I ordered this over 2 months ago. Wasn’t until now that I decided to write a note about. This was my first Tie Lou Han, description on the website is pretty interesting, “A strong, rich and full-bodied tea that will warm your body and energize your mind.” I was honestly intrigued but the end result was a little disappointing. I have since tried other Tie Lou Han’s so I feel better writing about it now.
>Dry Leaf Appearance/Aroma
Short curled dark leaves. Lots of broken pieces and some dust. Light charcoal aroma.
>Brewing Method
Gaiwan, Gong-fu style, boiling water, one rinse. Brewed 5 times.
>Liquid Apperance
Clear amber.
>Taste/Aroma
This tea has a very faint smell of rocks and charcoal. The tea has a strong charcoal taste with a medium body in the first cups, which then fades into very subtle cocoa notes.
Starting from he 3rd cup, the tea became lighter in taste, but other than that no noticeable changes from here onward.
4th and 5th cup followed the same pattern, loss of taste with no changes in texture or new flavors. I honestly got tired of it, so I ended the session there.
>Wet Leaf Appearance
Nothing out of the ordinary, dark leaves, mostly broken.
>Overall
If someone had told me this was a cheap wuyi oolong I would’ve believed it. The description of this tea really intrigued me so I was expecting something more, this one just feels like a cheap overly toasted da hong pao. Does this mean it’s a bad tea? no way. Despite the letdown, I did enjoy this tea, it’s just not amazing or has anything that makes it stand out.
