Episode 44 begins a two-part series on Life in a Teacup‘s Yancha. This episode Denny and James drink their medium-roast Da Hong Pao.
Episode 44 begins a two-part series on Life in a Teacup‘s Yancha. This episode Denny and James drink their medium-roast Da Hong Pao.
11 responses to “Medium-Roast Da Hong Pao Life in a Teacup Wuyi Oolong [Episode 44]”
I tend not to drink roasted oolongs, as I find that the roast drowns out the other flavours in the tea, viz. all I can taste is the roast. So I am amazed when folks drink roasted teas and describe flavours other than the roast. Having said that, however, a nice light roast can produce a pleasant sweetness.
Hi Peter,
Alot of lower-quality teas will use the roast to drown out the mediocre base material of the actual tea. A nice, well-balanced roast will add to the tea without overpowering the tea’s original character.
If you are interested in some recommendations I’d highly recommend some of the lighter-fired Yancha from Yunnan Sourcing as a good intro to the less-roasty teas (their Tie Luo Han/Rou Gui) in particular. This tea is also a great example of a balanced roast.
Cheers,
-James
I’m curious where you guys got your yixing collection. You used that one in the video, and you can see all the other tea ware in the background. Have you bought them in a local store or a store you visited or did you order any of them online? I’ve been looking to invest in a good yixing but I don’t have a local shop to go to.
Hey Tommy,
Sorry for the slow response! I just saw that your comment got caught in my spam mailbox. I’ve bought them all online and would highly recommend Origin Tea, Jing Tea Shop, and Life in a Teacup. This particular pot was acquired from Life in a Teacup and is still available for $95. It performs well and is the perfect shape for Yancha.
Yixing is very tricky, but there’s some reasonable ebay vendors for ($50-70), zen8tea, Wisdom China. For good stuff ($100-200) I’d go to one of the above.
Cheers!
-James
Thanks for the suggestions, James!
Hi, I enjoy your videos every week, keep up the good work! In addition to white teas you mentioned in this video, I was wondering if you guys will review some dan congs oolongs. I personally find them as very interesting oolongs.
Thanks for the suggestions Barak! We’re definitely looking to include some reviews on some lighter oxidized teas in the near future. Look for a special green tea episode and some white tea episodes soon! As for the Dancongs, I suspect we will at some point (both in episode/article form), but its not a tea genre that either of us drink as frequently as Taiwanese oolongs/yanch/pu’erh.
Cheers,
-James
Love these videos guys, please keep it up! Also, I was wondering if you guys might have a future episode clarifying/reviewing some so-called “milk” oolongs. Even after some research, I’m still quite hazy on whether or not they are artificially flavored and or scented.
Hey Ian, thanks for the kind words and comment! We don’t have an episode covering milk oolongs (Jin Xuan) in the near future but it is a tea that is sometimes artificially flavored/scented and sometimes not.
Jin Xuan (aka Milk Oolong) is a cultivar developed by TRES (Taiwan Tea Research Institute) and generally is grown as a budget, low-elevation tea. The lower-grade Jin Xuan is more likely to be flavored, whereas higher-elevation/higher-grade Jin Xuan will be not flavored or scented. Check out the Jin Xuan section in our article on Taiwanese Tea Cultivars for more info: http://teadb.org/taiwanese-tea-cultivars/ .
Thanks James!
No problem :). Please let us know if you have anymore questions!