Its a lot better than ripe, any Liu Bao is better than ripe (most things are).
Chapo & Chapo Mid 2021 from W2T Liu Bao Heicha. Really crunky shit fungal compacted to near pointlessness. Has urotium cristatum, some of which i have attempted to harvest and propogate.
Ingredients: * 1 Tablespoon of Mayonnaise (Whole Egg is best, but others are fine) * Tajin Seasoning to taste (I have used Classico Seasoning)
Method: * Mix together to desired distribution. The Tajin will continue to meld with the mayo as it sits.
Notes: * Use more of each ingredient, particularly the mayonnaise, if you wish to make a larger amount. * Its recommended, by me, to add chili to kick it up a notch. I have added some Roasted Habanero hot sauce (La Meridana), and I have also used a splash of Secret Aardvark Drunken Jerk marinade before. The heat adds another level to the citric and the sourness of the Tajin.
2025 Yunnan Sourcing “Jinggu Ye Sheng Cha” Wild Tree Purple Tea.
12g/200ml. 5sec or so first steep, fleeting melon and floral notes. Steep 2, 10 sec. Floral notes mix with a light fresh cut grass, it more rich in taste, still mild, a barley-vegetal taste in the middle which rises as it cools, some very mild astringency, no actual bitterness. Full soft mouthfeel. 3th steep 10sec again out of concern. More mild astringency, more vegetal. A mild menthol cooling that started toward the end of steep 2 is very apparent now. 4th steep same as before but up a notch, this increases a dryness on the tongue, though full astringency or bitterness hasn’t become problematic. The mild menthol/cooling, the tongue dryness, and vegetal notes all seem a bit discordant now. 5th steep is vegetal, less depth, still coolness, its all highs, slightly raw, astringency to the sides of the tongue, there’s a very light almost sourness. 6th was similar, a bit lighter again. This was a softly packed cake that fell apart perfectly.
I started drinking kinda compact when i wanted more tea at work and it be my tea and good tea. Im pretty sure I could gongfu at work but I respect my collegues.
I always gongfu a new tea, its a good thing to do something like that first and get an idea of what youre working with.
I find this style works to get more nuance out of teas I know, and is great for daily drinkers or breaking down a bitter or older tea. Roasted Oolongs are great this way as a lover of them and boricha/barley tea and that roasty flavour, its something that can really shine here.
This isnt about recreating a 70ml gongfu sip into 400mls. Its about enjoying a tea in a more casual and extended format, both in time and in taste.
I dont think many teas would be lessened by this style, but I would still maybe go daily drinkers at least at first. It kinda puts the tea in a different spectrum. It can draw out a tea that becomes too bitter fast, or as mentioned above open up roasted and raw teas.
IMPORTANT: Water Quantity and steep time is most important here. Less steeps, shorter steeps, in higher water volume.
Items needed 1x Tea I use maybe 10 grams in ~350ml, I eye ball it, but have a vague idea from colour, smell, and its very tea specific. but its per tea and per taste in the end. A daily drinker should be more casual. 2x thermos or 1x large hot-water safe container and 1x other heat maintaining container. One should have a filter of some kind – but not IN a cage thing, the tea needs to be in the water lose in the thermos, or use a hand held filter. You just need a thing to make 3-400ml of tea and a thing to pour it into and keep it warm. I do this at a desk so two thermos is very safe and tidy. 1x cup that holds a decent amount, 200ml or as much as you want. I use a random coffee mug.
Its kind of about experimenting with your daily drinkers, but any teas really, and getting as much out of the tea, having a longer easier “session”, with repeated size steeps, and keeping it within your preferred tastes for as long as possible.
Instructions 1 – Add the tea to the first container with the “filter” . Go with a daily drinker tea. 2 – Pour tea-appropriate temperature water onto the tea. 3 – Put on the lid and wait X or so seconds. See timing notes above/below. 4 – Give it a light shake, or not. 5 – Maybe pour a bit out into your cup. Check colour and taste. 7 – Pour it all into the other container – Same as gongfu get all the water you can off the tea when you pour it out. 8 – Keep the the lid and filter off the container with the tea in it so steam can release. 9 – Put the lid on the thermos with the liquid in it so it stays hot. 10 – Pour and Drink.
The time is really personal taste, its a small amount of tea.
Timing This is all personal taste. 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 20… I find 10 secs for steep one is 1 OK, aim low because you cant unsteep things. This is also per-tea and guided by “experience” and doing it a few times. I’ll often re-steep for the same amount of time the whole session (eg: 3 – 4 hot re-steeps at 10secs) .
Cold or cooler water (not really tea specific at this point) is great as well if you get into the later steeps.
I do maybe 3 or 4 boiling/hot as above steeps, and the last 4 and 5 with cold water…OR
Just put cold water in the container with the tea leaves and the filter.
THERMOS / BIG TEA BREWING is a great way to get a lot out of lighter teas. Also to experience a bit more depth over a longer time, particularly with ripes that might feel too dense or old/worn out, and teas that that can blow out early and get bitter fast.
Prosbloom is a mild smooth ripe, has some stank to it though its been broken up and stored in a jar for a few weeks. There is a mild vanila taste deep in there, the usual forest mulch, a very mild bitterness along with a very light sourness. Camphornaught is much like the above but smoother, milder, less variation, with a broader forest floor base note. they both stay pretty similar over multiple steeps, and dont get crazy or overbearing.
A Flash and then the Quiet vol 2 is a big raw bitter blast. Short steeps work, but a bigger brew works really well to get more out of it and not be punished by over steeping. Its actually quite nice if kept in control. A few grams in 300ml, steeped for 10secs or so, decanted off into a thermos for pouring.