Charcoal Roasted Oolong and Aged Oolong

As many of you have probably heard or read about in the news, that was a big snow storm in the Northwest. It was very fun to see people making snowmen and to see kids sitting on their sleighs with big smiles on their faces. Despite all of this recent beauty and fun, I am ready for the snow to go away. It's COLD!!!

A nice surprise showed up at the shop when I needed some "warmer" teas to drink. Our winter charcoal roasted high mountain oolong and an aged 1979 BeiPu Oolong just arrived.

This charcoal roasted high mountain oolong is very balanced in its flavor and texture. There is a wonderfully warm and pleasant charcoal note that lingers in the mouth and in the cup. I especially like that this tea can stand up to brewing and I can get a lot of good infusions out of it. I brewed this tea in a gaiwan and was able to get 7 solid infusions out of it.

The 1979 BeiPu is herbal, warm, soft and grounded. I have noticed that I prefer this tea in a yixing teapot more than in a gaiwan. If you choose to rinse this tea, I recommend that you do a quick rinse. The rinsing water comes out fairly strong, so you will be giving up good flavor if you rinse too long. The tea yields 4 good infusions. I pushed the tea and brewed two more infusions, with the fifth and sixth taking more time to brew but turning out enjoyable, also.

I will list these two teas on the website soon with more tasting notes (This time "soon" means within two days, I promise).