茶笔 Chá Bǐ – The Tea Pen

Tag: #TodaysTea

  • Lù Ān Guā Piàn Dā Chá, 六安瓜片大茶, Melon Seed Big (leaf) Tea

    C. sinensis var. lao cong; Baoer Shan, Anhui Province, 660～880m; Early Summer, May, 2021, mature single leaf, shade wilted, wok roasted, basket baked;

    #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá, #Tea, #茶, #Chá.

    The dry leaves appear to be thin, twisted, and thyme green to black in colour, and has an aroma that is malty, with caramel, honey biscuit, sweet, and toasted chestnut notes. The wet leaves open up to reveal “pumpkin/melon seed shaped leaves with a bright yellowish-green colour, and have a duck egg, hempish? resinous, subtly sharp, and woody spice scent.

    2-3g (2 tsp) of dry leaves were infused in 180ml of water for 15-30sec. @75-85deg. C. The brewed tea liquor is a pale, bright, crystal clear, yellow colour with a vague barely discernible aroma. In the mouth it is crisp, stimulating, creamy, and viscous, with fresh and sweet finish, the taste is mildly biscuity, with milky, honey & malt biscuit notes.

    My instant reaction to this tea was, “Oh! That is so nice.” It has a delightful, long lingering, pleasant, & satisfying aftertaste (huígān, 回甘).

  • Shēng Tài Chá Lǜ Chá, 生态茶绿茶, Ecological Tea Green Tea

    Spring, Mingqing, 2020; var: Ya’an Lao Chuan Tea; Mending Shan, Sichuan; one bud & 1-2 leaves, semi-manual green tea process; 1000m; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá, #Tea, #茶, #Chá.

    The dry single buds have sage green and mottled appearance with a spiced egg biscuit aroma. The wet leaves appear to be plump and pale green in colour with a spicy and peppery aroma.

    3g of dry buds where steeped in 150ml of water for 10-30sec@90deg. C.

    The brewed tea liquor is a pale yellow-green colour with a buttery, bready, mildly cinnamon spiced aroma. In the mouth it is moderately viscous, creamy, smooth, stimulating, and mouthwatering, with a metallic, sweet finish. The taste is bready, malty, light, peppery, mildly astringent, and had a sweet, lingering lemon-citrus aftertaste.

  • Méndǐng Huáng Yá Chá, 蒙顶黄芽茶, Mending Yellow Bud Tea

    C. sinensis var. Sichuan Xiao Ye Zhong, small leaf; Ya’an Mountain area, Mending Shan, Sichuan, 1000m; Spring Equinox, 2020, single bud, hand roasted by Tea Master Lìu Wànchèng, yellow paper wrapped, yellow tea process. #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá, #Tea, #茶, #Chá.

    The dry leaves a single buds around 1.5cm long with brown, yellow, green, and silver tints, and have a herbal, nutty, and unscented white rice aroma. The wet leaves are uniformly yellowy-green in colour, have a fat and spongy texture, along with a vegetal, cooked peas aroma which fades to a mild sweetness when cool.

    3.3g of dry leaf was steeped in 120ml od water for 20-30sec.@80-90deg. C. The brewed tea liquor is a pale yellow colour with almost no scent; In the mouth the tea is viscous, and syrupy, with a malty or honey-like, lingering sweet finish which tapers to a mild astringency, while the taste is vaguely like the dry leaf aroma, malty, with elusive nutty rice notes, and retronasal touches of honeysuckle, lemon, and orchid.

  • Fú Dǐng Bái Chá, 福鼎白茶, Fuding White Tea, Bai Mudan (White Peony)

    C. sinensis var. dabai; Spring, 2017; Tea Master Wu Zhijian, Puding Pan Xi, Dayang Shan, Fuding, Fujian. 700m; hand plucked, bud and 2 leaves, White Peony Grade 2, white tea process. #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá#Tea, #茶, #Chá.

    Light and dark green leaves with silver grey furry buds, significant amounts of brown leaf, what a carob, candy cane, black cherry aroma. The wet leaves display olive green and brown colors, and have a vegetal, candy sweet, honey aroma.

    3g of dry leaf was steeped in 150ml of water for 20sec@80-85deg. The brewed tea liquor is golden yellow, sparkling color, with a chestnu,t and broken peach pit aroma. In the mouth it has a luscious creamy texture, mildly stimulating and fresh on the tongue, lingering sweetness with lasting retronasal carob hints and refreshing finish on the palate followed by late onset of fish bones in the back of the throat. Flash steep for 10 sec@90-95deg. C more pronounced minerality in the lingering, mouthwatering finish.
    Longer infusions give an initial slightly sour impression that mellows into tartnesss and gradually dicipates, giving way to a sharp minerality.

  • Jīn Zhēn Diān Hóng Chá, 金针滇红茶, Yunnan Golden Needle Black Tea

    C. sinensis var. yunnan big leaf; Fengqing County, Yunnan Province, 1600-1800m; Spring 2018, buds only, Yunnan black tea process. #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá, #Tea, #茶, #Chá.

    The dry leaves are black and gold, thin, twisted buds with a malty, tropical fruits, passionfruit, dried mango, liquorice, creme caramel aroma. The wet leaves re uniformly brown, plump and have a cocoa, hot chocolate, malted milk aroma.

    3g of dry leaves were steeped in 150ml of water for 10-30sec.@95-100deg. C followed by a 10sec. pour. The brewed tea liquor is a deep orange/red colour with a nutty, shortbread biscuit scent. in the mouth it has a moderate viscosity, creamy, mouth-coating, and lingering sweetness, with a mildly stimulating, mouthwatering finish. It has a mildly sweet, fruity back palette, with a pale malt, and pleasant, soft, nutty aftertaste.

  • Mid-Autumn Festival Wishes

    Happy Mid Autumn Festival, 中秋节快乐, Zhōng Qiū Jíe Kuài Lè. I wish you happy times with, family, friends, good food, and good drink.

    Thank you for considering my Tea Musings over this past year.

    When you look into you cup of tea, the moon is always full. 😁

  • Lǎo Bái (Chá Bīng), 老白(茶饼), Old White (Tea Cake)

    C. sinensis var. Dabai; high mountain tea, Fuding City, Fujian Province; Spring, 2017, bud & 1-2 leaves, shoumei, aged, 100g pressed tea cake; . #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá, #Tea, #茶, #Chá.

    brown to black pressed dry leaves with a hint of faded sage green and silvery buds. The smell mildly aromatic with vague hints of cinnamon, and a suggestion of mint. The wet leaves retain their dry coloured have a rich, dank aroma, along with hints of dried raisins, and prunes.

    3-4g of dried leaves were broken off the tea cake and infused in 150ml of water for 25-30sec@95deg. C. The brewed tea liquor is a pale brassy colour, with aromatic hints of sultanas, currants, and lychee. In the mouth it is creamy, moderately thick, milky, smooth, mildly spicy and stimulating with a mildly malty sweet, spicy, cinnamon, & nutmeg, slightly nutty taste, with an underlying, lingering minerality, and fresh finish.

    I’ve drunk this tea before and found it most enjoyable. Afterwards I took one cake and broke it up into a ceramic tea caddy and let it age, air, gas off in the caddy. The prune-like character of the wet leaves was even stronger and sweetly richer. The first steep was longer to basically to open the leaves, Whilst I drank it, I didn’t focus on it. With subsequent infusions I had the opportunity to relax and enjoy the tea for what it is.

  • Mò Lì Huā Lóng Zhū Bái Chá, 茉莉花龙珠白茶, Jasmine Flower Dragon Pearl White Tea

    C. sinensis var.da bai hao, & Jasminum polyanthum; Fuding County, Ningde City, & Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, >750m; Spring 2021, bud and two leaves, ball rolled, baimudan white tea, infused o/n 6-9 times with late Summer harvest Jasmine flowers; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá, #Tea, #茶, #Chá.

    Dry leaf: dark green and silver balls (pearls) of dry leaf with intently aromatic and floral aroma;
    Wet leaf: uniformly green which smell intensely aromatic, and floral, with an undertone of sweet stone fruit;
    Infusion: 3g of dry leaf (approx. 25 pearls) in 150ml of water for 20-30sec. @85-85deg. C
    Liquor: pale yellow with a noticeable floral scent;
    Mouthfeel: creamy, moderately thick, stimulating, lingering, light bitterness on the tip of the tongue;
    Taste: florist shop green, and peppery, strongly floral, and slightly soapy, ;

    This tea is intensely floral from the infusion with Jasmine blossoms. Even using 5 balls of dry leaf in a gaiwan, I find the tea to be aggressively and intensely florally dominant so much so that the base tea flavour is lost. Back in Australia, as a teenager I discovered “Jasmine” Green Tea at our local Chinese Restaurant. I was so enamoured of it that is was the first thing I’d order whenever we went there. It was the cheap stuff, and was never as intensely floral as this tea. Now, is that intensity a bad thing? I honestly don’t know. It is certainly fair to say, that as a concept, this tea? I just don’t get it… and the aroma gives me a headache. Seriously, it makes my sinuses throb.

  • Zá Jiāo Bái Chá, 杂交白茶, Hybridized White Tea

    C. sinensis var. hybridized sub-varietals; Yunnan Natural Agri Tech Co., Menglian County, Yunnan Province, 1400-1800m; Autumn, 2020, EU Organic, bud and 1-2 leaves, white tea process; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá, #Tea, #茶, #Chá.

    Sage green to brown dry leaves, and hairy silvery buds, with a spicy, sweet melon, fragrance. When wet, the leaves take on a more variegated brown colour with a sweet, palm sugar, vanilla, and pleasentaroma.

    3g of dry leaves were steeped in 150ml of water for 20-30sec@85-95 deg. C. The brewed tea liquor is a crystal clear, pale amber with a soft, loquat scent. in the mouth it is creamy, thick, peppery, stimulating, with a moderately thick finish and mildly fresh, bitter aftertaste. It tastes like dried tangerine peel, pomello, and ginger, with a hint of star-anise/licorice, and very soft honey sweetness in the finish.

    I like this tea but I find that the mid infusions tend to leave me with an uncomfortable feeling of acidity in the stomach.

  • Shí Hào Bái Chá, 十号白茶, #10 White Tea

    C. sinensis var. blended sub-varietals; Agri Tech Co., Menglian, Yunnan, 1400-1800m; Autumn, 2020, EU Organic, bud and 1-2 leaves, White tea process; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá, #Tea, #茶, #Chá.

    Pale to dark brown, loose, dry leaves with silvery grey buds, and aroma that is spicy, with hints of ginger, cinnamon, dried citrus, dried apricot, and an undertone hint of molasses. The leaves change to a sage green, and brown colour when wet, and have a slightly acrid, sharp aroma, with spicy hints of liquorice, galangal, and loquat.

    3g of dry leaf was steeped in 150ml of water for 20-30sec@85deg. C. The brewed tea liquor is a pale, yellow-amber in colour, with a faint, honey and slightly soapy, scent. in the mouth it feels thick, creamy, mildly stimulating, with pleasant bitterness, fresh feel, and a watery, drooling finish, whilst it tastes spicy, like ginger, and pomelo peel, with a pleasant honey sweetness.