode all about gaiwans in a month or so.
Cheers,
-James