Thank you very much for the samples, ThisTea! I have always been a fan of the Tie Guan Yin. I have tried this a couple times now, trying to brew it different ways. I used a bit more leaf than usual for this steep session – 2 1/3 teaspoons for a mug. Trying to impart a bit more flavor than I was tasting in the previous session. The leaf does look slightly battered than I would like to see from a quality Tie Guan Yin. I will say it never gets astringent, no matter how long I steep it. The flavor notes are a bit muted to me… as oolong seems to be for me lately. Mostly a drying aspect – with buttery notes. Maybe some orchids. Maybe even a cooling minty aspect — and very syrupy mouthfeel on the third steep. But I usually expect (and love) when a Tie Guan Yin is a full bouquet of flowers in flavor, and when it isn’t that, I’m a bit disappointed. This flavor has happened before with other Tie Guan Yin harvests, so I know it is not something unachievable that I’m hoping for!
Steep #1 // 2 1/3 teaspoons for full mug // 22 minutes after boiling // rinse // 1 1/2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 8 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 3 1/2 minute steep
This is You :-D
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Bio
Hi! I love tea and trying new ones – it adds a bit of variety to my day! Books, music, TV & movies are my thing… and tea, of course.
Some of my favorite tea shops (still operating):
birdandblendtea.com
teavivre.com
52teas.com
svtea.com
whisperingpinestea.com
justea.com
harney.com
Dammann Freres
fusionteas.com
shop.Javateaco.com
Lupicia
Octaviatea.com
Davidstea.com
eco-cha.com
what-cha.com
singleoriginteas.com
teasenz.com
tealyra.com
Mandalatea.com
verdanttea.com
Favorite tea shops (RIP):
butikiteas.com
steapshoppe.com
steepcityteas.com
aquartertotea.com
dellaterrateas.com
zentealife.com
angrytearoom.com
theteamerchant.net
joysteaspoon.com
tealiciousllc.com
Rivertea
Specialteas
My icon photo is Richard Mayhew from the graphic novel ‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry.
Most of the teas listed in my cupboard are actually sample sizes. I don’t really have 2,000 ounces of tea around here! Many of my teas have only one teaspoon left… maybe two. But I like keeping them in my cupboard list for reference to what I could be sipping. Usually, I write tasting notes once for each tea. I’m still drinking them, just not writing tasting notes each time!
I’m always in search of: Hattialli, Qu Hao black, Jin Jun Mei, teas using marshmallow root.
My dislikes: hibiscus, ginger (unless in chai), turmeric, bee pollen, charcoal type flavors
My ratings:
95-100 – Super awesome deliciousness favorites – cupboard essential
80-95 – Also pretty delicious
65-80 – Pretty good
50-65 – Okay
1-50 – Probably won’t want to sip it again
I’m planning on being a Steepsterer as long as there IS a Steepster, so if you’re not hearing from me, that means something happened to my health… if you know what I mean. (Or as evidenced by the great computer hiatus of 2019, something happened to my computer… I have a dumb phone so can’t access internet on that. As of 12/20/21 my wifi might start getting unreliable.)
Happy sipping!
Location
USA
