Hand Picked Autumn Tieguanyin (2011)

I am actually drinking the new autumn harvest version of this tea. I’m not sure if it was the power of suggestion or what, but I taste apricots! There is a richness underneath the floral/apricot note. I am really digging this. Still in the early steepings- I can’t believe I’m supposed to get TEN steepings from these leaves! I am really enjoying this one and I haven’t even sweetened it! I might try sweetening a later steeping just for fun. I usually enjoy a tiny bit of raw sugar in my oolongs.

So I thought wrote a review, but I guess I just thought that I did. I am drinking this now, and it is very floral. Its not a bad thing, but I think I just like my oolongs buttery :). Still very good.

I’m doing this with multiple steeps with hot water and 3-6 second steeps in my beautiful little frog yixing teapot (after rinsing the tea) according to Verdant tea’s instructions. The first steep has a wonderfully floral nose but the taste itself is very light. The liquor is a shimmery golden straw color. The leaves open up into large beautiful leaves.

Second steep: The floral bouquet is considerably muted now. The taste is stronger with a slight salted artichoke flavor mixed with the flowers and a slight walnut sensation at the back of my tongue. Nice.

Third steep: A hint of walnuts and butter pastry.

Fourth steep: The surprising scent of freshly shampoo’d hair. The flavor has retreated a bit and is back to light floral.

Should have reviewed this one when I first got it. I like a good Tieguanyin and this one met all of my expectations-another solid performer from Verdant Tea.

I usually read the description at the top of the page with a little heaping of disbelief but this tea truly grows and transforms as I continue to resteep. It’s probably the best greener oolongs I’ve ever had. The first steep was vegetal and spicy and further steeps became thicker with a more buttery aftertaste, it also does have that thirst quenching biting into a peach feeling. I also pick up the roasted marshmallow or more of a burnt sugar/caramel essence. I’ve had teas that resteep nicely and lend new flavors to each cup but this tea is different. It’s actually getting richer around steeps 3 and 4. This is a fantastic tea and I can’t wait to try the spring one.

Backlogging from several days ago. Amazingly complex tea— floral, buttery, and reminds me of freshly mown grass. Sweet, sugary aftertaste. Will steep and write a more detailed note once I have time.

Once again, a TGY from Verdant has stolen my heart. I really loved the sample from spring, and this was also a delight. I love how green it tastes. I certainly prefer this style.

This is the second Ti Kuan Yin I’ve ordered online going solely on the reviews posted here on Steepster. I ordered one ounce of the tea packed in the gift box (I was curious to see how it looked) I received the tea inside a very nice carton box while the tea itself was inside a small plastic bag.

As I opened the plastic bag, I could instantly smell the aromatic floral essence of this tea. I grabbed a few leaves to check on the dry leaves. I noticed the that curled up tea “balls” were smaller than any TKY’s I’ve ever seen or have.The tightly rolled leaves were fragrant, slightly oily to the touch, and have a dark green jade color.

I prepared the tea using a gaiwan following the suggested brewing guidelines of 205F water and 3 min steep time.

The resulting brew gave me a clear yellow-green cup with a gentle floral aroma. I brewed this tea 7 times and as I kept brewing it, the flavor profile had subtle but noticeable changes.

My first cup was pretty straight forward. It was floral, sweet, smooth textured, and slightly aromatic aftertaste. The second cup remained pretty much the same. On the third steep, the brew became slightly creamy. I could say the best cups were the fourth and fifth steeps, as the tea became deliciously creamier and smoother tasting while retaining its floral aroma but with a slight seaweedy smell. On the sixth steeping I noticed a loss of the creamy texture and floral aroma/flavor. The seventh steeping gave me a very light green cup with floral hints still there, but almost no creaminess and no aroma.

Upon analizing the wet leaf, I could tell they did indeed use smaller leaves. Perhaps the small size indicates only young leaves were used in the production of this tea? Anyways, I enjoyed this tea especially in later steepings. I found the first cups pretty unintresting but later on, this tea becomes literally mouthwatering (my mouth would salivate few seconds after I had my last sip, this was more noticeable during the 3rd-5th steepings). Flavor-wise I think this is a great tea but found it a bit lacking in the aftertaste I look for in Ti Kuan Yins. I was also a little disappointed that after the fifth cup, the tea began to lose its flavor. Overall this is a great TKY and for the price/service(free shipping) verdant tea offers? hard to beat.

This was a nice light flavored oolong, I was able to get multiple steeps with no bitterness.

Nothing bad to say about this tea. It is Robbust and tasted fresh.

I have never been one for jasmine teas or any of the fruity floral teas…so this was Perfect for me since it didnt really have n.e. of that kinda stuff really. It was bold and seemed to be picked and processed at the perfect time.

One thing I will say is it got me revved up a bit, a lot of caffeine…not in a bad way, just something to point out. Oolongs are that way more than some of the other teas I drink, so I expected it.

I will keep buying this tea if it is out there. Tieguanyin is the best Oolong I have found and its nice to have it hand picked as it feels a bit more authentic.

Brewed twice. By 4th steeping the leaves opened up and I was brewing it for about 2-3 minutes at a time…

I even iced it, it was amazing!