Derok's TGY

Ello all,

My new tea arrived today, so im quite excited to try them. But i have promised myself that before i even look at them, i would type up the notes for Derek's sample of tgy. And so here we go.



This tea was one of the prepackaged oolongs that contain enough for one session. An estimate is it's about 3-5 grams.

Opening the bag, i found a subdued aroma with a slightly fruitier tang to it. hmm this tea has probably been oxidized a tad more than the TGYs im used to.

The leaves themselves are a tad dry, and darker than usual, again giving a hint to the degree of oxidation.

It also seems a tad more roasted, with the pellets being smaller in size.

I brewed this with near boiling water.

The first steeping yielded a deep yellow liquor with a syrupy cherry aroma supported by a nice thick mouth feel. Lingering notes of raisins, berries and with a creamy....hmmm...oh gosh...whats the word... 'fruitcake'-esque base. Not that floral at all.

Second steeping, slightly longer than the first was pretty much the same as above, only lighter. Floral notes however are becoming more noticeable, with hints of rose/gardenia flavours gaining strength over the fruitiness. The softening character also reveals slight acidity and that familiar 'straw' base.

The final steeping is light yellow in colour, and only floral fragrances are noticeable now, the straw base grows increasingly noticeable signaling the end of its endurance. Its warm sweet water now haha.

the spent leaves are what derek would refer to as 'hrrgh' in quality :P lots of fragments, but still relatively thick and strong.

Overall, a pleasant, comfortable tea!

Funalliance 'Tie Guan Yin KING (2009 Spring)'

Ello all,

I have up to this point, mostly been able to generally, remember my thoughts on every tea I drink quite well. However, memory is indeed fallible and so its probably a good idea to actually type some stuff down.

This is actually a tea from last month (i think), I've only gotten around to an actual focused session tonight haha. Right, so first impressions; the dry leaf is dense, vibrant green but lacking a good sheen, so little dull.

The dry fragrance is encouraging; floral and lemon top notes with a fruity middle note followed by a base of straw.

The steepings: water is boiled and allowed to cool for a min or two.

The first steeping (30secondish) greets me with a heavily floral/lemon fragrance, the infusion is bright yellow-green with reasonable clarity. Sipping the tea yields an unexpected umami depth with acidity. The body is light and extremely smooth. Not a single trace of bitterness or astringency.

Things get interesting at the second steeping (also 30sec) with the fragrance opening up a tad more to reveal a more fruity (for now, specifically what kind of fruitiness is indiscernible) scent backed up with a straw base. With a deeper yellow colour, the tea is incredibly smooth and relatively viscous (two traits that hit the nail right on the head in terms of my tastes), while the

the amino acidy umami quality gives way to significantly more sourness. A slight, but noticeable drying astringency is also present.

Third and final steeping (about 1 min) the nose detects predominantly straw, while the floral scent is almost completely dominated by a lemon/berry notes. The acidity tapers off at this point leading to a smooth but slightly flat straw. This probably signals the limit of the brew's endurance.

The spent leaves are thick, leathery and have relatively good structural integrity.

Overall, for such a low price (about $13 including shipping) its an enjoyable casual tea.

Roger's TGY

Ello all. Yeah this post aint really much of an update, i just promised a friend of mine (roger) to post a few notes on some TGY he picked up.

Alrighty, i must begin by saying im officially disappointed with this tea :P

Dry leaf comments: The leaves looked a tad dull and brown (which TGY should not look like), aroma was dry and lacking the floral fragrance characteristic of this class of oolong.

This time i chose to do the infusions in a gaiwan, no particular reason, it was just convenient haha.

Brewing parameters:
-Water temp: Cooled for a few sec after boiling
- Steeping times: 20 sec, 20 sec, 30 sec, 50 sec
- Amount of leaf: I dunno, all of the sample roger gave me.

Tasting notes:
Aroma was very subdued, slightly floral, took on a more roasted fragrance afterward, i suspect this tea has gotten quite old and the vendor just re-roasted it in an attempt to give it some oomph.

Colour, deep clear yellow. A tad too yellow, amber in fact, again shouldn't be so- not like TGY at all.

Taste: flat... however, the mouth feel was epic (only good thing i think:P) it was smooth and heavy, great stuff.

Wet leaf: wrinkled, brown and broken, very poor leaf integrity (easily torn under the slightest pressure)

Overall: yikes, that wasn't a very good tea, but ah well we all run into this stuff sooner or later.

Don't worry roger, there is plenty of good tea out there, your quest aint over yet haha

Once more unto the breach

Ello all!

Its probably time for another blog update, a few people have been pestering me to do so.

Alright! its '09 and the lunar new year has just come great. More generic Tết stuff...sticky rice cakes, red pockets, visiting relatives... bleargh, maybe I'm an exception but I have an incredible dislike for this hubbub.

Good that its all over now.

Unfortunately the holidays are pretty much over too... Is it just me or does everything i plan to do in the holidays just melt away on the first day and gives way to mindless clicking on the net?? Then again, i suppose i have managed to accomplish a few things- catch up on some reading (my latest is Stephen Hawking's 'A Brief History Through Time' which Steven graciously lent to me, *thanks again Steve, if your reading*)..cook a different meal each day and for once get an average of 10 hours a night sleep. Oh not to mention watching most of the TED sci/tech talks (some really good stuff there). Great

Anyway, so back to school tomorrow! The looming HSC is creeping ever so closer... and the work will pile up once again. Well not that i don't enjoy the work... i just hate a specific subject- english. The most superficial, superfluous, irrational and irritating steaming pile of bovine excrement I've come across in quite a while. Too bad its mandatory...

At least i will be able to replenish my tea supplies (courtesy of derek) who often ventures to the city (conveniently for me, near a tea vendor). I'm completely out of the good stuff- been living off apple juice for the past two days...

Well i suppose that sums up the past few uneventful months.

See ya guys later!