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“I’ve been working my way through last February’s TOMC, drinking cups of this & the other selections. The initial aroma of this tea is sweet & fruity, kind of like baked bananas with...” Read full tasting note
“Sipdown, 149. Since I just had the ten year aged TGY from the reserve club yesterday, I decided to have a gongfu session with this sample today to compare. This is a much more traditionally aged...” Read full tasting note
“I wasn’t aware that oolong Saturday was a thing, but I’ve spent the last +10 hours drinking up this sample, so I sort of participated unknowingly? This oolong isn’t bad- it’s characteristically...” Read full tasting note
“Finally trying this sample this morning, it was a free one from Verdant a while ago, thanks! So it was quite the battle to brew this tea this morning, maybe it’s still too early, I was also up a...” Read full tasting note
We first studied Tieguanyin under Wang Huimin, a lifelong lover of oolong who grew up as her farmer friends were all switching from roasted Tieguanyin to the newer greener tieguanyin. Wang Huimin remembers that this switch was made with great deliberation as more and more farmers realized how much natural flavor their tea had without extra processing The creamy floral notes were celebrated as the natural reflection of the soil in Anxi.
This Five Year Aged Tieguanyin is an exciting and unique offering in that it manages to preserve the entire spring flower and fresh grass essence of the original leaf, all while tempering the flavor with darker, more grounded notes. Most aged Tieguanyin is pan fired again and again to bring out dark caramel notes. This is not a dark roasted tea in any sense.
The aroma of the dry leaf hints at both licorice root and ginseng, with potent wheatgrass notes that evoke early summer. The wet leaf takes on a potent and tangy quality, like ruby port wine.
The port wine notes are a perfect prelude to the dark lotus florals, and the muscovado brown sugar sweetness. It is miraculous to see the florals preserved so wonderfully throughout aging and tipped towards the more quiet and grounded side of the flavor spectrum. In later steepings, creamy texture builds in the body and a rounded lychee fruit profile dominates and shifts towards an intense juiciness. The aftertaste lingers with peppery notes of Tuscan olive oil and slightly bready malt qualities, asserting the complexity that age has brought to this tea.
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I received this tea as a sample with my last order. Thank you Verdant!
When I opened the packet, it smelled intensely sweet and creamy, like it was a milk oolong. My excitement level skyrocketed! I followed their instructions of a quick rinse, followed by a 25 second steep, using 1 tablespoon of leaf. That used up the whole packet, so I’m determined to do this right!
The wet leaves smell sooo complex, and different than when dry. It smells almost oak-y, and a bit fruity, and a bit sweet too. Usually when companies compare their tea to wine I don’t expect to taste that myself, but this seriously smells a bit like wine to me. Crazy!
On to taste.
Hmm. This is a bit lighter than I expected, and the flavor seems to really be coming out more as it cools a little. I can taste the oak-y profile I smelled, and the fruity aspect too. I’m not getting as much sweetness as I expected, but perhaps that will come in the next steepings. As I get through about half of the cup the aftertaste hits me. ( Self hug) This is why I love Oolongs. I am starting to taste more sweetness, but it’s a floral sweetness, not so much a brown sugar sweetness. As I finish the cup, the dominant flavor is general roastiness. Overall, I’m a little disappointed in this first steep.
2nd steep, 20 seconds as directed. The floral kicked up a notch! Actually the entire flavor kicked up a notch in this steep. I wonder if I didn’t rinse it long enough at first. (it was maybe 2-3 seconds)
This steep is like the first in flavor, just stronger.
3rd steep, 20 seconds. Pretty similar to the 2nd steep.
4th steep, 45 seconds. Also similar.
I was hoping for more with this tea, as it’s my first aged oolong. But it is a good oolong. I was just expecting something spectacular. :-)
I received this as a generous sample from Verdant.
The dried balled leaves are a dark olive green, not black and not overly manipulated. The whiff of dry leaf from the bag is vegetal and tobacco-like, withholding it’s true character until steeping.
The cup yields a beautiful flower essence (somewhere between Jasmine & lily) balanced with warm green hay and round brown sugar notes which linger on the tongue.
The floral is decidedly there but not cloying or overpowering. Truly in balance with the other notes. I’m not a fan of (overly) floral teas and was worried I may tire of this one. It’s the underlying balancing notes which tease the palate to yearn for more. The best Tieguanyin I’ve had to date.
This really hits the spot right now. It starts off almost floral, and becomes slightly tangy and sharp, but definitely not bitter. I possibly enjoy this more than the Autumn Harvest Tieguanyin I’ve been drinking. It leaves a nice aftertaste.
