A Tea Addict's Journal

Friday October 20, 2006

October 20, 2006 · 5 Comments

Too much puerh yesterday, so I went back to my trusty oolongs. I brewed up the dancong I bought while BBB was here.

Then, I thought, what the heck….. I will try both of mine to see how they fare against each other.

Here are the two teas in question

Closeup of the left

And the right

Look pretty much the same — dancongs, I think, are extremely difficult to tell apart when dried.

I had the one on the left first. It was, well…. nice. This is the one I got with BBB. The tea is quite mellow, round, not much astringency, quite floral and honey-like, much like a dancong should be. No match with the Best Teahouse stuff, but the price is also a world apart. Not too bad, I suppose, for how much I paid.

This is how it looks when brewed. Lots of leaves didn’t unfurl. I’ve been told that this is actually a sign that the tea was rolled by hand, whereas ones that unfurl quickly are the ones that are rolled by machine. I will have to test this to be sure that it’s actually true.

Then I tried the other one, that’s the one I think I way overpaid for. The aromas are a bit different.. this one feels….. ricey. Yeah, it reminds me of rice, for some odd reason. I’m not even sure why. The tea is not as fragrant as the other. Cha qi is a little stronger, but….. overall, quite lacking. I wouldn’t say it’s worse than the cheap one, but considering the price……

This is what it looks like brewed. The leaves unfurled a lot more. Is this machine rolled? I’m not sure.

Turns out two teas was a little more than I can handle today. I feel a bit dehydrated after two. Gotta go on a low caffeine regimen…..

Categories: Old Xanga posts · Uncategorized

5 responses so far ↓

  • Phyllo // October 20, 2006 at 12:12 pm | Reply

    They both look like the greener type of dan cong’s, with the left being less oxidized than the right one with much redder streaks.  Hmmm…I need to revisit mine…maybe not tonight.  My whole place is a mess in preparation for tomorrow’s paint job. 

  • MarshalN // October 20, 2006 at 12:29 pm | Reply

    Well, they are medium fired. I like the really heavy ones. The light ones are nice and sweet. In some ways, the cheaper one has better balance, while the more expensive one is neither here nor there.

    Good luck with the paint job! I’m sure your tea is nicely stashed away — and your pots too!

  • Phyllo // October 20, 2006 at 1:26 pm | Reply

    Pots?  I need to stash away the pots, too?  They are not going to soak the paint fume, or are they???  They are inside the closed cabinet.  Oh, geeez…this is going to be tricky moving so many Yixings if I have to do so.  I don’t have any padded little boxes.

  • iwii // October 20, 2006 at 1:55 pm | Reply

    Hello Marshaln

    I tried to email you concerning the BTH, but I do not think my email arrived unfortunately 🙁
    I am not sure I understand your post completely: the cheap one is the better one, but is the expansive one coming from the BTH or not? since you are mentioning it, I am lost.
    I usually do not fancy dan congs very much, they usually have a very nice smell, but taste a little thin…

  • MarshalN // October 20, 2006 at 2:35 pm | Reply

    You’ve got a reply.

    I don’t check that email — it’s 99.95% junk. Good thing you mentioned your email 🙂

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