Hand Picked Autumn Tieguanyin (2011)

What a crazy last few days it has been. New home purchase had to be inspected and appraised, busy busy at work with the district people coming down this weekend, hail the size of golf balls pounding from the sky between tornado watches, my daughter learned a new word – and that word is "no"… just plain crazy.

Into this maelstrom comes a small window of sanity where I am alone to just breathe it all out after Zoey is down to bed and Leanne is off at the hospital making people whole again overnight. I read Lynne-tea’s review of this sought after Oolong and decided the time was right. Thank you Bonnie for giving me this sample of solace!

I found that my notes more often went sharply toward the intangible and read like “tree house” and “caught in a summer shower” as opposed to “grassy” or “tastes like buttery flowers?” as I went back through what I scrawled in my journal over the 22! steeps that poured out from the 6.8g that eventually overcame the confines of my little 4oz gaiwan like a slow growing vine.

Being 8 years young, sitting on the second step of our old, tattered, halfway screened in porch while my ankles and feet swing through too tall grass that leaves the earlier afternoon’s downpour sticky and sweet in my lungs. Pillaging an old mason jar and hounding after lightening bugs in the humid dusk to doze next to after dark. This tea doesn’t remind me of that time, I close my eyes and can relive it.

Oh yeah. It tastes good too.

After roasted oolong earlier in the day (2011 Golden Key Wuyi), I really wanted to spend a bit of time trying this lovely Autumn Tieguanyin brewed gong fu style. I loaded up my little glass 100 ml oolong pot, broke out my gong fu tea tray and ru kiln cup, and let myself really get absorbed in the flavors and aromas that emerged.

It is such a pleasure when a tea opens up to reveal it’s true nature. Orchid, rock sugar, sweet grass, with spicy notes too — mmm. Enticing aroma that is both seductive and intriguing. I make it through three short steeps before I get a bit of the saffron flavor to emerge, then the hint of apricot and peach, and a wonderful tart edge. At 9 steeps, the flavors keep on coming. Grassy fields and dried flower tones emerge… as Spock says, “fascinating!”

This is my second session with Verdant Teas Hand Picked Tieguanyin, and I look forward to more in the near future. :)

I am just now finishing the combination of my fifth and sixth infusions of this tea, and it is quite lovely. An incredibly complex Oolong … most Oolong teas are complex, yes, but, even for an Oolong this is a complex tea. So many interesting flavors emerge with each infusion.

It started out with a sweet and floral note, which is typically what I’d expect from a Tie Guan Yin, but, there was a stronger vegetal note to this, and a warm, peppery kind of spice to it that seems to settle on the back of the palate and tickles the tongue in the aftertaste. It has a thick, velvety mouthfeel that starts out very soft and sweet, and develops into more of a buttery taste and texture.

With subsequent infusions, I notice an apple-y kind of flavor that starts as a sweet flavor, and develops into a snappy, crisp, almost tart kind of flavor that reminds me very much of a Braeburn apple. I do notice the saffron flavors as mentioned in the flavor profile, they start out very slight and develop nicely by the time I’ve reached my third and fourth infusions… providing an interesting contrast for the sweetness.

I really love this Tie Guan Yin! But then, that is no surprise to me, as Verdant Tea is always top notch!

I got to host an impromptu midnight tea party this weekend! We had folks over for my boyfriend’s birthday, and a couple were curious about my tea cupboard so I offered to make some. I ended up going through 4 different teas over the course of the evening, including all 3 TOMC oolongs, and had maybe a dozen people try them :D

This tea was the favorite by far, somewhat to my surprise. My personal favorite would be the Anxi Fo Shou (the only non-oolong I made for them), closely followed by the Mi Lan Dancong. But I guess the buttery texture and lack of astringency in the Tieguanyin really won over the newbies :P A couple of people did prefer the Mi Lan, but they still found it bitter in comparison to this. So this tea is getting points for general popularity.

A friend stopped by in concern at one point to make sure that I was having fun, not feeling obligated to play hostess. It was really enjoyable though, getting to share something I love with so many different people!

Tiguanyinathon Pt. III

Early steeps: The first steep is very creamy has a nice balance of sweet and savory qualities with notes of cinnamon, collard, and Brazil nut.

Middle steeps: Savory, salty flavors are dominant here. There is a strong but pleasant parsley flavor and a very slight floral note.

Later steeps: Around the sixth steep, this tea starts to shine. It has a nice, creamy texture with a more prominent floral flavor that reminds me of thick leaved, bulb growing flowers. The saltiness is still there, but it is smooth and sweet with a soothing almond milk flavor.

Thanks to Sil for sending me this lovely tea.

The past two days have been terrible in a bad way. I had a bit of a family emergency and I haven’t slept for over two days. The only thing that kept me sane during this stressful time is the process of brewing tea. And this tea was excellent.

1st Steep-15 seconds
Very grassy in a good. There are also nice citrus notes with a creamy finish. It’s also a bit floral but in a gentle way.

2nd Steep-18 seconds
Grassy with lime notes. There is a merengue note on the finish. That sounds crazy, doesn’t it?

3rd Steep-20 seconds
Still grassy with a bit of a peppery note. Kind of like arugula. Not exactly a combination that you like to find in tea but it was so tasty.

4th Steep-40 seconds
Still sort of grassy but the pepper is gone. Much more vegetal. Admittedly not my favorite steep but pleasant.

5th Steep-1 minute
Tastes like the olive oil my family brings from Italy when they visit. My family calls it the good stuff. I could drink that stuff straight. Fruity with a olive tang. My favorite steep.

6th Steep-2 minutes
Still get the olive oil but with a bit of spice. Not pepper but rosemary. A bit piney.

7th Steep-3 minutes
Again I am going to sound insane but I am getting basil notes with a lemon tang. Lemon and basil is one of my favorite combinations.

This was definitely a pleasant tea that helped to keep me stress free during a very trying two days. I don’t think it’s going to be one I rush to buy but I do like it but I have Golden Fleece higher up on my priorities list for when I get my voucher.

First Steep: Very floral flavor that morphs into a nice sweetness.

Second Steep: A flavor that reminds me of apple peel with a tiny pat of butter. It’s sort of like prepared baked apples before the apple is actually baked. The floral flavors are definitely toned down, but still sit nicely in the background. I’m hitting an almost hidden spice note. It’s very light.. something like a dust of cinnamon.

I seem to be stopping at two steeps lately.. I wish I could keep sipping tea, but I need to head off to bed. Yes, I did enjoy this tea, but it’s not a favorite of mine. I am very happy that I got to try it! Thanks, Meeka!

Wow!

This was perhaps the one tea that I was most excited for from the new shipment. I wasn’t sure if anything could beat the Spring Tieguanyin offering from Verdant Tea. If anything could though, it would be this one, as it has the same source and farmers. It has so much of the nice, floral and bright qualities of the Spring, yet it possesses a heartier body while not missing out on any sweetness. The sweetness gives way to a buttery mouthfeel and a sweet-peach, mouthwatering flavor.

Overall, this particular Tieguanyin as well as it’s brother from the spring, are quite simply put…the best of it’s style that I’ve ever experienced. I would not suggest trying this, rather, I would suggest stocking up on it! We all know with tea this fine that it is limited in quantity, so my honest suggestion is to enjoy it while you can.

Well done to Verdant on this one!

My first tea from Verdant AND my first time using a gaiwan! There was some spilling and some burning, but not nearly as much as I was expecting!
I did a rinse, and then got up to 7 steeps before I had to go watch a movie with my roommate. Then I came back to it and did a few more steeps.
I was so surprised at how much the leaves unfurled and expanded, they filled up the whole gaiwan. The taste moved from peppery and grassy, to leafy green, to buttery, to vanilla, to sweet and juicy. I knew oolong was supposed to change with each steep, but I had never really experienced it before. The grassy notes made me think of summertime in elementary school, and throughout all the steeps it was sweet and calming. This was a totally different way of drinking tea and I loved it… I can’t wait to try the other teas I got (with better notes next time!)

To be honest, I expected better from Verdant. I have drunk many Tieguanyin teas and this one was rather disappointing.
The first steep produced light, floral tasting and smelling brew, reminding of jasmine tea. Nice, but lacking complexity. The leaves opened very fast and the second steep gave rather flat tasting tea. I did not care for the third.
However, I will try to brew this tea again in a zhuni pot. Perhaps my impression will change for better. Right now, I do not feel that this tea deserves 5 stars. It does not mean of course that the tea is bad; it is a good tea, just a bit too mediocre for my taste.