Tie Guan Yin

Thank you JC for this sample tea!

This is a TGY from Thailand! Yep, bought there in the market by JC himself and brought back to the USA, then shared with me. I feel very special getting to taste a tea that I know he probably had a hard time parting with!

I didn’t have directions so I took a look at how tightly the leaves were rolled, then did two quick rinses.

Steep one: 180 degrees for 20 seconds.
Surprisingly, the first steep wasn’t very strong or floral. The flavor was clean and fresh with a light savory taste and a cucumber seed bitterness at the end.

Steep two: I lowered the temperature to 140 and 40 seconds.
This pour was still sweet but had a buttery texture and camphor coolness like many Oolongs from Taiwan. (That was also a surprise.)

Steep three: Boiling water and 45 seconds.
The flavor was more floral, sweet but less buttery or savory. I preferred the lower temperature from my three tests.

The leaves were filling my small white Gaiwan now, they were not only long…but fat.

I returned to the shorter steep time and lower temperature and the flavor lingered after each sip with a savory coolness, the wafting of flowers somewhere close by reminding me this was a Tie Guan Yin.

Every cup I drank was delicate, smooth, sweet and fresh with a little butter coating my lips.

Now that I’ve tasted this tea, I’m watching what Thailand is producing!

Thanks JC! Unique TGY!

I’ve had this one for a bit now and well its almost depleted. A quick note for this one.
Gong Fu Style * 6-7oz 5-6gm *
1st Steep – Sweet and floral on the front with slight nuttiness. It has a buttery and nutty body with floral finish and aftertaste that maintain some of its sweetness.

2nd Steep – Sweet and more floral with more roasted nutty notes, slightly taste like sweet corn. The after taste is floral and nutty with some sweetness. The scent from the cup was more roasty and floral.

3rd Steep – This cup is more fragrant, it smells like sweet corn and is more brighter in color and slightly more green. The taste is much more floral and sweet with only a bit of nuttiness. The aftertaste is floral and it becomes sweet over time.

4th Steep – The floral notes are more subtle and the sweetness becomes more apparent and it seems to be everlasting in this steep. The aftertaste is floral but much sweeter than the previous.

Later Steeps were more subtle and it gave 6-7 good steeps and then it became weak in taste. Its not my favorite but it is one of the best. It sucks that I’m possibly never getting my hands on it again.