Hand Picked Tieguanyin Spring Oolong (2011)

This Tieguanyin is nothing short of amazing! Upon opening the bag, the smell was incredible and I knew I was in for a surprise. On the first infusion, it was creamy, floral, and mixed with multiple layers of flavor.
The second infusion was just as good if not better and now that the leaves have opened up.
The taste was slowly fading but still very noticeable and lasted through 4 western style infusions. Very highly recommended for anybody that likes Tieguanyin.

pretty good.

A classis Tie-Guan-Yin, well balanced. Pleasant feeling in the mouth and flowery aroma. Very good for the price.

This is quite honestly the best Tieguanyin I’ve ever had the privilege to try. And now I own some – so awesome! Considering my best tea friend and teacher in China spent several straight months of my life having me try about 70 different kinds of Iron Goddess of Mercy, that’s saying something.

I don’t understand how Verdant hasn’t sold out of all of this within the first weeks of offering it in America! It is so good- just so good.

Incredible, thick and creamy lilac. So sweet, but very balanced. Also really really juicy. Am I the only one who’s reminded of delicious creamy key-lime pie in the after taste of this? And what an aftertaste- this lingers in my mouth for ten or twenty minutes after I’ve finished steeping the tea. I found myself wandering around the house two days ago just smacking my lips together, savoring the after-tastes and mouth-feel, wondering what I could have done to deserve something so ridiculously yummy. Considering that I can usually steep this tea at least thirty times, this makes for one crazy-delicious afternoon.

I usually make this in a gaiwan with basically boiling water. Traditional gongfu-style, with steepings that last just a few seconds. It goes without saying that this would also be killer iced, in a mug, or in a big pot, but why oh why would you waste the tea like that? While this is still so fresh and good, treat yourself to ambrosia. Make sure you invite someone over to drink this with you, too. It gets so much better when you can look at your friend in disbelief and say.. “Are you tasting this?”….and have them say….“I know, right?!?!”.. and then laugh conspiratorially together.

In conclusion, this tea is ridiculously, almost-offensively good. Treat yourself, please, while there’s still fresh Spring stuff left!

With Spring oolong this good, I can’t wait to see what the autumn-picking later this year will be.

This tea is so sweet and fresh. Packed with flavor, it continues to wow even after many steepings. With each steeping a new layer of flavor unfolds, as if the tea is changing shape and mood. Starting off very sweet and floral the tea dances on your taste buds, as is steeps more the flavor moves down to a more grassy, savory taste. Eventually the steepings become a perfect balance of sweet and robust, consistently leaving a lingering pang of star anise in the throat. Through the shifting of flavors, the smooth buttery base to the tea never leaves. This is a must have for any appreciators of oolong. The only company that captures the essence of this tea to its full potential is Verdant Tea.

I had a series of tastings here from a batch of TieguanYin in the teapot.
hot water Rinse
20 sec
light and a bit flowery
30sec
tastes like a keeper, subtle spring guavas and bamboo
45sec
Additional steeps were not made.