Hand Picked Autumn Tieguanyin (2013)

Decided to compare the Spring Tieguanyin to the Autumn because I had a sample of each from Terri Harplady!! Thanks!!!!!!

Wow!! I am definitely getting the Lilac floral taste and aroma in this one. I must say that I enjoyed the Spring one a bit better (as I do Spring season over Fall so that’s appropriate lol).
I was checking the Verdant website for the other tasting notes and I find that there is always a dominant flavor and then the other ones are very subtle. They mention honey which it does have a sweetness. Cashew, rice pudding, and anise. There is a muted, not quite pronounced creaminess so I can see the rice pudding and cashew now. There is a slight astringency in the finish so I am getting the anise.
Spring was definitely better than Fall for me but this was still delicious. I have a traditional Tieguanyin to try next in my Valentine’s Day comparisons! :)

I’ll start out by saying I’m not fond of oolongs, but I had a sample of this and figured I’d try it. As far as oolongs go, this one is really good! It lacks that cardboard flatness that I find in many oolongs. It also has more depth than most, which is another reason I don’t like them; too many high notes and not enough base notes to round out the taste. I do get little hints of apricot. It gets the tiniest bit grassy in the aftertaste. My mouth is left feeling dry, but not in the gross way that rooibos does. As nice as this is, I think I’ll leave it for my husband who is often searching out (and failing to find) oolongs in my stash.

So…I don’t know if I should add this as a new tea, since it’s not 2013 anymore…but I am feeling lazy right now. This is from their recent autumn harvest though. xD
This one definitely tastes different than their Spring Tieguanyin. I didn’t think it would taste much different to be honest, but it definitely does.
When the tea was still super hot, it had a weird sourness to it. But as it cooled, I realized that it was just kinda nutty.
It’s like a floral nut tea.
Wasn’t expecting that at all xD
The nuttiness definitely add a certain sweetness to it, that’s unexpected.
But it’s not horrible. Still really strongly floral. So it’s all good for me. :p But I definitely like the Spring harvest better!

Gave the dry leaf a 1 second rinse before infusion.

Slight milkiness. Soft sweetness. Hint of fruity tone.

I got this lovely sample from Dexter thank you very much.

The dry leaves are very green and smell very herbal.
I’ve prepared this tea western style and brewed it at 185° for 5 minutes and I get now a very lovely Oolong, mellow and tasty.
I taste mainly peachy notes and floral notes and a touch of honey.
This is delicious.

I did a quick rinse and then steeped for 2 minutes and 30 seconds, which yielded crisp floral notes, like honeysuckle, and a grassy profile. The second steep, of 3 minutes, is still very floral but the sweet notes, which were on the periphery of the the first steep, are now more prominent. The finish has a jam-like quality that invokes images of stone fruits and blossoms, like peaches or apricots.

There’s also a smooth feel which makes me think of almond milk but it’s more of an impression.

I’m not always a fan of the tieguanyin varieties from Verdant, which I find demand more of my patience, but this one is lovely on a rushed first impression. I didn’t need to short steep it to coax out qualities that I like, either.

Not sure if this is 2013 or another year. But I’m going to assume 2013 based on other comments. This gives off a woodsy appeal. When I drink it I think of taking a walk in the woods. I just detected a hint of cinnamon. That was weird. Overall good tea. Perfect for this rainy morning.

I received this from BrewTEAllySweet in her tea stash sale. Thank you!

I have really been craving the light oolongs the last few days so I rolled with it and have been sipping on this one tonight. I will be honest I have no idea which vintage this sample pack is from. This is my first unroasted Tiequanyin. This is very lovely. I have been brewing this in the new gaiwan. I get sweet, vegital, a hint of fruit. With some light oolongs I get a butteriness. This one I did not get much of that. There is also no bitterness for me at the end of the sip which is what I have disliked about a lot of the lighter oolongs. I could see myself purchasing more of this!

What, what?! This is an oolong? Well fancy that. The second oolong that I’ve had where I’ve yet to notice (up until recently, all oolongs made me violently ill within minutes).

I opened the pouch to share with someone who asked for a taste, and though I should try it myself. Very light color (I wondered if I should steep it longer), smells like pea shoots to me. Very clean and fresh. Tiny bit of dryness at the end of the sip, bright peachy/stone fruit notes, and a delicate jasmine scent and flavor. I’m really enjoying this!

It’s been a really long time since I actually sat down to do a review, these recent semesters have been insanely busy. Anyway, I found this sample packet behind my monitor and figured that I should drink something other than my rapidly-depleting sheng puerh. I opened the packet and was immediately greeted with a pleasantly floral aroma. I steeped it for 20 seconds in a gaiwan with 200 degree water, which was a bit longer than intended but the result was still fantastic. The initial tasting was very sweet, the initial honey flavor giving way to a very smooth lilac flavor. It will definitely be interesting to see how the tea develops.

The second steep was prepared with 200-205 degree water steeped for 8 seconds. The first thing I noticed is that the initial flavor isn’t as sweet yet still very much a honey flavor. There is also a grassiness that I didn’t notice before, and even better the very subtle flavor of saffron appears, slowly coating the mouth in it’s unique flavor. The important lesson to learn here – Tie Guan Yin is to be consumed hot, otherwise the flavors are much less interesting.