#ba xian

[lazyrunawayphilosopher]

If looks could devour

[vagrant-muffin]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[kawaiinekoj]

fancast challenge - by @sweetiesplum

#discover | (DAY FOUR) MYTHOLOGY

✨ ba xian, or the eight immortals – more info on the wiki!

✨ chinese legends yay! maybe the most difficult search for fcs i have ever done i think, since i wanted my cast’s features to be a perfect match with the most common depictions of the immortals in arts (reference: here). and i mean, for once, i’ve only chosen actual actors and actresses hahaha gg joyce.

✨ the cast (from top to bottom):

benedict wong as cao guojiu

chow yun fat as li tieguai

xing en as lan caihe

yang mi as he xiangu

donnie yen as lü dongbin

tom wu as han xiangzi

shen baoping as zhang guolao

tzi ma as zhongli quan

❀ made by/credits: kawaiinekoj (instagram | linktree)

[verdanttea]

Ever tried Ba Xian (eight Immortals) oolong from Anxi? Neither had we!

Ba Xian is best known as a Dancong oolong tea - the cultivar was pioneered from old rootstock in Fenghuang, Guangdong, and given the right soil and expert craftsmanship, the leaves yield beautiful textural depth, lingering sparkling complexity and rich aromatics. 

Our partner Master Zhang is a colleague of famous Dancong pioneer Huang Ruiguang, and was able to transplant several old Ba XIan plants from Wudongshan to his own fields above Daping in Anxi. These plants have been left mostly unpicked and untrimmed for years, giving them a wild appearance. 

This year, Master Zhang picked a limited quantity of his Ba Xian to share. The result is packed with deep minerality, “yun” and creamy florals - a powerful and commanding tea! We are loving it!!

Learn more or try it while supplies last >>>  https://verdanttea.com/teas/ba-xian-eight-immortals-anxi-oolong-dark-roast/

[wee-spot-of-tea]

CRAZY EIGHTS

It's still raining. We're still eating hamburgers. I still don't know what to do with myself. Time to make tea!

Today’s choice: Eight Immortals (2009 AND 2011) ba xian [八仙]

Type: Oolong tea, Wuyi rock

Because: Needed to do something before I went crazy. Besides, I wanted to compare the difference between the two years. Supposedly, it's also good for my liver which, god knows, needs all the help it can get!

Directions: Approximately 3 grams for a ~12oz pot, very slightly-less-than-boiling water, let the first one sit about 2 minutes, able to be used 5+ times.

So here's another Wuyi rock oolong tea from Fujian. We realised that we actually had one pack of this tea from 2009 and another from 2011 so we decided to a taste test to see what differences we could pick out between the two.

Using my handy dandy yixing set, I warmed up the cups with some hot water, put a few leaves from 2009 in one and 2011 in the other, steeped them, and began my evil experiment. mwahahahaha.

lololol fuck me I don't even remember which one this was now. Double blind study?

The first thing I noticed was that the two smelled very different. Even the dry leaves. They were both floral and sweet smelling, almost chocolaty, but surprisingly, the older variety was the one that was the most fragrant and robust. That shit cray. However, I also noted that once the tea was infused, the 2009 leaves sank right to the bottom while only about half the ones from 2011 did. Curiouser and curiouser....

The one on <-- that side is 2011 the one over --> there is 2009

Then came the taste test. Despite 2009 smelling more fragrant, it was actually 2011 that had the better, more complex flavour that we love about this tea. The 2009 variety's taste was a bit more muted and slightly more astringent, almost bitter. That wasn't particularly surprising, this oolong is not 100% oxidised and not at all fermented, so of course it will lose some taste and nutrients as it ages. Neither tea quite has those undertones of charcoal like the da hong pao did, either. Despite some similarities in being a Wuyi rock oolong style like da hong pao, ba xian is still very different. Also of note is that the 2009 tea didn't seem to maintain its longevity over multiple infusions quite as well. "Immortal" my ass. I often tend to like the third infusion the best because the flavour calms down and smooths out a bit, bringing out more of a natural sweetness. But this tea seems to have lost its pep in its old age, the poor dear.

The 2011 is still going strong, though!

Still wonder what it was about the 2009 tea that had it smelling so delicious, but it's likely that that was just a better year for harvest. Differences in weather patterns and soil conditions DO make a rather dramatic impact on the tea and I'm not really sure what was going on over in China at the time of the picking and processing, but I'm guessing those factors were not uniform from 2009-2011 and probably back in its prime, the 2009 was the better crop. (Though, to be honest, without tasting the two back to back, it would be rather hard to pick out the subtle differences.)

Live fast, die young.

And, for what it's worth, my flatmate came to the same conclusions I did about this tea, so either both of us are crazy or neither is and y'all could probably make a good betting pool going on about the answer to that conundrum, so get on that and let me know what you find. I'll split the winnings with you.

Tea bushes from the Wuyi mountains get an added benefit in being grown in very mineral-rich soil, which I've heard is good for relieving head and muscle aches, though I haven't really experimented with those properties. Because of this tea's higher oxidation levels, it's also supposed to be good for your digestive system. Rumour has it rock oolongs even aid your liver, bless! I might become immortal after all!

Let's pretend I'm creative with photography.

I remember I once heard something about how this tea got the name "eight immortals" but remembering hearing it is not the same as remembering it, so... sorry. I do know that the Eight Immortals are legendary figures from Chinese mythology associated with prosperity and longevity, so maybe that's why the bush is named thus? Actually, I just looked at the description of this tea on my dealer's the teahouse's website, and it reads: "Drinking this tea is like flying in heaven's garden hence the name Eight Immortals from the famous Chinese myth." ... so, basically, the tea is flowery like the language used to describe it. Fair enough.