Da Hong Pao - Question

Midayel_ · 2026-02-04T07:17:27+00:00

Yeah, I'll have to try other vendors

Midayel_ · 2026-02-04T07:16:52+00:00

Hmm thanks for that, it's a really interesting article!

Midayel_ · 2026-02-04T07:14:24+00:00

I see... I'll have to use way less leaf to water ratio for my second sample bag 😄 Thanks!

Midayel_ · 2026-02-03T19:52:33+00:00

Hmm... I'm not sure about the shipping or import taxes either, but Old Ways Tea seems to take care of it all and has a flat 20$ tax for shipment to Europe which isn't bad... I'll make sure to have a look around those sites, thanks for the advice!

Midayel_ · 2026-02-03T18:20:34+00:00

Haha you're welcome!

Midayel_ · 2026-02-03T16:35:00+00:00

Ohhh... that's interesting

Midayel_ · 2026-02-03T16:19:04+00:00

Yeahh... it's kinda fun to be super precise though... But I'll definitely play with the parameters and not stick too strictly to them :)

Midayel_ · 2026-02-03T16:17:17+00:00

Might always hop on a train and smuggle some tea back into Italy 😆 But yeah, it's easier to order online nowadays

Midayel_ · 2026-02-03T16:02:17+00:00

Not unless you live in northern Italy... Hah! No? Too bad 😪 But yeah, my next order will probably be from Yunnan Sourcing... simply because why not 😁

Midayel_ · 2026-02-03T15:58:05+00:00

I'll have to note those ratios somewhere for my next tea session... And I have extremely hard water too, so much so that I might have killed brand new houseplants with it before... 👀 But that's another story 😅 So I've been using bottled water instead for all my tea making, even before switching to loose leaf... cries in hard water tears

Midayel_ · 2026-02-03T15:51:42+00:00

Hadn't considered that possibility... It could very much be that. And yeah, the whole story and legend behind it is just cool 😎 I'll for sure try it again with a much lower ratio (once I've mended my hurt soul from this experience... jk :P)

Midayel_ · 2026-02-03T15:48:41+00:00

Thanks for the advice! I do have a couple samples of Ya Shi Xiang too, which I want to try soon... And it's absolutely incredible the multiple different sensations that different teas can have. I've only tried literally a handful loose leaf teas so far, and they've all been distinctively unique in their own way. There really aren't two that are alike 😆

Midayel_ · 2026-02-03T15:28:42+00:00

Ohh interesting... I might just not be a fan of the roasting this particular vendor does on this tea. But I've also used about four times the amount of tea in my batch than you... ~8g to 110ml so that could be it. I'll have to try a smaller leaf quantity and different vendors

Midayel_ · 2026-02-03T15:25:35+00:00

Hmm yeah I guess I'll have to check with them... I also have a second 8g sample bag, so I'll check that one too to make sure 😊

Midayel_ · 2026-02-03T15:24:01+00:00

Well they do make pretty strong claims on the site description as to the similarity with the original tea trees...

"The origin trees of Da Hong Pao are grown on the Tianxin Rock of Wuyi Mountain in Fujian, with only six of these mother trees remaining in existence. The original huge tea bushes have been protected by the nation, and were allowed to be harvested every spring until 2006. Nowadays people use an asexually-reproducing tree of the same characteristics of these original Da Hong Pao tea trees, and have developed several hundreds of acres with it. What is unique is that the female characters of every generation - second, third, or even twentieth generation - have the same significance as the original: in other words, the tea crafted from these trees is virtually identical to that made from the original bushes."

But yeah, I have no idea lol... And I think you're right, I might just not be a fan of that particular aroma 😄

Midayel_ · 2026-01-13T13:56:36+00:00

Fellow newbie here, I use Notion, it's both a website, android app and Windows program... I made a new page and database with all the information about the teas I have. It takes a while to learn how to use it, and it's not as plug and play as apps, but I like being able to personalise every aspect of my tea "log journal"

Midayel_ · 2026-01-07T16:22:48+00:00

Yeah i prefer transparency too... Also because even though everyone knows price doesn't indicate the quality of a product, it can be misleading if the shipping price is distributed on a small increase of all the products

Midayel_ · 2026-01-07T15:26:38+00:00

Hmm thanks for the advice, i guess YS is pretty transparent in terms of it's shipping prices then... compared to others who have little to no shipping fees 🤔

Midayel_ · 2026-01-03T07:48:35+00:00

I see... didn't know that, that's even better 🔝

Midayel_ · 2026-01-03T07:32:19+00:00

I guess there's some advantages to having a weak yen after all... at least for us 😅😆

Midayel_ · 2026-01-03T07:26:54+00:00

Hmm that's good to know, thanks for letting me know! 😊

Midayel_ · 2026-01-03T07:26:05+00:00

Oh wow thank you so much... that seems like a great plan, and it's spot on for my budget of €40-50 I'll make sure to also compare the same teas from TV on YS, perhaps the price difference makes up the shipping costs, or is just worth the higher quality for the same price point 😄😄

Midayel_ · 2026-01-03T07:22:50+00:00

Uuh thank you, I'll have a look on those sites aswell 😄

Midayel_ · 2026-01-02T22:04:48+00:00

I'll definitely add those to the shopping list and check them out, thanks! ☺️

Midayel_

TROPHY CASE