Anxi Superfine Tie Guan Yin “Iron Goddess” Oolong Tea

Good golly this is amazing! The floral aspects are perfection but there is a melon-y aspect that is surprising and delicious!
This goes on the TO ORDER list!
This may just end up being a staple as well.
We will see how much I continue to crave it after my first order.

This tea was actually a surprise; it wasn’t on the list of samples they were sending, and I didn’t request it, but I am so glad it came.

I steeped this one western style following Teavivre’s instructions. I opened the vacuum-sealed pouch, and there was another pouch inside of it! And once I opened that one, the strong, heady floral aroma came wafting out from the dry leaf. It is beautiful, dark green balls shot through with bright green streaks. The minute the water hit it I knew this would be a winner. It smelled sooooo buttery and intensely floral, along with a peachy-melony scent that really rounded things out. The flavor was everything a tieguanyin should be. It is so fresh and green, with lilac-y florals that just surround you. The texture is smooth and creamy. It reminds me of drinking tieguanyin in China because you can tell that it is so fresh and high quality.

When I do make an order from Teavivre this will definitely be on it. It is really really beautiful. Thanks so much for sending a sample of it, Angel!

I’m gonna pull a shmiracles with this post, but first let me thank Angel at Teavivre for letting me try this tea.

First of all, as it has been said in other reviews, this tea comes in a vacuum sealed bag inside another vacuum sealed bag. Upon opening the inner bag, the tea immediately makes way into your senses. The smell is fresh, clean, buttery and floral, and the colour is an amazing vibrant green. Like all TGY teas, the leaves of this one are tightly rolled and they open up once they hit the hot water.

Is this not gorgeous?? Assuming it is visible outside the realms of Facebook.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/946045_10151409451372374_318358809_n.jpg

Drinking this tea, I thought of a song called “Shimmering, Warm, and Bright” by Bel Canto (a Norwegian band).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugnDTJXpSw0

I’m drinking this infusion plain, no sugar or anything. I do tend to drink my lighter oolongs plain, or with a very small amount of sweetener. I can pick up a smooth buttery feeling, slightly drying, and a light and somewhat sweet floral note. There is also a slight savoury taste, like roasted nuts or something. Whatever it is, it is all very good! I hope to get more steeps. Next time I think I may start with a shorter steep time, and build up as I re-steep.

Thanks again for letting me try this tea!

The girls wanted to have a little tea time together today since the pound cake was sitting there looking tantalizing. I thought this would pair pretty well with it, but I don’t think I will pair this tea with sweets, or much of anything else again, because it is too awesome to let anything distract you from it.

This is a free sample from Teavivre and I have to say thank you thank you thank you! That is how much I enjoyed it.

The liquor was paler than I expected but when I lifted the cup the most amazing aromas came to me; flowers, yes, but something else. A fruity scent almost like sweet lemon candy that has no puckery sour taste. Oh my, oh my oh my. This is good, and I am normally a fan or roasted TGY or buttery oolongs.

This pot of tea gave me the very same sense of calm and peace and sanity that I get from Teavivre’s Jasmine Silver Needle and Jasmine Dragon Pearls.

Excellent. Wonderful. Having some more.

My husband (an oolong fan), and I received a sample of this premium Oolong (October 2012 harvest). My husband asked me to order more, telling me it was the best Oolong he has ever had. It has the floral aroma and taste you would expect from a high quality Tie Guan Yin. It has a clean, refreshing finish. Very nice.

I have no words that haven’t already been said about this tea. It’s just…. Wow.

Thank you Angel! I just got my package in today. Perfect timing by the way, as I’m trying to relax. I have to say that Teavivre’s shipping is amazingly quick. This tea is just something else. The leaves are this amazing, deep green color. The dry leaf has an amazing magnolia/deep floral aspect. I’m so surprised how fragrant this one is. I’m going to steep this in my smallest teapot (~6oz) for 1min/2min/3min.
1st steep (1min): The liquor is very clear and has notes of hay and flowers. The leaves unfurled in this amount of time and are just the most amazing shade of green. This has the most interesting flavor! There is a bite of something I don’t have words for. This has some quiet floral notes and almost a hint of grape there in the background; it is very faint. This is one interesting tea!
2nd steep (2min): Much more floral this time. Very warming and strong flavored.
3rd steep (3min): Still very flavorful, a really solid tea and one that I’d recommend.