Organic Tie Guan Yin “Iron Goddess” Oolong Tea (Ti Kuan Yin )

This is my first experience with any Tie Guan Yin. So what happens now? Do I get inducted into the Brother and Sisterhood of Tea? Am I knighted, given the Order of the Dragon? Any of that? No?

Well, I like this anyway. I was surprised opening my oolong sampler pack from Teavivre when this one was vacuum-packed amongst the other regular-looking samples in the normal Teavivre large zip pack. Another surprise as I opened the sample itself: it was in yet another smaller clear plastic pack inside the foil pack! You can tell they wanted to take care of this tea. It already has a scent of cooked vegetables, artichoke, I think, and that’s when dry! I can also pick up a little sweet floral and a roasted/fired scent.

As usual, I followed Teavivre’s recommendations of using the whole sample (7g) for 200-250ml of boiling water and steeps of 1, 2 and 3 minutes.
1st steep: The wet leaf is strongly scented: buttery vegetables (artichoke and long-cooked greens), vanilla and orchid. In the cup it’s a light yellow-green and has a broth-like feel to it with a slight astringency. I get flavors of buttery vanilla and orchid with notes of vegetable and mineral.
2nd steep: The leaves pretty much filled the normally generous-sized infuser basket in my teapot, so it was a little tough to judge how much water I was pouring in. As it turned out I poured just right. It’s now a golden color in the cup and feels lighter. The astringency is stronger this time, but not too strong. I don’t get vanilla this time around, but it’s still really buttery with orchid and vegetable flavors. The mineral note is quite a bit stronger too, taking over much of the middle and finish of each sip. That’s not something I’ve had so strongly before, at least not that I’ve noticed. This is a mentally-awakening cup of tea, and that’s always a good thing!
3rd steep: Check it out! I actually got to a 3rd steep! I actually turned over the leaves in the strainer, moving the ones on top to the bottom so that the water would reach them better. I think as a result, this cup was very much like the 2nd steep.
4th steep: I can hardly believe I’m writing this. A fourth steep! Thanks, ashmanra for the commission comment below. :) But everyone, given my track record for not being able to take teas to even a third steep, I think I deserve at least a “Most Improved” ribbon! I had this cup with dinner, so I wasn’t focusing on it so much. But it was still noticeably floral and buttery with the mineral center, even though it had a thinner feel this time.

I liked this. I had read about Tie Guan Yin before, and notes of iodine, mineral, salmon and flint were mentioned. It didn’t sound too appealing to me, but everyone and his dog has had several different TGYs in their tea logs, so I had to try it. Since I got Teavivre’s oolong sampler, I chose to have this organic version first because the “Monkey Picked” version looks like one I’ll like even more. Now I’m really looking forward to it!

This is my second Tie Guan Yin, the first from my local farmer’s market. I’ve been wanting to get into oolong, and I think I’ve found the first that I truly like.

This oolong is fresh and highly floral in a way that reminds me so much of spring. (Which is a little depressing in November, I have to add.) The flavors remind me of gardenias, honeysuckle, and jasmine. There’s also a note of sweet, clean hay.

It still has that nutty oolong flavor, but it’s mostly in the scent. At first I was a little nervous, since the vegetal scent was so strong. But no, after a little honey, this is lovely and satisfying. I’m going to have to start trying oolongs to Teavivre’s brewing instructions, I think.

Loose
Appearance: dark, knobby tricolored curls
Aroma when Dry: sweet, milky, grassy
After water is first poured: nothing noticeable,
At end of first steep: faint sweet nuttyness
Tea liquor:
At end of first steep: hints of brown
Staple?No
Preferred time of day: Afternoon, evening
Taste:
At first: sour, nutty, grassy
As it cools ? gets bland, sour, grassy
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? yes, with sour grassiness

This is pretty good. I opted to have it iced as it is pretty hot here today. I found the tea to be very smooth with a nice hint of floral goodness to it. It also has a great buttery quality to it too! Very refreshing on this hot Summer day.

Thanks to Teavivre for providing me with this sample to taste! And a generous sample it was, I’ll be drinking this one for a while (spoilers: luckily that won’t be a hardship!). For someone who loves green oolongs, I haven’t tried very many tie guan yins. It’s basically been the two Verdant pickings and one from Harney that I tried in their tasting room, but I don’t think I really appreciated oolongs when I had that one as much as I do now. So I’m really curious to taste this one! I’ll be trying a lot more oolong varietals over the coming weeks, which I am also excited for.

The dry leaf on this one smells lovely, with nice floral notes and a good “greenish” base. I normally wouldn’t steep an oolong (especially a green oolong) at boiling, but that’s what the package said, so I did it. The liquor is a nice medium greenish yellow, and it has a great scent. I feel like it’s getting harder for me to describe that scent over time as I come to associate it with green oolongs because it ceases to smell like anything but a nice green oolong to me. But it’s that fresh floral/buttery/creamy/sweet aroma.

I have to wait longer than usual for this one to come down to drinking temp, but early hot sips yield a pleasant leafy flavor with a light sweetness and some magnolia-ish notes in the aftertaste. As it cools this flavor profile continues, with the leafiness growing in intensity. The florals are pretty prevalent as well, while the sweetness just kind of lingers lightly at the back. I don’t get a lot of buttery or nutty notes with this one, but I do love a very floral oolong so I’m willing to forgive it those characters. Definitely a pleasant TGY that I really enjoy drinking.

Very green and pleasantly floral. I love the smell in this one. Puppy sniffed my cup and wrinkled his nose though. It’s a very nIce to kuan yin that I would certainly recommend. However, I find it not very interesting. It’s good but not memorable. I’m probably jaded though. My mom only ever makes ti khan yin. Perhaps I’m too familiar with it to find it special. I’ve had many that are subpar to know that I’m drinking a good one right now.

This is such a lovely oolong and is definitely everything that a good oolong can be. In a fit of clumsiness, my tea strainer decided to burst open, so I had to strain out my cup of tea so I wasn’t drinking sludge. I was able to get a good strong 5 steeps from this over the course of the day. Delicious!

After having the Oriental Beauty, I was expecting Iron Goddess to be a darker oolong too, but it isn’t. It is a delightful green oolong. I don’t think I got the water hot enough on the first steep, but I’m on the second steep now after eating a big meal of pork fried rice with fried wontons.

The smell is wonderfully floral. It reminds me of a field of wildflowers in bloom. The taste is light and floral (not surprising). It is subtle and it does not remind you in any way of perfume. I know a lot of people worry about floral teas tasting like perfume.

This steep was brewed for two minutes and nothing has changed from the first steep. The flavor is just stronger. It is perfect to have after this type of meal and I will probably be drinking pot after pot of it tonight until I am done with it. I will update this note to say how many steeps it took me through tonight with my little two-cup pot.

Edit: It has lasted me through about four steeps in my french press. (8 tea cups) I can tell that the fourth steep is a little weaker than the third steep so it will be the last steep for me tonight.

Another Teavivre sample! Packaged in a way I had never seen before, too!

DANG I LOVE OOLONG SO MUCH and this is no exception. I brewed it pretty long so the taste pretty strong! Quite flowery too, which I wasn’t quite expecting actually, I think I was prepared for a more earthy grassy taste WHICH IS DEFINITELY THERE but there are certainly some strong floral overtones too. Very good, nonetheless! Especially because I’m a fan of jasmine which this is a bit reminiscent of.

As with most oolongs in my experience, I was able to steep it twice easily and could probably get at least one more out of it, if not two. I do steep mine longer than suggested though so I’m not sure how much that’s sucking out all the flavor HAHA. ANYWAY yes, good oolong, very fresh!

Oo-oo-oolong. This is an awesome oolong.

The leaves are rolled into small balls and are a dark jade colour. Very little smell to the dry leaves.

Brewed there is a jasmine/floral smell. The tea liquor is bright yellow. It tastes clean, slightly flowery, some sweetness to it. No vegetal taste to this one. I used 1 tsp for 10 oz so it feels light.

This is one of the best oolongs I have tried. I recommend it to anyone interested in oolong or those who already like oolong.

I only used 1 tsp.

Excellent tea, strong flavor, great packaging!
I use half of small package they send for 200ml pot.
Very inspirational tea. Who can advise any better Tie Guan Yin?
will order more…

Steep Information:
Amount: 5g
Water: 750ml 195°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: fresh, vegetal
Steeped Tea Smell: vegtal, light, floral
Flavor: smooth (but not silky) vegetal, sweet
Body: Light
Aftertaste: nutty?
Liquor: translucent yellow-green

Resteep: 195°F 2 min
same quality, slightly darker, odd stronger on steep two, i guess the leaves being open made a difference

Resteep: 195°F 2 min
same quality as the second

Resteep: 195°F 2 min
same quality, touch weaker
refrigerated – BLEH not good cold

At this point I gave up
The leaves could have probably done another cup

Not the best I’ve had but a good iron goddess, slight nuttiness, smooth vegetal, just keep it hot.

Rating: 3/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2011/12/teavivre-loose-leaf-oolong-tea-tie-guan.html

Not bad…not terrible.
Making a pot of World Market’s Mountain Wulong at the same time, but Steepster seems to have issues with its page.
The drink-down continues. Down to only thirty-two teas…

I’ve found that people either like Ti Kuan Yin oolongs, or they cannot stand them. I’m in the like camp because, despite its flowery overtones, it’s still a tasty oolong. I’m so pleased that this one is organic too!

Oolongs are great for me during meals or just after, as they really seem to settle my belly. This one actually seems to have hints of jasmine or orchid in it, but not to the extent that it’s as grim as that might sound :) The floral is really delicate, and the leaves huge and beautiful.

I like this one, but I think my taste in oolong is a bit less toward the floral end. Nonetheless, if you’ve had Ti Kuan Yin oolong before, this is quite a good one. I’d love it with dim sum, to contrast the strong tastes of my food.

There is this time in spring when jasmine bushes and bird cherry blooms and the scent is so thick you can drink it. The first thought when sipping this tea was that now I truly can. Completely different from Verdant’s TGY with its buttery/floral backgound this one is like a cup of flower essence.

A great sample I received from Teavivre. I set up a proper tasting with degustation sets for each of the teas. Well, I didn’t do the traditional 6 minutes, but I did my best for the type of tea. Here’s my notes.

Dry leaf: rolled, but not really into balls. Irregular and with various stems. Perhaps this points to hand-rolling?
Brewing method: 3g, tasting set, 90 for 1 minute
Aroma: Very green aroma with a light touch of sweetness.
Infusion: Yellow-gold liquor.
Taste: Very light. Probably could be infused longer to good effect. Taste of spring flowers and grilled zucchini.

I infused this another time with a longer infusion to try and capture more flavor. It was much more bold, but still with a light body. Definitely good, and definitely a spring Oolong. I tend to lean toward winter harvests, myself, so perhaps this is just too young for me. I may let some rest in the packaging for a time to see if it improves (a trick taught to me by some tea friends in Taiwan).

Rolled, balled, with floral and vegetal scent, deep green leaves, unfurl in the cup. Give this fragrant tea time to steep. The scent in the cup is floral but deeper, more like a subtle incense with a vegetal green in the background. A good value

An interesting tea to say the least. I really understand now how so many can find it, ….. Fishy. It is fishy, but in a organic, herbal way. It lacks the shrp qualities of actual fish smell and boast a beautiful spread of earthy yet creamy aromas, really reminds me of the smell of coriander roots.