A Tea Addict's Journal

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…..