Ti Kuan Yin

This is a lovely Oolong, sweet, pleasing orchid notes which are quite delicate at first, but reveal themselves more with the infusions that follow. I’m currently on my fourth infusion, and sadly this will be my last as it is quite late.

A nice nutty tone to this as well and a sweet buttery note, reminding me a bit of browned butter. Smooth mouthfeel. Definitely one of the better offerings from Adagio.

I have had this before and loved it. This love has continued to this batch as well. I would love to note more about this but I don’t have time. Gotta love Tech week, moving, and school all at once with a heaping scoop of work.

My 1st Ti Kuan Yin! I’ve seen lots of amazing tasting notes about Samovar’s version(Monkey Picked Iron Goddess of Mercy), but I wasn’t sure how big the sample size is and I have a butt load of frequent cup points accumulated, so I figured I’d try this 1st. It is the 3rd most expensive sample they offer (outright cost, I’m not sure how it compares when comparing cost/gram), but this is the featured tea for March for their Roots Campaign so I thought now would be the perfect time to try it.

It’s definitely a green oolong and is beautifully rolled and twisted. 2.25g/6oz just below boiling water.

I could watch this unfurl forever… who says only blooming teas are pretty? The liquor is a very light yellow- lighter than I was expecting for the 5 min it steeped. The aroma is light, slightly vegetal, and… there’s a hint of something else… maybe lemony notes?

The flavor is very much like the aroma- light, slightly vegetal, subtle lemony notes, and just the slightest hint of astringency. Inspite of this astringency the mouth feel is still very much clean and smooth- it’s also thicker, almost broth like. I can see why people devote yixings to this one! Due to the subtle lemon notes I think this would be excellent yixing steeped then chilled for iced tea.

If you’re hesitant to drop $6 for a sample, I encourage you to try this WONDERFUL tea and support tea farmers!

Well, I was going to plow through the black tea sampler first, but I decided that I wanted to try something else instead. (I did actually drink a cup of yunnan jig this morning, but I just…drank it. It deserved better than that, but I had places to be! I’ll get to a tasting note later.)

This one looked really interesting in the tin. Dark, rich emerald green crumples of leaf that were a lot more solid and weighty than they seemed like they would be, once I picked one out. The smell of the dry leaves was, to me, very ‘cut grass’. Not freshly cut grass, but several-day-old cut grass, that was maybe out long enough to dry in the sun.

The actual brew…

Someone is going to think I sound crazy here, I’m sure, but to me…it smells like cooked potatoes. Baked potato maybe. I assume this is the nuttiness that everyone described, and I can see that too, but my first thought was definitely ‘baked potato’. And a side of cut grass. Given the color of the leaves, I was surprised that the tea itself didn’t brew to a darker color…it’s a very light yellow with a faintly spring-green edge. I didn’t have my eye on it while it was steeping, and was surprised when I came back to find it had unfurled into what looked like half of a plant in my glass infuser. Neat!

The taste is NOT potato, though that should surprise no one. It’s an interesting green, and it leaves a definite aftertaste of itself…strongly, but not unpleasantly. It feels very…full-bodied…and that impression has been increasing as I work my way toward the bottom of my first cup. I’m really enjoying it.

Now my uncertainty when it comes to rating teas is showing. What IS a perfect 100 for me? Does it even exist? This probably deserves a better rating than I’m giving it, but for now I’ll be conservative. There are still too many teas out there for me to try to be safely over-generous.

I must confess – my sample is old, I don’t even remember how old it is, even approximately… but there is a reason why it became neglected and spent so much time in the back of my tea cabinet. To start off, I’m very upset with the leaf quality, the sample almost entirely consists of small broken leaves rolled into very loose pellets. For this price I find it unacceptable.

Now to the taste. This is a lightly roasted TKY that tastes slightly woody, nutty and dry. I am not getting much of floral notes, more of irony aftertaste in the background. Oversteeping and/or subsequent infusions bring a lot of vegetal flavor which I don’t like. Can’t say much about aroma probably due to the age of my sample but it reminds me of hay and has some toasty edge to it.

Overall, I found this oolong unremarkable and overpriced.

Whew, back. Had computer issues that involve a brand new Dual Core Gateway. Hurray, no?

I should start by noting that Sinister owns a lovely Yixing clay pot seasoned for this tea alone. (refers to self in third person) Did you see what I did there?

Iron Goddess is a good epithet for any Oolong tea, but it’s perfect for this. It has sharp blood-coppery notes that are very lifting. It’s by no means too dark to taste fresh and light. That may sound a little like a contradiction…but sense is so hard to type in words.

If you’ve tried this, then you know. If you haven’t, buy some. This type of tea is too important for that “I don’t have an opinion so let me use yours” mentality. Besides, if you really think about it…what sort of tea aficionado would you be if you couldn’t say you loved or hated this tea?

It’s hard for me to correct myself. But I apparently lied/wrong when I said that Gunpowder was my favorite forever. “There’s always a bigger fish.” “The light at the end of the tunnel is brighter the closer you get.” “When you meet the Buddha on the road, you should kill the Buddha.” (think I’ve taken this as far as it’ll go.)

Either way, few people can say bad things about this tea. But to the few that do: I won’t argue with you, but I wish I could give you something as delicious as this tea. Alas, I cannot. A lot of Zen references floating around this post… =/ Suppose I’d best end on that note.

I was intrigued by a green tea that steeps for 5 minutes in boiling water (usually reserved for black tea) but was pleasantly surprised by the results: A smooth, strong taste and aroma without a lot of the ‘grassy’ taste usually associated with green tea. The leaves themselves unroll as they steep, so the process is interesting as well. Definitely lives up to the hype that other reviews have given.

I’m just falling further and further in love with oolongs. I wasn’t so sure about this one at first: the dry leaf smell seemed lacking in that “veggie-oolongish” area. First steep was pretty darn mellow in what I’m used to (not the asparaguspalooza experience). Second steep I thought, hmmm…I still dunno. Maybe I had too high of an expectation for this one. Third steep: Hellooo mouth happiness! I wish that I had the perfect phrase for what oolongs do to me. They’re like a snuggie for my soul, and a party for my mouth.

I don’t think that I’ll reorder this one – it’s fine, but I have my eyes set on my next oolong order coming from Life in Teacup – I’ve read stellar reviews of their oolongs and I’m dying to experience them. I just have promised myself that I will have my tea temp issues under control before I place that order. And I want to get a gaiwan too. Tee-hee! NE

Strangely I have never tried this tea before. The leaves look beautiful: a combination of dark and light green crumpled in interesting and exotic shapes. The smell is light, fresh a bit grassy, reminds me of countryside.

Here’s what Wang Mei Rui, the farmer growing this tea, says: “It is very important to enjoy tie kuan yin with heart. First we need to be calm and quiet. Second it is very important to use natural water and gong fu tea set to brew teas with friends. The natural water includes mineral water, well water, and mountain spring water. Distilled water and tap water cannot be used.”
The last part makes me smile. This tea is part of the Roots Campaign by Adagio, directly benefiting the farmers.

Taste: it’s light (lighter than I imagined) complex, floral. Our family poll – my husband liked it a lot, I liked it and my daughter: not so much.

I’ve had this tea for a while and I have finally gotten around to trying it. I hadn’t tried it before because every time I opened the tin it smelled so grassy. But it brews up into a very nice, light, and floral tea with only mild grassiness in the background. It has a beautiful golden color. I added some agave nectar to it since I like my tea sweet.

Brewing info: rinsed tea leaves in hot water for about 5-10 seconds then brewed with hot water (~190 F) for 3 1/2 minutes.

Update: I did NOT like this on the second brew. Brewed again for 3 1/2 minutes and the cup was very grassy. So, I recommend only one brewing of this if you want to avoid the grass flavor.

A light, gold-green liquor with a remarkably rich flavor. Buttery and sweet, with a faint vegetal aftertaste. This is one of those teas that is complete in itself – it would be spoiled with any additions. The dry leaf is compact and heavy, and expands dramatically during brewing.

Yum!

My first Ti Kuan Yin! When just dry it smelled inviting. I have to say I am very satisfied with this tea. At first when the 5 minute steep was up I had to check and make sure I actually had leaves in it… The color was very light but I guess from reading reviews that is normal ☺. Phew glad it wasnt just me. The aroma was that of a green tea and a hint of mint. I added a tad bit of honey and just loved it. Thank you so much for sharing this lovely tea with me Moraiwe.
http://m.flickr.com/lightbox?id=8761556982

This evening, my head is feeling a little foggy. I need to sit down and relax a bit. I just got a shipment of tea from Adagio, so it seems like a perfect time to break that open! I got a sampler pack of a few different oolong teas. Oolong is a tea that I’ve tasted now and then, but never really bothered to sink into. So here we go! Starting with Tie kuan yin, the iron goddess of forgiveness and mercy.

First steep
This steep was light. It reminded me of the first steep of bai mudan in that it very, very light, with a hint of floral tones. It is slightly vegetal, like Chinese greens. There is a little more depth to it which I can tell I’m not uncovering, but mostly it is just very light. I enjoyed it, but I was not overly impressed. I’m definitely liking this better than some other oolongs I’ve had.

Second steep
And here is some of the depth and complexity the first steep hinted at. The scent is more what I have gotten from the oolongs I’ve tried in the past. A little more earthy than vegetal. I’m starting to detect some of the nutty textures. The floral aroma has toned down a bit, but I can still tell that it’s floating right beneath the surface. The first steep was smooth, and this one is even more so. It feels like I’m sipping the lightest velvet.

This oolong has been very warm and filling. Just two cups, and I don’t think I can drink anymore right now. I’ve enjoyed this. I think I will probably enjoy it even more in the future when I have a better idea of what to expect.

Not much can be said that hasn’t already been mentioned about this tea. Smooth, easy-drinking tea with very little astringency and a nutty sweetness. If you consider yourself an oolong aficionado you will not go wrong buying this tea. It is great for multiple steeps and each re-steep brings out more nuanced flavors that will continue to surprise your taste buds. As a bonus, this tea is very pleasant to watch unfurl in the water as it is steeping.

Method: 1tsp./8oz water, 185º-190º, 3-5 minutes. Add one minute for each re-steep.

This is definitely one of my favorite oolongs. It’s just has the classic “oolong” taste you’ve been used to if you grew up in an Asian household or frequented Asian restaurants (that served oolong and not green teas).

My roommates love Ti Kuan Yin too and have their own tins and bags from different companies.

Taken plain with multiple infusions.
Awesome oolong. Buttered toasty start with a sweet toasty flower after taste. I know that sounds weird but that’s the best way I can think of to describe a straight down the middle oolong. There are traces of floral notes in the smell of the brewed tea but the dominant flavors are all of sweetness and toast and yummy.

This was my first time trying this variety of tea. The dry leaves looked quite green, so I was afraid to use boiling water and did the first infusion for 4 minutes at 190F. The result was light and definitely floral. There was none of the bitter or toasty or buttery flavors others have noted, just floral. Almost like a jasmine oolong, except much lighter. The leaves hadn’t opened up at all after this, so I decided to do the second with boiling water for 5 minutes. This came out much better. The leaves opened up completely; there was even an complete, full leaf in there. The tea was stronger, and still floral but definitely had some of the toasty/buttery flavor. I did boiling water for 7 minutes for the third infusion and it came out much like the first. I wanted to try one more, so I did boiling water for 10 minutes, and it actually came out a little better than the previous.

Next time I make this, I’m going to try using a bit more dry leaf and boiling water for all infusions (possibly starting with a rinse). I’d like to see at least two full-flavored infusions.

I recently ordered several samples from Adagio and as a fan of TKY’s I had to place a sample of this in there. The tea comes in a nice foil Ziploc bag with Adagio’s logo and short instructions on how to brew. I was pleased when the sample size was about an ounce, as most tea vendors that offer samples give you much less than half an ounce.

The dry leaves have the typical TKY look, dark jade green with splotches of lighter green in between, I also noticed some brownish spots but nothing too prevalent. The leaves were tightly curled up, firm, and slightly oily. The smell of the dry leaves was slightly floral but it had a slight unpleasant metallic smell. Not too strong, subtle actually, but still noticeable that was enough to bother me, maybe old tea?

Anyways, I brewed this tea following the suggested directions, using 195F water and 3 min steep time. As with all my Chinese teas, I brewed this using a Gaiwan.

This gave me a bright yellow green cup with a slight flowery aroma, but something was off, the aroma had an “old” smell to it. Usually TKY’s have a distinctive floral aroma and this one had it too (although not as strong as others) but it also had another, again subtle yet noticeable, off aroma that bothered me. I can’t describe it in other words other than “old tea” aroma. Taste wise the tea was ok. Very Light in taste, lightly floral, and perhaps even a slightly creamy finish. In my second and third cup, the aroma slightly cleared up but the “offness” was still there. Flavor remained mostly unchanged. On the 4th and 5th cup, taste became “greener” and lighter. the 6th cup was very light in taste, so I ended the brewing there.

The wet leaf revealed few stems, medium sized leaves, and most leaves had one form of damage to them.

Overall, since I received almost an ounce worth of sample, I experimented a lot with this tea with different brew times and techniques(gongfu) but flavor/aroma “offness” was still there. Maybe I got a bad batch or it was a sample that was tucked away for a long time and they decided to send it to me, but let’s just say I did not really enjoy drinking this tea (first few infusions were terrible, but becomes drinkable/slightly enjoyable in the later ones as the aroma clears up) I may purchase another sample in the far future just to confirm what I think about this tea, but as of right now I would not purchase this tea.

*after reading some reviews, seems that maybe I did get an old sample… shame.

This may not be the most over the top floral and complex cuppa TKY I’ve ever had, but listen guys. Value wise, this thing is great for the money, and a cup that I can drink daily and say, oh yes, this IS Oolong.

Heavy crumpled balls of dry leaves, gorgeously unfurl imparting color and flavor to the tea.

If I could sum it up in one word it would be “Earthy”. The color is a deep green/amber, echoing the earthy flavor. There’s a slight floral aftertaste that is refreshing. Stays enjoyable even as the tea cools.

All in all a very solid, enjoyable Oolong.