Anxi Tie Guan Yin

There is an awesome tradition that my sweetheart started, taking me out for a special meal before any medical procedure. A nice reward for something I really dislike, and since I go for some more dental work on Thursday I requested sushi. No, dental work and sushi are completely unrelated but it was what I was in the mood for! Usually at my favorite restaurant (Kokoro Maki House for anyone curious) I get the Salmon and Vege Tempura rolls but tonight I decided for Vege Tempura and their very yummy Tofu Teriyaki, also some tea. My blogs always lead up to tea, don’t they? The tea arrived a nice shade of golden-green and completely unlabeled, I took a sip and then asked the server “Is the tea Bancha?” he replied that it was and it made me happy. I am getting better at this tea tasting thing!

And now apropos of nothing I am going to review a Chinese tea, debatable my favorite tea from China, in fact. Anxi Tie Guan Yin by Teasenz is a lovely tea from Anxi, Fujian and is probably my favorite Oolong (I am pretty sure everyone who reads my blog knows that Tie Guan Yin is my favorite). Neat fact for anyone who doesn’t know: Oolong or Wulong translates to Black Dragon, so yeah Tie Guan Yin Oolong translates to Iron Goddess of Mercy Black Dragon, this tea is totally metal. Terrible puns aside, the aroma of this tea is heavenly, richly floral and very heady. I would go so far as to say the orchid and gardenia floral aroma is so intense that it is intoxicating, I might need to lay down. It is very sweet, like honey and flower nectar which is fitting with the intensity of the floral. This might actually have the best aroma for a Tie Guan Yin that I have had the pleasure of inhaling.

I almost feel guilty putting these beautiful and wonderful smelling leaves in a water bath, what if it loses it aroma? That would be a crime! Hooray, I did not commit a crime, the aroma is still wonderful and takes on some interesting side notes. It is still honey sweet and intensely floral, but now there are buttery notes of chestnut and a touch of leafy green. This might sound a touch strange but the aroma has a creamy texture, a nose feel if you will. The liquid is very rich, it is even butterier than the steeped leaves and it has a hint of chestnut and after notes of honey.

Reading my notes on this tea in my notebook I am amused that the tasting part starts to list to an angle and becomes, well, sloppy, I think this is a mark of a good tea tasting! The taste is very buttery and smooth, I feel like my mouth is coated with happiness. The orchid is very intense and incredibly heady, it is disorienting with how intense the floral taste is. Imagine being in an orchid themed conservatory and breathing through your mouth, with each breath you can taste the orchids with the same intensity as the aroma. Towards the end of the taste there is a hint of herbaceous green similar to sage and an aftertaste of mineral water.

As to be expected I wanted another go with these leaves. The aroma of the liquid manages to be even more intense, the chestnut and heady orchids shine through and they are followed with little sparks of honey and gardenia. The taste of the tea is initially very sweet and strongly floral. Everything about the second steep is sweetness, the foretaste and the aftertaste, and a tiny hint of mineral. The mouth feel is still buttery until it reaches the back of the mouth where it takes on a bit of sharpness. I am not sure how but the tea gets even sweeter as it cools. There are different kinds of Tie Guan Yin, roasted and green, Anxi and Muzha, and one for all the seasons, it is a very versatile Oolong and each one I have tasted has a distinctive quality that links them together. This is possibly the best Anxi Tie Guan Yin I have had the pleasure of drinking and I do not give that statement lightly.

For blog and Photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2013/10/teasenz-anxi-tie-guan-yin-tea-review.html

I’m flagging a bit this afternoon, so I’m glad to have a nice cup of tea to help me.
This tastes very clear, a bit green, maybe a little mineral-y?
I enjoyed it, but its not the favorite oolong I’ve ever tried.

I can’t remember the last time I drank a Tie Guan Yin, which is something of a surprise as it’s become one of my favourite oolong varieties. I was more than pleased when I came across this one, not least because it’s a good opportunity to reacquaint myself. This particular Tie Guan Yin is from the Anxi Nature Reserve in Fujian Province, a major Chinese tea growing region (although one I seem to associate more with black tea than with oolong, strangely enough!)

Read my full review here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2016/10/26/anxi-tie-guan-yin-from-teasenz/

the dry leaves of this TGY looks and smells very nice, a lovely floral buttery aroma, the leaves are nicely balled and vibrant in colour.

The package says 100C for temperature, which I’m a bit uncomfortable with (is this typical for tie guan yins? I honestly don’t know, I’d never think to do them this high though). Well whatever, I’ll try and brew it there.

I think I’m a really atypical example, I have a lot of experience with green oolongs, mostly from taiwan, but very little experience with tie guan yin, this is my second or third ever, and it’s been a looong time since the last one, this should be interesting.

I get a nice buttery creamy grassy, spinachy aroma from after the rinse, the aroma’s very powerful, I can smell it from like a foot away,

The taste is very smooth, with a cooling sensation, there’s a very grassy taste to it, but it’s sweet like peas, like very freshly cooked peas, it’s incredibly aromatic, lovely fruity orange notes, sweet like candy my goodness this is delicious, I get candied lemon-lime notes, a nice thick body, some grape notes, there’s something so satisfying right when I swallow, it’s so thick and creamy in texture, it just coats the mouth, and the sweetness is just perfect, it’s like drinking cream right from the .. cream thing. It tastes like it should be really unhealthy. It’s just such a dessert-like tea.

I get further notes of green beans and cabbage entering in steep 3, there’s this teeny bit of that acidity that really bothered me in verdant’s mao xie, there’s also a tiny bit of astringency that enters here, but it’s so pure, there’s absolutely no bitterness with it that makes it really pleasant.

It loses a bit of complexity, and just becomes this fruity vegetal sweet soup, which actually happened on steep 4, increasingly on steep 5, also by this point the leaves had unrolled entirely, which seems a bit fast, but this could be the 100c brewing temp or maybe the leaves are just loosely balled, either way, this brewing style for this tea gave me a really concentrated sweetness and fruitiness in the first few steeps and then it sort of faded, creaminess and thickness are still there though.
There’s sort of a spiciness that comes forth, raddish notes,
I got maybe 6 or 7 steeps in until the sweetness faded and it wasn’t really enjoyable for me after that, I think this would be appropriate for quick dessert sessions, also this one might do really well western because it lacks some of that longevity, but damn that was tasty for those 3 steeps. It had me thinking it might’ve been the best green oolong I’d ever had, and if it lasted a bit more it would’ve been replacing the dayulin in my hall of fame.

My town was hit with a flash flood, and this brew was a time filler before class. I actually wasn’t going to drink this at first; however, I decided to take a peek inside the bag, and I was whooshed with the most intoxicating aroma. These small green pebbles carried a fresh ivy scent that I just had to try. I placed the small emeralds into my warmed gaiwan and took another inhale of the enticing aroma. The ivy scent had developed into a vibrant spring and grass aroma. Although, the taste was slightly diminished in comparison to its scent. The initial sip was a dry vegetal tone with a mineral sweet undertone. This brew lasted for quite some time. Once the storm died down a little bit, I left my steeping to wander into the rain. I really wish I didn’t have to leave my tea room xD

https://instagram.com/p/2jfKhXTGaP/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

https://instagram.com/p/2jngEKzGau/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

Okay So, I am catching up a tad because I have no data on my phone and not wireless at home. According to my notes, i drank this on 10/16, so…

Sip Down!!!

First things first, Thank you to Ost (don’t know how to bold) for this wonderful sample. She took wondrous care of me in our swap, which her kindness left me feeling inspired because of her amazing generosity yet painfully downtrodden because i had no idea she would be sending me so much, and didn’t match her appropriately, but anyway…

I am in love with Oolong. It, Thus far, is my all time favorite straight tea. Having said that though, I am still developing my pallet and am still a little green as far as reviews go. I loved this tea, and its the first really Tie Guan Yin that i have tried by that name. It was special to me because i had heard so much about how amazing this tea was, how it would change me forever about oolong.

And it did… kinda

The dry leaves were very aromatic, smelling of fresh flowers (lilac, maybe… of honeysuckle). I love opening the little baggy and being taken to another place. Steeping the leaves were a breeze, because of my new Yixing so my steepings were as follows:

1st- 45 Seconds. Beautiful aroma and light colour liquor. Very light flavor.
2nd- 1min15sec. Bolder coloured cup, a lot more flavor. still floral.
3rd- 1min45sec. Began to taste a buttery warmth, like that of a smokey or roasted tea (which would make sense)
4th- 2min15sec. Became very…light. Lost a lot of the aroma and flavor.

I did like this tea and it did spark my interest about what else there might be out there, but i must admit, i was expecting something a little more bold, i think… something more roasted and smoky… But certainly not upset. Thank you Ost :)

Eh…not much flavor at all with this one.
Steeped it for like 5 minutes too, and still nothing. Kinda a weird one :/

Another sample from Teasenz! Thank you so much! Tie Guan Yin just happens to be favorite type of oolong, in my experience. These leaves are very bright jade green and have the fragrance of fresh veggies. I used a teaspoon and a half of leaves for a 12-13 ounce mug.

Steep #1 // five minutes after boiling // 1 min steep after a quick rinse
This oolong has slight fruity notes but also almost on the verge of being savory: slightly salty, more vegetal, buttery. Kind of tastes how it looks as the leaves: salty seaweed! But in the best way! Not my favorite type of oolong, but if it’s a good savory oolong, it can be delicious even if it isn’t my favorite flavor.

Steep #2 // just boiled // 2 min steep
Another delicious cup that is both more fruity with hints of peach and pineapple and also has stronger hints of the savory flavors: salty, brothy. So as the leaves unravel, it’s just more flavor overall. I just love how the flavor shifts around in the mug as you’re drinking, like a wispy mystery. Very nice.
http://www.teasenz.com/anxi-tie-guan-yin-oolong-tea#.U_DzicjD9hg

The smell of the dry leaf of this is very creamy yet floral, and a touch vegetal. Steeped up the creamy mostly only translates over in a smooth almost buttery mouthfeel. The flavor is very floral with a hint of butteriness at the end of the sip. Second steep is similar to the first, but also a bit chestnutty, especially as it starts to cool.

The third steeping is much like the last, but the forth brings out a smooth creamy note. And with that, it’s getting late and I’m gonna hit the hay.