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“A few years ago someone gave my Aunt a gift of a Chinese loose-leaf tea. We had no idea what to do with it, and it stayed in our cupboard for a year or two. Then a few months ago a friend of mine...” Read full tasting note
“my all-time favorite tea. great value, buttery, cashew, floral, minerality, and such a warm taste. the sweetness and slight bitterness balance perfectly. great for quite a few steeps. if i had to...” Read full tasting note
“I still consider myself a novice when it comes to oolongs, so I’m not really sure what the flavor profile for Iron Goddess of Mercy “should” be. The description mentioned almonds, honey, and...” Read full tasting note
“The aroma of the dry leaves is extremely fruity with a distinct smokiness and wood smell (oak or hickory). The slightly sweet medium bodied tea liquor however, has no noticeable fruity aroma or...” Read full tasting note
A classic Ti Kwan Yin flavor, with a little fruitiness, a little sweetness, and a lot of depth to the flavor.
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A few years ago someone gave my Aunt a gift of a Chinese loose-leaf tea. We had no idea what to do with it, and it stayed in our cupboard for a year or two. Then a few months ago a friend of mine trying to convert me to loose-leaf teas gifted me with a variety of them, an infuser and instructions—and I was up and running. I tried the “mystery” tea and quite liked it, but had no idea what it could be since the writing in the wrappings was Chinese.
Then when I decided to order some teas for myself, I decided to try a couple of Oolongs and the mystery was solved. My mystery tea was Iron Goddess of Mercy. I liked that tea, and I liked the one from TeaSource, yet I doubt I’ll order it again. It’s simply that when there are teas I find I love, absolutely love, that I can steep two or three pots worth in one day and drink it with relish, this just doesn’t quite make it to the top. It’s an enjoyable tea, a bit astringent, metallic in flavor and mellow compared to blacks and thankfully not grassy like most Greens I’ve tried. But not destined to be the favorite Big Red Robe turned out to be.
my all-time favorite tea. great value, buttery, cashew, floral, minerality, and such a warm taste. the sweetness and slight bitterness balance perfectly. great for quite a few steeps. if i had to pick one tea to drink forever, it would be this one. it’s so complex yet so enjoyable.
Flavors: Butter, Cashew, Floral, Mineral
I still consider myself a novice when it comes to oolongs, so I’m not really sure what the flavor profile for Iron Goddess of Mercy “should” be. The description mentioned almonds, honey, and flowers, but I’m not really getting any of that from my first cup! It is a bit nutty, but more like walnuts than almonds (there’s an almost woodsy tang to it) and has hints of smokiness along with that distinctive buttery-smooth texture I expect from an oolong. Overall, I liked this one much better than the “Golden Dawn” oolong I purchased in the same order and am curious to play around with the steeping parameters to see if I can bring out some different notes in the flavor.
Flavors: Butter, Nuts, Smoke, Smooth, Walnut, Wood
The aroma of the dry leaves is extremely fruity with a distinct smokiness and wood smell (oak or hickory). The slightly sweet medium bodied tea liquor however, has no noticeable fruity aroma or taste. But, the liquor does maintain the smokey aroma and wood smell, which is present also in the tea’s after taste, and it get’s stronger and stronger in each additional steeping. There is no unpleasant bitterness, bakeiness or astringency to this tea and it maintains it’s flavor well up until the very end.
This very affordable and pleasant oolong tea goes for something like $5 for 4 oz. at TeaSource. I find it’s best brewed using 3g of leaves in 6 oz of 195°F water with a quick rinse and for 3 mins for steepings one through five, and 4 mins 30 secs for steeping six.
