Tor and Tantin and I went to Floating Leaves Tea and spent two hours tasting and chatting with Shiuwen and Noah. I arrived with an angry gut, an angry soul, and a sad heart. The quote-unquote wind-down of COVID-19 and my continuing struggle to improve or contain my Mental Health continue to claw at my heart on occasion and I almost called it in, especially when my gut cried protest at our lunch of sausages and peppers. Well, I toughed it out and walked in to the brazier. I felt refreshed and renewed when we left the shop two hours later.
Noah has just returned from Taiwan for sourcing and setting up their new D2C shipping. I hadn't expected to see him in the shop so soon, I'm not sure why, I would have been there working too despite the 2021 record heat event wetting our brows long before the Tea had a chance to.
Shiuwen Brewed Jin Xuan, Milk & Honey Oolong (Dong Ding Jin Xuan), 2021 Baozhong Farmer's Choice, Shan Lin Xi, lightly roasted (3x) Ali Shan Oolong Tea.
Noah brewed two teas for us in a more "Taiwanese style", a 3x and 6x roasted Charcoal Dong Ding. The feedback he got from his mentors and peers in Taiwan was that his tea was too weak, they couldn't taste it, etc, so he'd started brewing in this more, uh,, extractive style and did so for us to compare to Shiuwen's more deft hand. I really liked that Noah brewed for us, and that Shiuwen let him take the center chair from her, they have a really good working relationship.
With these roasted teas, it was an interesting thing because when you think "oh i've over-extracted this it's going to be so bitter and smokey" -- well no, maybe not. their teas don't blink, they are very strong and dignified, if that makes sense, it's very interesting. We got to see the deeper roasts of the leaves, as they unfurled the initial roasted notes didn't fade but they joined a sweet, delicate oolong, a masterful tea with a roast that lets the complex flavors accentuate themselves.
Looking back through my notes, I am reminded of the High Mountain Oolong Blind Tasting I undertook. Though I didn't do a great job and didn't take comprehensive notes, I think I know which one is the Shan Lin Xi now :)
Oh what a great time.
Brewing the Jin Xuan and the Milk and Honey was interesting, because they are much more subdued yet more refined than the brew which Miro Tea serves. I quite like it, and left with 5oz of Milk and Honey. The terroir of Dong Ding comes through, a nuttiness verging on chocolate, but alongside the sweet and the milky broth of Jin Xuan. I am looking forward to drinking it.
The Baozhong Farmer's Choice this season is quite nice, reminiscent of last year's crop but with a brighter, sweet flavor still full of pineapple, a hint still of the .. sharpness of corn. the 2019 batch was so strong on the corn, and it really shocked me at the time, but now it's like an old friend. in fact, we found this in a few teas, the Dong Ding Milk & Honey jin xuan too, which I will have to search for. I'll be sure to compare the 2021 and 2020 crops.
Tor left with more Dong Ding Traditional A and Ali Shan Oolong Tea, and I am looking forward to having some taste of that Dong Ding and it's subtle tasty roast. Tantin has some of the Baozhong, too, and we'll have to compare notes.
I really like how Shiuwen talks about Tea, few people are talking about and thinking about the physicality of drinking tea in the way that she is, to be frank. She says it's because she isn't so good at finding the words for flavors, but talking about physicality comes naturally. I think I can really find myself there, my nasal situation is a disaster and often I can barely even breath through my nose. alas. But this search for motion and shape and flow is something that I can focus my own Tea Practice on while struggling to grasp for a word to describe the exact sort of fruity sharpness I found in the bottom of a teacup previously containing one fairly dark roast oolong.
I want to find ways to compare and contrast my relatively separate Sencha Tea practice with my Oolong Tea practice, and to continue studying and honing my senses and to grow accustomed to those Dong Ding mountains.