Master Bi's Jin Guan Yin Wuyi Oolong

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
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Flavors
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Caffeine
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Edit tea info Last updated by Dinosara
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 15 sec

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19 Tasting Notes View all

  • “I’m trying to make more of an effort to drink ALL OF THE TEAS in my collection. The other day Sil made a comment about me having teas from 2012. Which I initially denied. Guess what, tea sister,...” Read full tasting note
    100
  • “I was going to get into some of my reserve club puerhs today, but then I read the tasting notes for this one and I decided to have it instead. It’s a roasted wuyi oolong, so not my favorite type,...” Read full tasting note
  • “another sipdown for today (178) as i’ve been drinking this with focus this morning, running through a number of steepings to decide where i land on in terms of this one. Final verdict? While this...” Read full tasting note
    75
  • “Third day of spring and it’s snowing here near Seattle. And right when my body was starting to expect the spring temperatures. I really need a warming brew today. Surprisingly, when deciding what...” Read full tasting note
    90

From Verdant Tea (Special)

Verdant Reserve Club – March

When I asked Master Bi to pick this tea out for the reserve club, he knew immediately that the Jin Guan Yin was the way to go. He sent it to us in beautiful 100g boxes, each hand-painted with his calligraphy and seal approving each batch.

Pouring water over these beautifully twisted little leaves, the aroma of raspberry chocolate cake wafts up- dark, grounded and luscious fruit.

The first steeping is like the satisfying aftertaste of melty chocolate truffles. The taste lingers on the tongue assertively, developing a fruity taste like chocolate covered blueberries. This continues to develop into a light bergamot citrus that hints at earl grey.

As the steepings continue, the flavor becomes more bright and crisp, concentrated on the top of the tongue. There is a warm numbing sensation and rich dark fruity quality like a good aged tawny port wine.

About Verdant Tea (Special) View company

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19 Tasting Notes

100
3294 tasting notes

I’m trying to make more of an effort to drink ALL OF THE TEAS in my collection. The other day Sil made a comment about me having teas from 2012. Which I initially denied.
Guess what, tea sister, you’re right! LOL!
So, I’ve had this wonderful tea for 3 years. It’s awesomeness led me to hoard a ridiculous quantity of it. This is the very Oolong that inspired me to purchase my first yixing, and although other Wuyi oolongs get to have their turn in that tiny teapot, it was seasoned with this one, and will forever be dedicated to this one, until I run out…some sad day…
And it is just as wonderful as ever!
The dry aroma is of roasted barley & fruitiness…drop it into a preheated yixing and let it sit in there a few minutes to warm the leaf and it’s dark chocolate & raspberries, so heady and thick that I could just sit there huffing it forever…sigh…
Drinking it is pure delight…sweet, thick, with lingering tastes of berries, chocolate, and roastiness. And that incense like after-aroma in the sinuses. And a good tea buzz.
and in the later steeps, the waters of a Sacred Spring, lightly flavored, almost effervescent…

I have accomplished nothing today except breakfast & tea…I need to do SOMETHING!

TheKesser

This sounds lovely!

TheKesser

I am also trying to drink all the teas from my collection but it’s so hard when there are clear favourites.

Terri HarpLady

Exactly! Also, in the case of teas like this, sometimes I seem to avoid drinking them because I don’t ever want them to be gone. Which is stupid, really…

TeaBrat

I’m sure I have some that are more than 3 years old ;)

TeaExplorer

“I have accomplished nothing today except breakfast & tea…”
There are days when I have no specific agenda where I consider having breakfast and tea a win, because it means I got out of bed :)

Sil

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA i win!!

Terri HarpLady

@ Sil ;ppppp
@ TeaX It’s the risk of being self-employed/working from home :)

Sil

oh terri. I miss you hugs maybe Ian and I can come for a visit when we get our car…

Terri HarpLady

Love & hugs back at you!
That would be awesome, just give me plenty of notice!! You know how crazy my life can get!

Terri HarpLady

So excited you’re getting a car!!!

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2201 tasting notes

I was going to get into some of my reserve club puerhs today, but then I read the tasting notes for this one and I decided to have it instead. It’s a roasted wuyi oolong, so not my favorite type, but I am of course looking forward to trying it out.

The steeping instructions call for a crazy amount of leaf per ounce for gongfu… almost double what I usually use. But I followed them, using almost the whole package for my 6oz pot (10g). It did fill the pot 2/3 full, which is what the instructions say that Master Bi does with this tea. The warmed leaf smelled like a toasty oolong, but also intensely fruity, and I definitely could smell raspberry distinctly. It smelled very promising!

This, of course, yields a very strong tea. The rinse was crazy dark, and the first 3 steeps (only 3-4 seconds each) were just too strong for me, with a note that edges on bitter to my palate. I did get berry notes on the aftertaste and maybe a hint of bitter chocolate, but overall the bitterness was overwhelming my palate in the main part of the sip.

Quite a few steeps in (I lost track how many) it started smoothing out and losing that unpleasant (to me) edge. The sip was bright and minerally, not so roasty (I think I washed a lot of that out). There’s actually kind of a sweetness here that is very nice. It’s still quite fruity as well, and with a lot of body.

In the end this was a pleasant tea and I enjoyed my tasting, even though it is decidedly Not My Style. But I didn’t expect it to be, and this club is all about tea adventure to me.

Terri HarpLady

Haven’t tried this one yet. In fact, I’ve barely started on the TOMC box. I’ve been so busy, I just haven’t had time to really relax with my teas. Thanks for sharing your experience! Although I like my tea strong, I probably won’t go quite that strong! :)

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75
15006 tasting notes

another sipdown for today (178) as i’ve been drinking this with focus this morning, running through a number of steepings to decide where i land on in terms of this one. Final verdict? While this is a lovely oolong, it’s still an oolong for me. So the rest of this will be going to a couple people whom i think would love to try this one.

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90
42 tasting notes

Third day of spring and it’s snowing here near Seattle. And right when my body was starting to expect the spring temperatures. I really need a warming brew today. Surprisingly, when deciding what that should be my mind didn’t go for the spiced black teas I normally reach for on a chilly day — it went straight to this. It seemed the perfect reason to use up the second half of this Reserve Club sample.

This tea embodies warmth. The second that smokey aroma starts wafting out of the cup I feel like I’m huddled around a crackling campfire. And someone is making a s’more because I can smell their burnt marshmallow melting the bar of chocolate it’s dripping over. It’s so nostalgic and warming to just smell. And it’s commandingly strong; I’m still catching whiffs of it all around the house almost 3 hours after my first brew.

At first sip this tea tastes like the smell to me — smokey. And while that’s okay it’s not something I find myself wanting to drink a lot of. But by the second and third sip that smokey taste almost immediately turns into a rich dark chocolate aftertaste. I can’t taste it when the tea is on my tongue but it comes up immediately after the sip and lingers there forever. Five minutes after my last sip I can still taste that rich dark chocolate, but as time has passed it’s become a dark chocolate spiked with citrus or berry, I can’t decide which.

I’m 7 or 8 steeps in right now and that dark chocolate flavor is still lingering there every bit as strong as it was on the first, but the first taste has mellowed from smokey to citrus (something I’m rather thankful for).

This was the perfect brew to start my chilly day off with. It’s so rich and warming. If it weren’t for the price tag on these reserve club teas I’d definitely restock this one, but alas, my budget forces me to leave it as a pleasant memory after today.

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec

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97
13 tasting notes

I am enamored with this tea! I’m not going to go into a flavor profile right now, as it is complex, but for me this tea is a keeper!

And I must thank David, and everyone at Verdant…I purchased 3 of the two ounce portions as allowed when the tea was released for purchase, which would be an estimated 170g of tea. Imagine my surprise when I saw two of the original 100g boxes staring at me as I opened up my package! Also the note with a mention that as I purchased a bunch, that they figured they would include the two boxes for me :) As per all of my interactions with David and the Verdant Team, they continue to go above send beyond what is expected!

I feel I am going to be having a very tough time with this April Reserve shipment…A Wuyi, a shu puer, and what looks like two black teas…ugh, I have a feeling I am going to love each one, and I may be parting with a sizeable sum of money in the near future stocking up on these teas!

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54
239 tasting notes

I don’t really feel like writing, but I need to put these notes down before I forget.

I’m always a little skeptical of Verdant’s descriptions because they are sometimes so out there. However, when comparing my notes to what they have described, there is usually one or two things that they have in common.

My notes for this tea included roast, grapefruit, wild funky flavor, and dark chocolate. Does that sound gross? It does to me, and that’s pretty much how the tea tasted. I think I need to stay away from fruity oolongs. I haven’t seemed to like them.

When I read Verdant’s descriptor “yuzu,” it hit me. I have never had a straight yuzu (the fruit) before, but I have had a yuzu honey tea. It tasted grapefruity and wild funky to me, so there you go. I was surprised to find chocolate as a descriptor because I thought I was crazy when I tasted it.

Anyway, not the tea for me.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec
MrQuackers

Yuzu is a great little citrus fruit that is used to make tea in places like Korea.

Don’t give up on yuzu just because of this tea. If you ever see it in the grocery store, grab it.

There is a whole video on how to make yuzu tea. :)

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93
359 tasting notes

I have only a few more samples left from the wonderful bunch Sil sent me back in Decenber…it seems that I saved the best for last.

This has an amazing aroma…it really came as a burst as soon as I removed the lid of the gaiwan. And guess what? It tastes even better!

It’s floral but not in a bouquet kind of way, just a delicate linger…also fruity, fig like.

Some caramel as well and a subtle nuttiness that wraps and ties everything together.

It feels round in the mouth, thick and voluptuous. I think it’s one of the finest Wuyi I have had for sure.

I stopped reading just to make sure I would fully focus all my attention to it. It’s that good. I had 4 delious steeps and will now cold brew the leaves for tomorrow…

Thanks Sil, this was lovely :-)

Dog and tea story…(skip if not interested)

My dog Dexter is a snob. I always say he’s an “AristoDog”, basically he acts like he’s Royalty. He doesn’t like to get messy, spring time, he tries to avoid stepping in mud, and if he does (which inevitably is bound to happen), he licks himself till he’s got no more saliva.
And Dexter likes his comfort. Yes, he’s allowed on the couch. He has special cushions that he grabs and carefuly places at stategic spots so he can morph into a sophisticated potato couch. This is a typical illustration of his concept for comfort:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/13451905514/in/photostream/

There’s one thing missing though: his “doux-doux” (French prononced “doo-doo” in English). “Doux” means soft. In my family, we’ve been calling our favourite special throws/blankets a “doux-doux” ever since we were little children. I still love special blankets, have several all over the house and ready to be used when sitting in front of a fire, or just to lounge on the couch, a book in one hand, a cup of tea in the other. Dexter has his own doux-doux, the same one since he was just a puppy. He carries it with him pretty much everywhere. When I wash it, he looks for it everywhere.

Today was a lounge doux-doux day for the both of us… I grabbed mine, he grabbed his, and we had a cup of this wonderful tea. I say “we” cause while I was sipping, he kept trying to get into my cup, literally…totally unlike him!

But there’s something about this intoxicating aroma that tantalized his canine nostrils it seems…well I don’t blame him, this stuff is irresistible!

keychange

What a cute story!

boychik

OMG I love his eyes, sad eyes. he really looks like blue blood. its doberman right?

Marzipan

When you cold steep the leftover leaves, how long do you have to leave them steeping?

caile

So adorable! And he does look pretty comfortable with all his pillows!

TheTeaFairy

Thanks Keychange!

Boychik, that’s his sad puppy face, he probably does it on purpose just to get the attention, he seems to love the camera, lol! Here’s his happy face, and yes, he’s an “un-cropped” Doberman :-)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/90056560@N08/10899799146/lightbox/

Marzipan, I cold brew used leaves in mason jars for about 24h, but I suggest you just taste along the way and decide when it’s enough for you. New leaves, I will normally do 12 hours, depending on the tea. Don’t hesitate if you have other questions :-)

Sil

So glad you enjoyed this. I was hoping you would :)

TheTeaFairy

Caile, yes, he’s quite a lucky puppy I’d say…but I’m a lucky owner as well, he’s such a great companion :-)

Sil yep, totally my style, thanks :-)

Stephanie

I love the floppy ears!!!

OMGsrsly

Puppy! :) So cute!

MzPriss

Dexter is so so so cute and I love that you didn’t crop his ears. My dogs like to get in bed with me in the morning while i drink tea and sniff my tea mug.

gmathis

I learned a new vocabulary word! Doux-doux. Love it. We use woobie and huggy interchangeably for the same sort of item.

Dexter

He’s beautiful – awesome when you get to have lazy lounging days with your pets!!!

TheTeaFairy

Thanks guys :-)
Stephanie & MzPriss: floppy ears are not common for Dobermans, the breeder was pressuring me to have his ears cropped when I got him at 3 months old, but just didn’t have the heart to do that to him. I’m glad I didn’t!
Haha! I see your dogs can appreciate a good cuppa also :-)

Gmathis, I love woobie, I’ll try to remember that!

Dexter, those are my favourite days…I know you enjoy them also :-)

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