86
drank Tie Guan Yin by Heng Xin
333 tasting notes

Revisiting this old friend for an afternoon cup. I’ve finally realized what the fragrance of this tea reminds me of—Aglaia odorata, or the Chinese perfume plant. It’s one of the scents I remember strongly from my childhood, very delicate and reminiscent of summer.

On closer inspection, the leaves in this batch are of rather inconsistent color and quality for a TGY, and fairly broken up. It’s probably not the best they have produced, since it came in small packages marketed for gifting. If it’s already this good, I imagine a better batch of this tea can easily be a personal 95, if not 100.

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Bio

Science writer and a cat that learned to type.

I grew up in a tea-loving family, and tea has always been a part of daily life. I’m still astounded by the amount of tea and teaware back home every time I visit! While I’m most familiar with straight Chinese teas, I’m growing to explore and appreciate other types of tea, including blended and flavored ones. A good blend can reflect the thought and creativity that was put into making it, instead of being too sweet or busy in a way that gives the “genre” a bad rap.

Likes:
-most black teas (even lapsang)
-most oolongs, especially Fujian teas, baozhong and dancong
-houjicha
-straight white teas
-citrus
-almond/amaretto
-coconut
-vanilla

Variable (some are great, some not so):
-most green teas
-tie guan yin
-flavored white teas
-assam
-rooibos
-melon
-mint
-grape

Ratings:
90-100: definite repurchase if possible, recommended
80-90: enjoyed, possible repurchase
70-80: fair to good
60-70: fair with some shortcomings
50-60: there’s still a chance I’d take this if it were free
under 50: absolutely not

Location

Southern California

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