Song cultivar Huangzhixiang

Tagged: infusion, leo, phoenix-oolong, song-cultivar, water temperature

This topic has 4 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 3 months ago by Manila Tran.

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- 2013.01.10 at 1:23 pm #8412
  
  ICE
  Participant
  
  I was trying to follow Leo’s video to use 90c water to make Song Cultivar but find that this is too strong. If I reduce the tea leaves the tea is weaker but the taste not so round. If I use 85c water the taste is a lot better but the aroma not as pleasant. Is there a better way?
- 2013.01.15 at 3:51 pm #9028
  
  Leo
  Participant
  
  Phoenix oolong is definitely NOT the easiest tea to infuse! (I think it is actually one of the most difficult).
  
  Thank you for following my instruction. I think I have not made a good video for the demo and stressed too much on the basics rather the finesse needed to attend to this delicate tea.
  
  The key to the whole process is actually controlling heat dissipation while heat loss.
  
  A few things that are key:
  
  Speed with which the water kettle turns around the rim of the gaiwan
  
  Distance between the gaiwan and the kettle
  
  Speed of water flow
  
  Thickness of the gaiwan
  
  Don’t give up trying. The reward is too amazing for not experiencing.
  
  One way to go around it is to use slightly less tealeaves and lower temperature. You wan’t get the whole taste and aroma profile, but it will at least be pleasantly close.
- 2013.01.17 at 4:48 am #9260
  
  ICE
  Participant
  
  So I guess 85c is a little low?
- 2013.01.17 at 5:38 am #9261
  
  Manila Tran
  Participant
  
  I followed the video and tried to be quite quick but very gentle with the water. The tea was amazing. There was a distinct “undertone” bitterness to it, but I think without it the tea would not taste so wonderful. I now think all better Phoenix oolongs have that distinct bitterness, which I am beginning to like more and more. I can’t describe it.
- 2013.01.21 at 3:14 am #9051
  
  Leo
  Participant
  
  If you use 85°C, the best way to do it is to do a standard infusion, ie at least 3 minutes in a thicker material vessel, rather than the gongfu style.
  
  I agree with Manila that the bitter undertone is part of the taste profile of all Phoenix oolongs of the Shuixian family, ie all the dancongs. An old friend, a reputable wine master in Switzerland, who fell in love in my Phoenix oolongs said that the bitterness is the ‘backbone’ that holds up all the other taste characters. To me, it is not bitterness that is the common thread of the finest Phoenix oolongs, it is the special high mountain “peaty” and after-rain refreshing accents. They are a lot more obvious only when the tea is infused the gongfu way.
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