This is the first oolong I’ve tried. I hadn’t heard anything about the Send Me Tea company before, and I didn’t really know anything about Tie Guan Yin (apart from the fact that it seems to be a popular type of oolong), so I just took a punt.
I enjoyed the whole experience from beginning to end. I broke out an old porcelain teapot we haven’t used in ages, and was glad that I did – I couldn’t believe the enormous size of the tea leaves after a few steepings!
I really wasn’t confident of the correct tea-to-water ratio. The packet said one teaspoon of tea per cup, plus “one for the pot”, but I’d read elsewhere that one teaspoon per cup is sufficient. I went for one teaspoon per cup (250ml), and the result was a pale golden liquor with not much flavour in the front end, but a subtle yet delightfully sweet floral note in the finish. I found myself wondering if I’d brewed it just a little too weak, but my wife enjoyed it just the way it was. I’d be interested to know the tea-to-water ratio that others use for various oolongs.
After my third steeping for the evening, I simply couldn’t imbibe any more tea. The front end seemed to pick up on the second steeping, and then back off again on the third, with a gradual decline in the floral finish over the three steepings. To be honest, I think the first steeping was my favourite.
