Latest Ti Kuan Yin find

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There are companies that would not sell you the box empty for that price. Congratulations, if these teas proved OK.

If I recall, I sent you some of Silk Road Teas TGY, perhaps private reserve number 37? Let me know. If that's the case, you have quite a find there, as the 37 is an especially fine tea. Tell me about the finish and aftertaste of the tea you bought. Is it long and complex on the tongue and at the back of the throat?

You can go crazy in Chinese supermarkets and grocers; the tea is packaged in so many interesting designs.

Same here.

Michael

These approximate 200g pyrex jars appeared in my Asian stores about a year ago. One style has the dome lid. The other has the thick pancake lids. Each has three plastic O rings. The Challenger could have used that extra ring. If the tea was any fresher I'd have to slap it. I file back the rings so I can get the lid on/off more easily. Beware you will spill tea the first time. They are the mainstream Chinese and Japanese teas. I'd guess about 20 in all so far. Everytime I go back more appears. Two of my favorites are Dong Ding which is the hard to find mainland version and fluffy green white tip Spring Bud (110g, maybe the one you mentioned). Xue Feng means Snow Peak which is a desired high mountain TGY. My local Asian prices are under $9. I think it is an attempt to provide excellent value at commercial prices. Foojoy is also doing that with their Classics line but more expensive. A Taiwan company called Good Young is doing the same thing. These teas are my everyday Chinese and Japanese staples. You can use the jars for storage. Us insiders call green oolongs, Pouchongs which is a specialty of Taiwan.

Jim

stePH wrote:

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[Jim] [Michael] Jim, as an outsider by nature, I feel free to say that Pouchong (Bao Zhong) is not another name for green Oolong, but rather a special category of even greener Oolong, nearly always created in long twisty form rather than fisted, and of a particular jade color and melon soft taste and aroma. I have seen them produced at a higher roast, but these are to my mind far from true. Unless I have this all wrong.

I agree with everything you say. However I use Pouchong to mean a level of oxidation which is 10-25% for sake of argument or a slightly oxidized green. I have Pouchong which is mainly twisted but some that is half fisted. It is from a region of Taiwan but also from the mainland. As a side note the Taiwan characters for Pouchong don't match the characters for Baozhong. They should match even accounting for Traditional and Simplified differences. What is you meaning of 'green Oolong' if not a level of oxidation?

Jim

Michael Plant wrote:

I love 99 Ranch Market. Cheapest asian produce I've been able to find. Whole frozen ducks for $8, silkie (black/blue) chicken, calamari steak, fish ball, young coconut for $0.50 each...the wonders at that store never cease! They even have a small take-out station with delicious home-style Chinese food AND lots of tea AND stuff to make your own boba at home.

*rave*rave*rave*

Michael, I recall reading somewhere that Pouchong is oxidised by wrapping it in cloth; what effect this has I don't know, except it may slow the oxidation rate, easing the process of picking precisely the right oxidation level.

I agree with your assessment. The best ones all appear to be oxidised in the 10-20% range, are roasted gently or not at all and have wonderfully delicate aromatics.

Dean

I'm up that way tomorrow, I shall have to pick up some. Thanks for the information Steph.

Melinda

Confirmed. I've drank everything you sent but still have the baggies, and it's "Ti Kuan Yin Monkey Picked 37".

The flavor is sweet, and more "floral" than "grassy" or "oceanic". I'll have some more tomorrow, paying special attention to the finish, and let you know. Better yet, I'll bag a couple of spoonfuls and send to you.

stePH "I'll brew another pot of ambiguity"

-- Adrian Belew, King Crimson

DPMRBbGf.2851$Qb.2605@trndny072/7/06 20: snipped-for-privacy@junk.com

Hi Dean,

I believe traditionally it was paper rather than cloth, but who has time for that these days? I don't know the reason for it, your theory being as good as any.

Have you tried any of those 50%ers? I have, but don't think terribly much of them, since they are neither fish nor fowl, lacking the melon flower delicacy of the real thing.

Michael

Space snipped-for-privacy@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com2/7/06

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Good, as long as we're on the same page describing the same thing. Baozhong (Pin Yin) -- I've seen it transliterated as Pouchong as well -- is produced in long twisted leaf. It's traditionally paper wrapped in the processing. The oxidation level is most likely closer to 7%, although I could be wrong here. In answer to your question, to me "green" Oolong is lightly oxidized and not- or *very* lightly roasted Oolong the color of whose dry leaf takes shades of straw yellow through brilliant jade green. Most are fisted. Having said all that, I perceive a distinct taste profile in those teas I'm calling Bao Zhong, that make it readily identifiable. I know, as you said, that they produce this tea in different places, but the Taiwan version is the version for me. I'm particularly fond of Bao Zhong, although finding great ones is far more difficult than finding cloying, heavy handed mediocre ones.

Michael

I need to state obvious definitions because I don't see how you can use them for any real meaning of a tea that might fall through the crack. By definition Oolong means some degree of oxidation. If it isn't oxidized by definition it is green. Full oxidation is called black. I exclude White tea as a special case. The lightest oxidation levels I've seen are the Pouchongs. The heaviest oxidation levels I've seen are DimSum TGY and I guess 80%. I've never seen anything that would fit your definition of green Oolong. I don't think that crack exists. If you do anything to the leaf it will cause brusing and oxidation and require roasting. I buy every Taiwan pouchong I find. You'll see it described also as green jade oolong. The commercial brands from Good Young are now my favorite. That leaf is half fisted. The first time I tasted Taiwan pouchong is still seared in my brain. I can remember other first time tea tastes but it is faint memory. I'm going to scratch out and post the Taiwan characters for Pouchong and see if anyone knows they mean Baozhong or not. It's been a question for me a long time although everyone says the two are transliterations. Everything I get from Taiwan is still sold as a pouchong and never as baozhong.

Jim

Michael Plant wrote:

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We're together so far. Thus, Pouchong is the lowest level of oxidation, and thus still qualifies as an Oolong.

Feel free to disgard my definition. I'm just reporting how I experience them. Most of the Oolongs I get on the greener side, both PRC and Taiwan fit my description -- fisted, brilliant green, some straw yellow or some permutation thereof.

Why would some small degree of oxidation generate a need for roasting? It does seem to make some sense though, especially to stabilize the tea. But, then there is steaming. Who knows? Come forth!

In my case, that would be a *lot* of it.

I think you will find that, while they are close, they are not exactly the same at all.

Sorry to hear about your brain. Did it require surgery?

Faint memory? Was that a result of the brain sear?

That would be very helpful. That way, we'll both get something more definitive.

I think if you look hard enough, you'll find some "Bao Zhong" out there from Taiwan. If you are shopping for it exclusively in grocery stores, then they might be more prone to the Wade-Giles transliteration than to the hipper, more up-to-date, cooler Pin Yin as for example, BabelCarp uses.

Michael

Babelcarp prefers Pinyin, but tries to list Wade-Giles too where it's used a lot. With regard to simplified vs. traditional characters, I try to get the former first because they're much more widely used on the Net, but I try to get the latter too where they differ. But there's so much to do...

/Lew

I don't want to get into the meaning of the word IS. Your definition just made me think there are green teas that are oxidized and oxidized teas that are green. You can blame my seared brain. If somebody said green Oolong to me without clarification I would think of less oxidation in the category percentage of a Taiwan Pouchong. I just bought an aged dark oolong from Taiwan. It is the most oxidized oolong I have from Taiwan. I would guess 60%. The leaves are still green in the pot unlike DimSum TGY which are black at 80%. The first green TGY I bought from my local tea shoppe. The second Xue Feng just recently mentioned. Everything else on the shelf in Chinatown is dark. I still keep looking for the Butterfly brand mentioned by Melinda almost exactly a year ago. No luck.

Jim

Michael Plant wrote:

Michael,

If you mean the Bai Hao (Eastern Beauty) style, then yes I have tried them and like them a lot. They have a floral/honey/spice profile that I find very appealing. This year it seems to be in short supply; I got some in the fall from TheFragrantLeaf and while OK it didn't bowl me over. I just got some more from a new delivery at Upton a week or so ago which is better. Although whole leaf tea, I find that the first infusion is wonderful but subsequent ones lacking in aroma and flavor. Last year's from Teaspring was a revelation - it was the first time I tried it, and theirs had, in addition to the profile above vanilla and fruit components. Reminiscent of a good second flush muscatel Darjeeling, but unique. I fell in love immediately. This year's while OK don't seem as intense or complex.

Or were you referring to something different?

Regards, Dean

DPMiQqGf.36373$DV2.8173@trnddc072/8/06 13: snipped-for-privacy@junk.com

Dean, I believe you are referring to that tea known as Bai Hao (AKA Oriental Beauty, Formosa Oolong). I love that tea, but it is *not* the one I'm referring to. BTW, the BH/OB/FO was originally processed to compete with Darjeeling, you might know, so your reminiscence is on the money.

I'm referring to a tea made from the same leaf and made the same way as Bao Zhong, but oxidized far longer and stronger. It's a different animal altogether.

Michael

Ah, no. I'm not familiar with that style, although from your description it does remind me a version of TGY I received as a gift. It was not rolled, but looked like loose puer and produced a dark, earthy infusion. Not my cup of tea, particularly. I prefer the jade style.

Dean