Today I drank Top Rougui #1, an unreleased Yancha oolong from Chaceremony. Thank you Marcus Reed for this sample. I am really just learning to like yancha. The charcoal roast flavor was not a natural thing to me. But this one has a comparatively mild roast profile. I’d say the roast was a major flavor note for the first four to six steeps, somewhere in there. I gave this tea more than my normal. I steeped it sixteen times and it didn’t get too weak. There is a note that develops after the roast profile is history. It is a sort of burnt caramel note. There is always a little bit of the roast there. It never completely disappears, just largely. Overall this was very good tea.
I steeped this 16 times in a 50ml gaiwan with 4.8g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and what ended up being a 5 minute rest. I was told that you are not supposed to give yancha a rest after the rinse. I am used to puerh where this is recommended. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, 2 min, 2.5 min, 3 min, 3.5 min, and 4 min. These were some long lasting leaves. If I wanted to I’m sure I could get a few more steeps out of this tea.
Flavors: Burnt Sugar, Roasted
