I roasted a couple sessions’ worth of Teavivre’s Taiwan Monkey Picked Tieguanyin a little further a few days ago, just because. Here’s session #1; #2 will be in a couple months to compare after it’s rested a bit.
In the first few infusions, the nuttiness of this tea is definitely intensified by the roasting, but it also changed from a more generic roasty, nutty flavor to a specific almond note. There’s something almost Dancong-like in this that I can’t identify. While the tea wasn’t spicy at all before, there’s now a hint of spice in the finish. It’s not strong enough to tell what it is. There’s also a mild sweet potato note. The creamy mouthfeel doesn’t seem to have changed.
It seems to lose flavor sooner, which is the opposite of what i expected. Brewing for at least a minute produces a cup of creamy sweetness with little flavor except roast by the fifth infusion. Hopefully as the new roast settles this will improve.
Flavors: Almond, Plum, Roasted, Spices, Sweet Potatoes
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How did you roast the tea?
Oven at 200 (as low as mine goes) with the door slightly open to keep it from getting too hot and burning the tea. I can’t remember how long I roasted it, I paid more attention to how roasted it smelled and looked than time.
I haven’t had the desire to re/roast any tea until I read your review. I might have to give it a try next time I’m in the woods for a few weeks. Cast iron wok over a low heat, low smoke fire.
What are you planning on roasting? I’m finding that 200 degrees works well, and leaving the door open was unnecessary. 200 for 40 minutes has become my standard roast for this tea and especially Teavivre’s Huang Guanyin, which became exactly what I wanted after the roast. That’s how I’ll do the rest of what I roast of those two. I tried roasting some of the Huang Guanyin for an hour and a half and it was too roasted and mostly lost the chocolate. I don’t know how any of this information would translate to your method and whatever you want to roast (obviously it depends on how roasted it is to begin with and how roasted you want it to be), but hopefully this helps some.
How did you roast the tea?
Oven at 200 (as low as mine goes) with the door slightly open to keep it from getting too hot and burning the tea. I can’t remember how long I roasted it, I paid more attention to how roasted it smelled and looked than time.
I haven’t had the desire to re/roast any tea until I read your review. I might have to give it a try next time I’m in the woods for a few weeks. Cast iron wok over a low heat, low smoke fire.
What are you planning on roasting? I’m finding that 200 degrees works well, and leaving the door open was unnecessary. 200 for 40 minutes has become my standard roast for this tea and especially Teavivre’s Huang Guanyin, which became exactly what I wanted after the roast. That’s how I’ll do the rest of what I roast of those two. I tried roasting some of the Huang Guanyin for an hour and a half and it was too roasted and mostly lost the chocolate. I don’t know how any of this information would translate to your method and whatever you want to roast (obviously it depends on how roasted it is to begin with and how roasted you want it to be), but hopefully this helps some.