Iron Goddess

Thanks to fellow Steepsterite, Tamm, I have a hefty pouch of this tea in my drawer at work. It’s great for work since I can just sprinkle some leaves in a mug and fill it with hot water over and over through out the day. It is now 2PM and I’ve been drinking from this same sprinkle of leaves since 9AM. I’d say there’s at least 2 infusions left in these babies. Awesome!

The tea starts out very floral and roasty. This is definitely a more roasted version of Ti Guan Yin than I’m used to. While the 3rd infusion of oolongs are considered the best, I find that I enjoyed the first two more. By the 3rd infusion, the flavor is very vegetal. It tastes like thoroughly cooked bok choy with an undercurrent of floral flavors. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve filled my mug, but now I’m seeing the dried apricot flavors mentioned in the description, though it’s really more vegetal than fruity. This is a very enjoyable tea that I’m happy to keep by my side.

Of course, the downside to having such a giving tea is that you get kind of tired of the same tea all day. It takes longer to tire of an oolong since the flavors change and develop with each infusion, but I think these leaves are running out of ideas. :) Maybe it’s time for some peppermint!

Hurrah! An incredible oolong with fantastic floral notes, a bright flavour with a subtle sweetness. Rishi has upped the game with this Iron Goddess – a tea worthy of rolling in the Oolong gang with my homie Tung Ting.

This was my first Iron Goddess. If you are going to have a first of anything, this is it.
It set my standard for a baked oolong. You will enjoy seeing the leaves expand to a large full leaf. Beautiful. The flavors are as described and multi-layered.

I am too exhausted to really write much, however this tea is wonderful. Has a floral oolong taste that is accompanied by a baked quality that compliments it perfectly. Had 2 steeps so far and will continue until I have sucked the life out of the leaves.

I must say that this is one fantastic Oolong. I’m not very experienced with this type of tea having drank only Harney & Sons Formosa Oolong. The tea is very floral with hints of baked apricot. At first I thought I had used too much tea. One teaspoon unfurled to a large mass of leaves. The tea is naturally sweet and imparts a warmness though out my being. It steeps to a nice golden color. I will be buying more of this tea.

Probably my favorite Ti Guan Yin: I love the “baked” quality, which imparts a substantial sweetness to the tea.

I have really enjoyed this tea throughout the past year. It’s light toasted qualities make it a comforting tea and brings back memories of working at the old tea shop in MN. Often times I would come in on a cold day and go back to this tea because of its sweet and warming qualities. The tea doesn’t simply stop there, it also possesses the floral qualities of a classic Tieguanyin. For the true TGY purist, let me say that this is a Taiwanese Oolong, but looking at the tea itself it is still very pleasant.

I think if I were to go in to a tea house and have this served to me I would not be disappointed. At the same time this tea doesn’t really possess the qualities that would make it other worldly. Just a simple and comforting roasted oolong…worth picking up a few ounces for general consumption, but I would pass on it for making with people that I am trying to impress with a tea tasting.

Overall: Nice!

Extremely long story short – I was in NYC last night and went to a decent restaurant. Excellent selection of food, beer, wine, sake and tea. Fantastic! Had this tea and was extremely disappointed. It was bitter and burnt, did not have any decent flavor at all. Actually had to add sweetener to try and finish it.

My best guess is that the restaurant did not follow correct parameters – temperature, time, infusion instructions, etc, etc or that they simply gave me a different tea than I asked for.

sigh Will have to get some and brew it myself. Am I becoming a tea-snob? Sounds like it…No rating until I have a proper experience.

This is on the border between a medium roast and a dark roast tieguanyin. It has a very bready aroma and taste to it with a slight hint of sweetness, like walking into a bakery. This is an extremely forgiving tea, I’ve brewed it boiled, and at 195, both are fantastic. Got a good three steepings out of it.

Had this a while ago , very floral with caramel nutty notes.

The warm baked quality of this oolong is certainly its most apparent quality. The barley taste inherent to most oolongs is a little more understated in Iron Goddess.
Be careful to follow the instructions to a T. A little bit of this tea goes a LOOONG way.

Long time no see Steepster! To be honest, this is only my 2nd cup this week. I was very very sick and couldn’t even smell tea without getting a little woozy. I picked this up at a local shop yesterday after looking through some pretty awesome cheeses.
This is my second look into Iron Goddess; my first being from Chinese Tea Shop.
I have to say the overall smell of the dry leaf on this one is less floral and far more barley or some kind of grain. I think that this was the small downside to this one. I find myself surprisingly drawn to the more floral of the two.
The liquor is very smooth with some very creamy notes that are highly satisfying. I find that this is a more vegetal offering of Iron Goddess. I think I will play with steep times some more to find that proverbial sweet spot. Until next time, I hope everyone is doing well!

I recently tried this tea, and I was quite impressed. The first infusion was steeped for 30 sec. with 190 degree water. This started with a rather weak brew. But the second infusion, water 190 and 45 sec. was amazing. It had a sweet mellow flavor with a cinnamon after taste. I really enjoyed this tea. Subsequent infusions were not as impressive, but it was still worth resteeping.

A fantastic tea. Frankly, I was hooked after the initial rinse. The aroma is rich, sweet in the first two infusions, full-bodied in subsequent steepings, with a roasted/toasted nutty fragrance and a slight caramel finish, reminiscent of a high-quality cigar. And the tea itself tastes just as good as it smells.

I make this in a 3.5 oz gaiwan; about 1.5 tsp of dry tea is enough to fill the pot with the expanded leaf. Short infusions yield about nine decent steepings, or three standard mug-sized cups, which makes this tea less expensive than vending machine coffee.

This tieguanyin deserves my highest rating.

I like the sweetness and smoothness of this tea. It was still good after I let it cooled to room temperature, a definite plus for me. I had this tea steeped in a mug and gongfu style. It stood up well both ways. I’ve recommended this tea to a few friends already.

This is a really nice oolong from Taiwan, that creates a nice coppery infusion from the nicely aromatic leaves. Sweet, subtle and warming. The wet leaves have an amazing aroma, and can be steeped at least three times. A very good introduction to Taiwanese oolongs, that is very nice on it’s own or pairs up nicely with a variety of foods. I think I’ll go and make myself another cup!

This is great, I just ordered it at a local cafe. A great oolong with a lasting mouth-feel thats really enjoyable. Ordered it at a cafe, but will definitely look into ordering some to bring home.

I definitely have enjoyed this tea. It really has a delicious, bold flavor that stands out. I agree with Mercuryhime though in that the first two infusions are the best, even if that is not typical for oolong.

Awesome toasty flavor. I can’t stop drinking this stuff. I think I’m going to get 6 or so full infusions from these leaves.

The raw tea has a dry aroma, somewhat of grain and fruit.
Brewed, the tea is a golden color with an aroma that is roasty, perhaps of toasted nuts.

First Steeping: Moderate flavor, with floral notes and a toasty nuttiness. Almost no astringency.
Second Steeping – Same temp 5 minutes: Very similar to first steeping. No astringency.
Third Steeping – Same temp 8 minutes: A bit milder than the last steeping. Three is probably all that can be had out of this tea.