茶笔 Chá Bǐ – The Tea Pen

Category: Today’s Tea

  • Lǜ Sì Shí Pǐn (Lán Huā Xiāng) Fèng Huáng Dān Cóng Chá, 绿色食品(兰花香)凤凰单丛茶, Green Food (Orchid Fragrance) Feng Huang Dancong Tea

    Spring, 2021; Chaozhou, Phoenix Mountain, Guangdong; young leaf, semi-oxidized oolong; 600m-1200m;
    #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá.
    Infusion: 3g in 150ml for 30-35sec.@95deg. C

    Dry Leaf Aroma: pungent, sharp, spiced biscuit/cookie, floral, meaty;
    Wet Leaf Aroma: aromatic, nutmeg/mace, dried orange peel;
    Liquor: bright light brown colour, with a nutty, honey aroma;
    Mouthfeel: thin to moderately viscous, fresh, stimulating, mildly biting, mildly astringent;
    Taste: mace, honey, slightly medicinal, earthy, mineral-like, retronasal orchid, and v. late fruity notes, with a lingering sweet, fresh, and floral bitterness.

    Opinion: Tea reflects what we bring to it, and this tea particularly so. It it’s complex and robust, it gets up in your face and says, Here I am, are you ready? Despite its abrupt complexity it is a really pleasant, contemplative tea worth getting to know.

    *** Tea provided by Jiyunxiang Tea Co.

  • Yǒu Jī Huáng Shān Máo Fēng Lǜ Chá, 有机黄山毛峰綠茶, Organic Huangshan Maofeng Green Tea

    Spring, 2021; var. zhuyezhong; Huangshan, Qimen, Anhui; bud & 1 leaf, fixation→rolling→drying, green tea processing; 600m; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá.
    Infusion: 1.2g in 120ml for 20-30sec.@75-80deg. C

    Dry Leaf Aroma: fresh mown grass, citrus, hints of soft stone fruit;
    Wet Leaf Aroma: vegetal, cooked green peas, cooked corn;
    Liquor: berry pale yellow colour, with s faint edgy aroma;
    Mouthfeel: creamy, viscous, slight stimulation on the tongue, mild sweet finish;
    Taste: soft sweet, mildly tart flavor with floral, & sweet citrus retronasal hints;

    Opinion: An interesting and pleasant drinking tea. The citrus notes are pleasing and refreshing.

  • Transparency and Fluidity of Information in the Tea Supply Chain

    Wow, I’ve been going back through my postings on tea to the the first post. There have been many, since late May last year. It’s been more than a scant year now of postings, and there is a clear evolution in vision and clarity in my posts.

    They have also become longer, but I believe this is for the better. Information is critical for understanding the tea we drink, and still to this day, it is “hard” to get clear, accurate, verifiable, and trustworthy information about the teas we drink. There is a serious disconnect, between farmers, developers, sellers, wholesalers, and end-user customers. This should not be.

    In many industries, customers are demanding transparency throughout the supply chain, why is it so difficult to get the same transparency in the supply of whole leaf, forrest or farm grown teas? It makes me cry at night in my sleep… sometimes.

  • Zhèngshān Xiǎozhǒng Hóng Chá, 正山小种红茶, Lapsang Souchong Black Tea

    #TodaysTea – Spring, 2018; var. xiao zhong (small leaf); #Wuyishan, Nanping, Fujian; bud & 1-2 leaves, pinewood #smoked; 1100-1400m.

    Infusion: 5g in 150ml for 30-50sec.@90-95deg. C

    Dry leaf aroma: smokey, peat, dried orange peel, dried longan;
    Wet leaf aroma: more pronounced smokiness;
    Liquor: bright orange colour, with hints of malt;
    Mouthfeel: medium to thin texture, prickly, astringent, drying, salivating, slight lingering sweet finish;
    Taste: tannic, woody , bitter orange, retronasal hints of smoke, tobacco, and malt;

    Opinion: This is very different to the previous two teas, dark, wet campfire flavors and aromas, without being murky; uncompromising or apologetic, this is definitely an assertive tea.

  • Yǒu Jī Leí Kòu Chái (Lán Huā Xiāng) Fèng Huáng Dān Cóng Chá, 有机雷扣柴(兰花香)凤凰单丛茶, Organic Lei Kou Chai (Orchid Fragrance) Feng Huang Dancong Tea

    Spring, 2021; var. ; Chaozhou, Phoenix Mountain, Guangdong; young leaf, semi-oxidized oolong; 600m-1200m; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá.
    Infusion: 3g in 150ml for 30-35sec.@95deg. C

    Dry Leaf Aroma: dates, cherry, biscuit;
    Wet Leaf Aroma: aromatic, cinnamon, floral, orchid;
    Liquor: dull yellow colour, with fliral honey scent;
    Mouthfeel: creamy, stimulating, a touch of mineralaity in later infusions;
    Taste: peppery, fresh, sweet finish, with honeysuckle and orange retronasal hints;

    Opinion: Lei Kou Chai, or Lightning Struck Tea Tree tea. Apparently lightning struck the tree in the 70’s which changed the taste compared with other Dancongs. This tea has a mild, lingering taste and aroma which is pleasant.

    *** Tea provided by Jiyunxiang Tea Co.,

  • Yǒu Jī Sòng Zhǒng Fèng Huáng Dān Cóng Chá, 有机宋种凤凰单丛茶, Organic Song Zhong Feng Huang Dancong Tea

    Spring, 2021; Chaozhou, Phoenix Mountain, Guangdong; young leaf, semi-oxidized oolong; 600m-1200m;
    #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá.
    Infusion: 3g in 150ml for 30-35sec.@95deg. C

    Dry Leaf Aroma: jam, shortbread biscuits, dark stone fruit;
    Wet Leaf Aroma: aromatic, spicy, floral, bready;
    Liquor: brassy, gold colour with mild, spicy aroma;
    Mouthfeel: creamy viscosity, tongue tingling, lingering sweetness;
    Taste: floral, orchid, old rose, with a wild flower honey finish, and later, lingering, roasted sweet potato aftertaste.

    Opinion: This is a very contemplative tea. Every thing is evenly balanced resulting in a very pleasant drink with a lingering earthy aftertaste.
    *** Tea provided by Jiyunxiang Tea Co.

  • Chǎo Qīng Lǜ Chá, 炒青绿茶, Fried Green Tea

    May/June, 2020; var. Huangshan Da Ye Zhong （黄山大叶种); Qimen, Huangshan, Anhui; buds only, fixation→rolling→drying; 600m;
    #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá.
    Infusion: 4g in 200ml for 10-20 sec.@90-95deg. C

    Dry Leaf Aroma: nutty, bready, connamon;
    Wet Leaf Aroma: vegetal, cooked broad beans, hint of tobacco;
    Liquor: pale green colour, with berry faint fruity/floral aroma;
    Mouthfeel: thick, viscous, creamy, a touch of minerals on the tongue tip, mild astringency, mouthwatering, with a peppery finish;
    Taste: floral, orchid, mildly bready, with a soft sweet finish.

  • Flower Tea for “Real” Men!

    For a long time I have had a dim view of flower scented teas, yet it was a flower scented tea that introduced me to the world of tea, beyond good ol’ Aussie Black Tea: that tea was Jasmine scented green tea as served at our local Chinese Food Restaurant.

    Recently, in response to a request from a beer brewer, I was asked to recommend a tea for a Hopped Tea experiment that they were doing. Can you believe, I’ve been brewing beer since 2008, and whilst I intellectually knew that hops were the flowers of Humulus lupulus, it never once occurred to me to use them to flavour tea.

    With recent trends in America, to market #HopTea as a summertime quencher, it makes sense to explore further the possibilities and interactions of hops and tea both as one to one fusions, in the same vein as Jasmine Green Tea, or Osmanthus Oolong Tea, as well as blends of both #hops and teas, to create new #beverage possibilities.

    Presently, I am trying to answer some thorny questions by blending different teas, and various hops, to reproduce specific and known flavours in beer, but as a #nonalcoholic, carbonated beverage.

    Enjoy the video, this is my first fully targeted blend: #GreenTea, #OolongTea, and #DianhongTea combined with #Ahtanum, #Cascade, and #Mosaic Hops.

    Why am I pouring the tea back in the bottle? To look at that glorious colour in the light!

    #Today’sTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá.

  • Háo Yá A Hóng Chá, 毫芽A红茶, Haoya A Keemun Black Tea;

    Spring, 2020; var. zhuyezhong; Qimen, Huangshan, Anhui; bud & 1 leaf,, congou black tea process; 600m.
    #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá.
    Infusion: 4g in 330ml for 2-5min.@90deg. C

    Dry Leaf Aroma: dried tangerine peel, dried plum, raisins, a hint of malt;
    Wet Leaf Aroma: sharp, aromatic, hint of orchid, and chrysanthemum stems;
    Liquor: brown-red colour with a mild aroma
    Mouthfeel: creamy, moderately viscous, astringent, tannic, with a fresh, lingering and tingling aftertaste;
    Taste: strong, mildly floral, mildly sweet, with an undertone of minerality.

    Opinion: This is a strong robust tea, with a distinct, characteristically, “Black Tea” taste without the strong spicy-floral notes of some other astringency-forward black teas.

    ***This tea was provided by the Anhui Keemun Black Tea Development Co. Jenny Jiang

  • Yě Shēng Lǎo Yīng Chá, 野生老鷹茶, Wild Eagle (Herbal) Tea

    Spring, 2021; Litsea cubeba; Ya’an, Mending Shan, Sichuan; leaves & occasional stems, pan fried; 700m
    #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá.
    Infusion: 2.3g in 115ml for 1-2 min. @90deg. C

    Dry Leaf Aroma: milk chocolate, cotton candy, honey, malt, hint of peach;
    Wet Leaf Aroma: soft green vines, mildly spicy;
    Liquor: golden amber colour with a bready, biscuit-like aroma;
    Mouthfeel: viscous, syrupy, creamy, stimulating, sweet, slight prickly dryness in the back of the throat;
    Taste: pleasant, slightly spicy, herbal, honey-like, with a lingering sweet finish;

    Opinion: Laoying, Eagle/Hawk Tea is a herbal tissane made from the Chinese Mountain Pepper bush, which grows wild, around Ya’an, on Mending Mountain in Sichuan Province. It is frequently served as a digestive after spicy and oily meals, and its medicinal properties assist blood sugar regulation in the case of diabetes and helps to regulate and control lung (such as asthma,) throat, and sinus issues. All in all, it is a very pleasant tasting, and enjoyable, herbal tea.

    ***This tea was provided by 小懒猫(Liu Lin) of Sichuan Tea Farm.