This is a part of a tasting activity. Free sample received. Thank you, Angel.
Prepared 4g in a 60ml porcelain gaiwan, then transferred the leaf to 120ml of the same material. Followed the website’s steeping times: 20 seconds, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120. I went with a couple more extended steepings at 4 minutes, 8, and 10 (gotta get it all out).
Going against my expectation, the dry leaf didn’t have much scent, even after resting in the pre-heated gaiwan. The leaf weakly smelled floral and a little buttery and bread-like. The wet leaf aroma is much, much stronger – very floral, evocative of a summer field.
The liquor is pale yellow, full-bodied, clean, and creamy. Throughout the session, there were tiny bits of leaf at the bottom of my cup. The first couple cups are gently floral with a peach aftertaste. They feel easygoing. Beginning with the fourth cup, the flavor has fully developed. The aftertaste really fills the mouth, like a perfume trapped in a bottle. I simply can’t pinpoint specific flowers (I guess this means I have to give myself homework of smelling flowers….or I need to drink more Tie Guan Yin), so I go by feeling, and this very much feels like a bright mid-summer’s day spent in the midst of a wide field. I was relaxed and warmed on this overcast winter morning. Lastly, what is interesting is that, from the fifth cup to the end, the aftertaste changes from a refreshing peach to a cooling sensation.
I haven’t had a Tie Guan Yin in so many months. Lightly oxidized rolled Chinese oolongs don’t appeal to me. Not that I don’t like them – I do, but they’re not a niche I want to explore. That saying, I mostly enjoyed my session with this Tie Guan Yin (I’m little disappointed with the lack of aroma). Pleasant, sweet, floral, a little fruity, and – surprisingly – menthol-like. The floral aspect doesn’t taste powerful or perfumed. It’s just right.
