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Yixing pot usually used with oolongs, about 300ml volume, 2g of leaf, steeped 4 minutes, water around 195.

Did a brew of the Da Hong Pao in the more western style, and again it strikes me as more like a black tea than an oolong. Its flavor profile seems much closer to a particularly fruity Keemun than to an oolong. I'm not getting any of the floral notes that characterize an oolong... oolongs have lilac or orchid aromas... this is more woody and yet still fruity.

I could see that, actually. Chlorine is a metallic smell...

Have just made a batch of Ban Tian Yao in a more western and less gong fu technique, and I like it a lot better. 2g to about 330ml of water. The vegetal is subdued, the roasty is enhanced, and a rich woodsy/cacao flavor note is coming through in the finish. I'd drink this with chocoaltey foods and be quite happy, I think... (runs off to grab some chocolate) Yup... this tea, brewed this way goes very well with chocolate.

I'm back to the SJG, which I think is my favorite of the bunch. The wine descriptor is really striking chords... This tea's aroma is reminding me of riesling. 3.3g 100ml water just off the boil, 30 second infusion. The empty cup still smells strongly of winey goodness. Time for infusion 2.

Have done infusions 4 & 5 at 90" and 120". The woodiness and bitterness on the palate increase, while the aroma goes to a cross of fruity and metallic. I don't get the impression that any further infusions will yield much interesting.

Have just done a few infusions of the Da Hong Pao and have some observations. 3.5g to 100ml water just off the boil 30", 45" and 60". Nice fruitiness, more significant tannins here than in the other two. This seems much more oxidized than either of the other two, almost more like a fruity black tea than like an oolong. This seems like the same base leaf stock as the Shui Jin Gui, but allowed a longer wither and oxidation period... similar notes between the two, but more oxidized and tannic in the Da Hong Pao. The first three infusions present a darker color in the cup than the others and an astringent tannic mouthfeel, and a stone-fruit flavor, which goes along with a stone-fruit aroma that develops as the cup cools. The tannins bring a slight woodiness, and supress any real sweetness that is in the leaves, leaving a balanced cup leaning toward the dry astringent side. Will do another few infusions after lunch.

OK... have done infusion 3 now (I know, bad me leaving leaves in the pot for 48 hrs... they got a 15 sec pastuerization rinse, at least.) I used water closer to 180 this time, 60 seconds of infusion, and the results were, sadly, truly unremarkable. The character of the leaves was obscured by a sort of generic oolong quality of a slightly woody slightly fruity-leaning-towards-metallic character, which while nice enough, didn't demonstrate what else was going on in there. Water getting warmer again for infusion 4. Infusion 4, water in the 190s, 60 seconds was also unremarkable. Woodsiness predominates much more like a Bai Hao now, which indicates that the rest period permitted the leaves to oxidize further. Any further reports would be on a tea not as intended. Will have to rebrew with some of the remaining leaves and see if I can make myself go through more than 2 or 3 infusions of this one... If I can, I'll report back. If not, then my next musings will be on the Big Red Robe.

Ok. Now I'm trying the Ban Tian Yao, and I'm getting a totally different impression from this tea than from the Shui Jin Gui. Right now I'm commenting on the first 30 second infusion of 4g in my 100 ml yixing, done with just off boiling water. This is much more vegetal and much less toasty. A sweetness comes through in the aroma and the flavor, but it is so intertwined with the vegetal that it is presenting something that brings to mind green peppers... a sweet, yet quite vegetal flavor impression. In the aroma there is an almost peppery thing going on which also seems to help push the vegetal impression. There is no tropical floral aroma happening here at all yet... perhaps that will emerge in subsequent infusions... the closest floral characteristic I can think of might be osmanthus, a flower that the Chinese traditionally use to augment some teas. The aftertaste of this cup is much more vegetal, and not so distinctly toasty/sweet. As this tea cools the osmanthus characteristic begins to pop, and brings along a fruity note as well.. a sharp current/elderberry aroma accompanies the cooling cup, but does not appear in the flavor. A second 30s infusion brings another cup with the distinctive peppery/vegetal aroma up front. This infusion is flatter on the palate than the last... (probably should go 60s on infusion 3). Again vegetal, remiscent of green peppers in the sweet/bitter/vegetal combination. This tea is just not clicking with my taste buds today. Smells fantastic as it cools, but doesn't deliver on the palate. Must try a cooler water as well. Will continue my thoughts after I get around to doing infusions 3-5.

Am just starting to play with these teas, and picked the Shui Jin Gui to begin my experiments. 3g of this in a 100ml yixing pot, then poured into a tall clay aroma cup, and then a clay tasting cup. I've noticed with each infusion that as the aroma cup cools, a strong sweet aroma develops that is quite reminiscent of pistachio ice cream, in that toasty, floral way that pistachios are. The tea flavor always starts roasty and mildly bitter, then a sharp tartness appears, then a mellow sweetness arrives. As the infusions progress, the intensity of the tartness decreases, and the sweetness becomes more intense and the roasty bitterness meshes with the sweetness. Will have to give the others the same treatment and see what aromas the aroma cup brings out.

The goodies have arrived... hopefully I'll be over this new cold enough to be able to taste the samples by the weekend. Fingers crossed for strong immune system.

OK, second round of brewing. The remaining tea in the sample weighed 12.5g, so the lot of it went into a 175ml-ish infusion. Given that we have reports on how this behaves when brewed hot, I decided to deviate a bit low, so used water a bit below 170F. First infusion of about 1.5 minutes is, again, beautifully green, but the matcha makes it a bit grainy on the palate. Seaweed aroma does abound in this tea... it reminds me of the smell of nori. The matcha again overpowers the grain in the first infusion... the graininess expresses itself in the aroma, but not in the taste. There is a thick bitter brothy vegetal thing going on (all the pretty green chlorophyll expressing itself), and that overpowers everything else in the first cup. A second infusion under about the same conditions yields more balance between tea and grain. There is a subtly floral aroma now that plays with the grainy aroma that was there last time. The body is much less brothy and the color is light golden with just a hint of green dust swirling around the bottom of the cup. There is still a good bitter backbone to this tea, which is its primary flavor.

Mine just arrived in the mail... better late than never, though 3+ weeks in transit makes me raise an eyebrow at the dear old USPS. Tried a succession of short brew times with the first half of the sample... water on the cooler side, closer to 180 than 190... First infusion of about 90 seconds was a pretty green color... must have been the matcha. The underlying green tea was quite subtle, the roasted grain predominated. Second infusion was more balanced between tea and grain, though was more golden than green. Third infusion the tea predominated with a bit of grain in the background. Not a great or notable green tea flavor, unfortunately. Will play with the second half soon and report back.

This is a spirit, not a wine. It doesn't age in the bottle, nor should it decay much... If you want to taste it, go ahead. It will taste like a cross between whisky and gin.

Glad you're having fun! I do wonder why the IPA came out ruby red colored, though... Great effect that some people have to really try to acheive. Sounds like it was intended to be a fairly amber-y IPA, and you added some caramelization in the boiling pot to redden it up. Did you use a pre-hopped extract, or were you adding hops to the boil?

I've come down with a bad cold, so can't comment further on flavor nuances in this tea... I'll say that infusions 9-11 plus some honey certainly helped soothe my sore throat yesterday.

I've been having gong fu fun with this tea... 4.5g of tea making batches of about 80ml. Surprisingly, the first three infusions were remarkably similar to the results of the western style brewing done earlier. Similar flavors and textures, though it did give me the insight that the tang-y flavor there in addition to the floral elements is chlorophyll. All that bright green color was doing something to the flavor, I think. After the 4th 30 second steep (granted the leaves rested in the pot for 3 hours between 3 and 4), the mouthfeel suddenly got more viscous, and the floral tones livened up. 4-6 are again fairly similar to each other... will report back on 7-9 when I do them tomorrow.

My (very well wrapped and packaged) sample arrived over the weekend and I've broken it out this morning to play with. First observations- Verdant green dry leaves... beautiful color... how do they fix the chlorophyll like that... A strong tropical floral aroma from the dry leaves, with a slight metallic edge to it. First shot at brewing in a more western style, 2.5g tea to 250 ml water at 190, 3 minutes. Aroma in the cup less intense then the dry leaves would have made me expect. At first the body seems unexpectedly light, with a tart fruity tang up front... but then the long sweet/floral aftertaste kicks in. I can see how the tang and the floral might seem pineapple-like. The floral aspect seemed to intensify as the cup cooled. A second infusion of those same leaves under the same conditions revealed a tea with more developed aroma, as the dry leaf aroma portends. The tang subsides a bit and the floral aspects take on a more lilac edge. The aftertaste tickles the sides of the tongue with a lingering tartness. So far, this tea shows quite well brewed in a more western fashion... and portends an huge presence in a gong fu style brew session. Up next- 5g of tea and a yixing pot.

Bad review?

Your question really depends upon your choice of yeast. There has been a run of interesting variants on Saison yeasts released as special selections from Wyeast in the past few years... One called, if I recall rightly, 3711, may do the job for you without requiring cold storage. Have you read Farmhouse Ales? That is really the bible for the Saison/Biere de Garde brewing.

Drool. Must try this place some time... I'm terribly out of the PHL loop lately, having only just ate at Modomio for the first time this week... Northern Libs is going to have to appear on my agenda much more frequently it appears.

I've found that tea and wine and food have some fantastic synergies. Just wine and tea can complement each other and bring out nuances... Try a NZ Sauv. Blanc after a few sips of a ginseng ooling for a real shock of pleasure to the taste buds.

There's one up in Limerick on Ridge Pk, before you get to the outlet mall thingy. Tried it once... food OK... beverages great! Haven't been back... yet.

Oxidation definitely happens. Brew a cup of green tea and leave it out overnight. It will both look and taste much more like a black tea.

Think lasagna.