Tea with the Black Dragon

Have you ever gotten a teapot because it was absolutely gorgeous, but you didn't know much about the Yixing clay from which it was made? I saw this Ox Yixing pot on the Yinchen Studio's Instagram and fell in love. It was just before the start of the Lunar New Year of the Ox, so I had to get it. It is made with jiang po ni clay.

I've seen ginseng oolongs on various tea forums as people post asking questions about them, but this is the first time I've actually had a chance to try this particular tea. It's something that I wouldn't purchase for myself, but it was part of my Teaphile tea subscription and I am happy for a chance to now try this tea out. So, here are my notes for this particular tea session.

Clay teapots are usually dedicated to a single type of tea (e.g roasted Wuyi oolongs, fruity TGY, Taiwanese gaoshans etc). However, trying to figure out what tea is sometimes tricky.  I learned this particular trick in one of my tea groups and have used it with success. I love it because it appears to my inner scientist and helps me determine if a teapot works with a particular tea. FOR SCIENCE!

It's always interesting to compare a tea from two different harvests seasons AND to compare your own tea tastings. I only started keeping a tea tasting journal within the past few years, and my note taking style as changed, as has my tasting of tea. #teafiends As I've learned more about tea, my journal has evolved to catalog slightly different things or to emphasis certain aspects of a tea. This also demonstrates my evolving tastes and what I deem important. Here's a tea tasting of a Wild Tree Purple Varietal Black Tea of Dehong from Yunnan Sourcing --- the Spring 2012 and Spring 2020 harvests.

In 2020, I set myself up with a few tea subscriptions from a couple of my favorite tea vendors. #teafiends  Why? I love trying new teas, but I find that I tend to pick teas similar to what I prefer. If someone else picks it, then I might discover new teas that I will like. For example, I tend not to pick puerhs or white teas, but I am very much willing to try them. So far, I've discovered a couple of puerhs I might like to add to my Tea Stash (TM).  I also really wanted to support my tea vendors especially with the hard times many are having due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I had resisted before 2020, just because I wanted to pick & choose for myself the teas I wanted (and there was an issue of cost as well), but I'm glad I took the chance.

 I have a fondness for teapets. I picked up these set from Yunnan Sourcing.com several years ago. They are about the right size to individually sit on a tea tray without taking too much room. (I've had tea pets that were HUGE and not at all suited to being on a smaller tea tray.) I thought you'd enjoy them as well.

In various tea forums, I see questions about caffeine in tea, caffeine consumption, etc. Some people seem to drink a lot and not be affected; some people are very sensitive to the tiniest amount of caffeine. Everyone is different and one person's tea consumption is going to be different from everyone elses. Is it a matter of genetics or culture? Turns out...a bit of both!