Ti Kuan Yin

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Honeydew, Lemon, Vegetal, Green, Orchids, Toasty, Nutty
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Michael
Average preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 45 sec 5 g 8 oz / 244 ml

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83 Tasting Notes View all

  • “My 1st Ti Kuan Yin! I’ve seen lots of amazing tasting notes about Samovar’s version(Monkey Picked Iron Goddess of Mercy), but I wasn’t sure how big the sample size is and I have a butt load of...” Read full tasting note
    100
  • “This is a lovely Oolong, sweet, pleasing orchid notes which are quite delicate at first, but reveal themselves more with the infusions that follow. I’m currently on my fourth infusion, and sadly...” Read full tasting note
    89
  • “Well, I was going to plow through the black tea sampler first, but I decided that I wanted to try something else instead. (I did actually drink a cup of yunnan jig this morning, but I just…drank...” Read full tasting note
    80
  • “I have had this before and loved it. This love has continued to this batch as well. I would love to note more about this but I don’t have time. Gotta love Tech week, moving, and school all at once...” Read full tasting note
    94

From Adagio Teas

Oolong tea from the Fujian province of China. In Mandarin, Ti Kuan Yin means ‘iron goddess of mercy,’ a name derived from local legend. This tea is arguably the finest of Chinese oolongs, with competition-grade varieties selling for thousand of dollars a pound.

$24/4 oz

About Adagio Teas View company

Adagio Teas has become one of the most popular destinations for tea online. Its products are available online at www.adagio.com and in many gourmet and health food stores.

83 Tasting Notes

85
3 tasting notes

I received this in an oolong sampler with no expectations. The sampler was my first foray into oolongs. I was expecting not to like them as much as green/white teas because I don’t care much for black teas. Boy was I wrong on this one. The liquor looked like butter and smelled divine. The taste was equally good.

I bow to thee, oh iron goddess of mercy.

Flavors: Nutty, Orchids

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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253 tasting notes

Back to back tie guan yins. I just tried Yezi tea’s master grade TGY and followed it with this one to compare. I didn’t expect it to be quite as good as Yezi’s since this one is not “master grade” but it was still disappointing to have such a lack of flavor. The wonderful floral and perfumey notes that the other tea had were lacking here. You could kind of taste them as an aftertaste, as if this was just old tea that’s lost most of it’s flavor. I was able to get more flavor in the later infusions with the increased steeping times, so maybe timing is the only issue here. Luckly Adagio’s sample for this tea is generously sized, so I should be able to try it out at least two more times.

Preparation
5 g 4 OZ / 118 ML

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85
630 tasting notes

I really enjoyed this tea – it definitely has a sweet and floral scent and taste that I enjoy from this kind of oolong. However, it can’t receive a perfect rating from me because I have enjoyed similar teas that I found to be a bit higher quality for the same price. That said, I do wholeheartedly recommend giving it a try – very enjoyable!

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 0 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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95
191 tasting notes

mmmm, switched from a milk oolong all morning long to this one all afternoon. wise choice. while the milk oolong had a heavy hand (not necessarily a bad thing), this tea is light and delicate, cleansing the palate in a marvellous way, leaving a light floral note in its wake. was good for 3 infusions, and i’m sure i could have kept going, but i ran out of time! will have to repeat this very soon.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 30 sec

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82
3 tasting notes

Note: My variety of Ti Kuan Yin is actually not from Adagio Teas but bought in Singapore. I am unaware of the brand.

Tikuanyin:
Despite the fact that the water wasn’t quite hot enough to brew the tea correctly, this beautiful oolong brew is fresh and subtle with a beautiful hint of smoky flavour underneath. One of my favourite aspects of the tea, I would have to say, is the undercurrent of grass that comes through in even just one sip. It’s not overwhelming, like some Japenese teas, but gives the tea a fantastic feature that just tilts it into something that isn’t boring but intriguing.

I feel a little bit like I’m keeping a secret when I drink this tea, because the undertones are so perfectly blended and come out just the right amounts as you drink it. Each flavour has its winning moment: the initial taste is of that classic green tea/oolong flavour; bland but fresh and nice. And then comes the grassy aspect, as the tea settles on your tongue, just enough to add an interesting twist on the tea. And as it slides down your throat, suddenly you’re aware of a beautiful smoky aftertaste it has left on your tongue.

Overall, I quite enjoyed this tea and I think it will have to be one I add to my regular rotation.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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50
237 tasting notes

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75
615 tasting notes

I really really want to rate this higher, but I can’t justify it. That aside, it’s a lovely standalone tea, with an initial floral taste and some sweetness followed by a rich nutty flavor. Very little astringency and good for several resteeps. It’s just that when compared to other teas of this type out there, it’s simply not as good.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 30 sec

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85
5 tasting notes

Brewed gongfu style in a gaiwan, 3g to ~4fl oz
Dry leaves are shades of green with a touch of brown here and there, some rolled loosely into little balls, others into twisted various elongated shapes. The smell is of dried flowers (but not overly floral)and cut grass.

Brewed: color is pale golden-toned green, fading to yellow with a few steeps. The scent is spring-y, orchid and cut leaves with almond undertones.

First brews are bright and a little grassy, just a touch of nutty and mineral with a bit of astringency, with later brews taking on more of a fresh blossom & fruity taste (for me it was like the tangy bite in the aftertaste of dark chocolate.) It brewed a thicker mouthfeel, less like broth, more like a juice.

The wet leaves expanded beautifully, retaining the shades of green, smelling of roasted potato skins (not the starchy meat, just the minerally-rooty outer flesh), so I understand the potato comment by sophistre.

A very pleasant fresh-tasting tea!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec

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83
84 tasting notes

Brad – good but not the best tgy. I would buy again.
Sarah – meh, not worth getting again.

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67
58 tasting notes

I like clean, complex oolongs like this one. It tasted like a white tea a times and then it grew into this complex, slightly sweet oolong as I continued to drink the cup. Really complex flavors, each sip a little different than the last. Overall, had a hay type of scent and really pleasantly sweet aftertaste that was surprising. I will definitely drink this again.

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