Ti Kuan Yin

A golden colored Oolong, mild and pleasant. A bit astringent, so I added a bit of local honey. A few steeping’s later it’s sure to make you smile. Oolong – what an amazing tea.

I’ve had this tea about 3 or 4 times now and can honestly say this is an excellent tea. It is certainly one of the best Ti Kuan Yin (aka Iron Goddess of Mercy) teas I’ve had. And hands down the best tea I’ve gotten from Adagio.

It is very smooth and I can’t detect any bitterness. It has a nice blend of sweetness and vegetal flavors. I’m having a hard time put my finger on the sweetness—maybe a slight lychee taste, but the flavor is faint so I’m not too sure. Not that ID’ing the flavor matters. What matters is that the balance is spot on.

Good stuff, especially for the price. This is my favorite style of oolong. I tried steeping in a traditional Yixing clay teapot, with the extra steepings, but I honestly thought it tastes best brewing it Western style in my Teavana steeper for 6 minutes (yes, I am a barbarian). Good aroma and the leaves smell delicious after steeping.

Rich, yet delicate. Thick wood/grass flavor ending with a light aftertaste which reminds me of the smell of trees after it rains.

This tea is really great!
It has a strong but smooth taste with an earthy aroma.
Does not need anything added to it at all. Taste great as is.
Lives up to the great reviews others have given it.
Thanks to Jenny for sending this to me:-)

Not too heavy or too light. A slightly (but not too) grassy cup. Buttery and full-bodied. I love this tea.

Boo! This is the last spoon full from the tin :(

A misleading tea for me.. scent is pretty light, but I feel the flavor is more robust than other oolong varieties I have had. Has a lasting flavor, sort of nutty, and a little bitter. While it’s not my favorite blend, I do find it enjoyable.

I really wanted to like this tea. It seems to be so well-loved, and others’ descriptions sound like something I would enjoy. So I feel like I must be doing something wrong.

This is my second attempt at tasting it. The first time, I recall as being unpleasantly mineral-tasting, but the steep time had been pretty short, so perhaps not all flavors came out.

First steep—180 for 3.75 min. Scent is very floral, like overapplied perfume—doesn’t seem like something tea leaves should be able to accomplish all alone, without going through a scenting process like a jasmine green. Taste is less florid, thank goodness. A bit grassy. A bit of tangy mineral flavor. I’m not seeing the “walnut” and “collard greens” notes that Adagio’s description claims.

As it cools, it’s tasting more and more floral. This is more mellow than the initial scent suggested. I think it helps that it’s blending with the other elements. But it still rubs me the wrong way.

Second steep—180 for 4.5 m. Also rather florid; other flavors are weak. Probably should have given it longer.

Third steep—180 for 8 min. I thought it might need a looooooong steep to bring out something other than flowers. The floridness has faded a lot, but now it’s just blandly green-tea flavored.

I really really want to rate this higher, but I can’t justify it. That aside, it’s a lovely standalone tea, with an initial floral taste and some sweetness followed by a rich nutty flavor. Very little astringency and good for several resteeps. It’s just that when compared to other teas of this type out there, it’s simply not as good.

Brewed gongfu style in a gaiwan, 3g to ~4fl oz
Dry leaves are shades of green with a touch of brown here and there, some rolled loosely into little balls, others into twisted various elongated shapes. The smell is of dried flowers (but not overly floral)and cut grass.

Brewed: color is pale golden-toned green, fading to yellow with a few steeps. The scent is spring-y, orchid and cut leaves with almond undertones.

First brews are bright and a little grassy, just a touch of nutty and mineral with a bit of astringency, with later brews taking on more of a fresh blossom & fruity taste (for me it was like the tangy bite in the aftertaste of dark chocolate.) It brewed a thicker mouthfeel, less like broth, more like a juice.

The wet leaves expanded beautifully, retaining the shades of green, smelling of roasted potato skins (not the starchy meat, just the minerally-rooty outer flesh), so I understand the potato comment by sophistre.

A very pleasant fresh-tasting tea!

Brad – good but not the best tgy. I would buy again.
Sarah – meh, not worth getting again.

I like clean, complex oolongs like this one. It tasted like a white tea a times and then it grew into this complex, slightly sweet oolong as I continued to drink the cup. Really complex flavors, each sip a little different than the last. Overall, had a hay type of scent and really pleasantly sweet aftertaste that was surprising. I will definitely drink this again.

Nice. Lightly oxidized, rich green color. Preferred to most oolongs. good for many infusions.

Decent green oolong, my sample is fairly old, but it’s still drinkable

Very subtle yet tasty, green oolong. I got a sample of this bagged and followed Adagio’s suggested approach, except I steeped for a bit less time (they suggested 5 minutes). The nose is a mixture of slight floral, grass and licorice. Reminds me of a cross between a good silver needle and a good green oolong.

I need to get some more of this and experiment a bit.

My favorite out of the oolong sampler which has become an afternoon staple. A smooth oolong of moderate strength taste with floral notes. A great alternative for the green tea drinker.

This is a somewhat standard Ti Kuan Yin oolong – slightly floral, but still hints at that ‘woody’ oolong taste that you find in darker oolongs like Wu Yi. The floral elements in Adagio’s Ti Kuan Yin aren’t as present as I would like them to be, however. Additionally, they seem ‘simple’ somehow. This would be a good casual oolong. And perhaps the flavors could be brought out more with different steeping parameters.

AMAZING taste, hard to describe. In Mandarin, Ti Kuan Yin means ‘iron goddess of mercy,’ Thick, leafy balls of this oolong leaf tea just make it look like you’ll enjoy it. Has a very light and smooth flavor that I find really works well for an easy wake-up. This really zings when you add White Peach to it. I bought it as part of the Roots Campaign on Adiago = http://www.adagio.com/roots_campaign/wang_mei_rui.html?SID=ab73d2d6e173dae15bbc9d04ddffcc41

Too much on the green side to me