As I was drinking this tea, I realized it is only my second ever Tie Guan Yin, so I was excited to really think about the flavor in comparison to the other I’ve had.
The first infusion was very vegetal and the liquor was a lovely hay color. It was lightly astringent, but the flavor really came out in full force. With the second infusion, the astringency took a brief leap and tickled the tongue in a fun sort of way that helped me taste the tea itself a bit more completely.
For each proceeding infusion, I was joined by a friend who, not a great drinker of tea, found it extremely palatable and enjoyed more than a few cups. At this point, the tea really mellowed out and the flavor lingered nicely.
I’m most excited about this Tie Guan Yin, as it is from the family tea plantation of a tea shop owner my brother knows. He sent along a tin with 8 more samples, so this will hopefully last me at least a little while, as I make my way through the many other teas my brother sent me!
Preparation
People who liked this
Comments
For those interested, this is one of the many teas my brother just shipped to me from China. Check out details on the rest here: http://wrockdinahsaur.blogspot.com/2012/02/this-post-spills-into-category-of.html
Very interesting story!
Fun!!! I see some teas in that pacl that you’re really going to like. Yabao is super fun for example- can be light, so don’t skip on those giant buds. Jin Jun Mei (oftentimes just golden eyebrow since ma (horse) isn’t in the name) is also a great one. Congrats also on jumping into the world of TGY. It’s one of my favorite kinds of tea, so I get super excited when someone is joining in for the first time. They can be intoxicating, like drinking the air in Hawaii. Ooh- and Huang Zhi Xiang.. just tried a kind of that the other day, and that Dan Cong varietal can be shifty-eyed good. You have such a nice brother!
Thanks for the input, @Spoonvonstup! Since a lot of the actual names for Chinese teas are new to me (last time he and I went on tea adventures, we were both much newer to the game with less insight into what we were doing), it’s great to know what a fantastic job he did with this package (and the notes, no less!).
He and I are both still learning about tea, albeit in very different ways. I’m reading books, forums, blogs, about to write my own blog, and ordering tea from anywhere I can. He’s in China, speaking Chinese, making friends with tea shop owners, and drinking tea with them. Very different kinds of learning, but we’re both progressing nicely, I think!
Oh! @Spoonvonstup! Since you definitely seem familiar… how do you classify Ya Bao? I wasn’t quite sure!
For those interested, this is one of the many teas my brother just shipped to me from China. Check out details on the rest here: http://wrockdinahsaur.blogspot.com/2012/02/this-post-spills-into-category-of.html
Very interesting story!
Fun!!! I see some teas in that pacl that you’re really going to like. Yabao is super fun for example- can be light, so don’t skip on those giant buds. Jin Jun Mei (oftentimes just golden eyebrow since ma (horse) isn’t in the name) is also a great one. Congrats also on jumping into the world of TGY. It’s one of my favorite kinds of tea, so I get super excited when someone is joining in for the first time. They can be intoxicating, like drinking the air in Hawaii. Ooh- and Huang Zhi Xiang.. just tried a kind of that the other day, and that Dan Cong varietal can be shifty-eyed good. You have such a nice brother!
Thanks for the input, @Spoonvonstup! Since a lot of the actual names for Chinese teas are new to me (last time he and I went on tea adventures, we were both much newer to the game with less insight into what we were doing), it’s great to know what a fantastic job he did with this package (and the notes, no less!).
He and I are both still learning about tea, albeit in very different ways. I’m reading books, forums, blogs, about to write my own blog, and ordering tea from anywhere I can. He’s in China, speaking Chinese, making friends with tea shop owners, and drinking tea with them. Very different kinds of learning, but we’re both progressing nicely, I think!
Oh! @Spoonvonstup! Since you definitely seem familiar… how do you classify Ya Bao? I wasn’t quite sure!