Organic Tie Guan Yin “Iron Goddess” Oolong Tea with honey

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Oolong Tea Leaves
Flavors
Flowers, Honey
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Low
Certification
Organic
Edit tea info Last updated by TeaVivre
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 45 sec

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38 Tasting Notes View all

  • “I set up my bamboo tray on the floor in the living room last night, lit candles, and brought in the electric kettle. Hubby and I had seven steeps in my eight ounce glass pot. I love using the...” Read full tasting note
  • “This is another from my second batch of samples from Teavivre (many thanks!) I was feeling a little Western Gong Fu-ish today, so steeped some up while watching the beau play Uncharted 2 with my...” Read full tasting note
    81
  • “I bought this a while back, and have had a few times now. I keep putting of reviewing it because the experience was so different to what I was expecting. Either way, I bought a bunch of it, so it...” Read full tasting note
    74
  • “I have had this sample for a long time and just getting around to it now! I used the whole sample package for my cup. This tea smells amazingly sweet and like a fresh meadow with flowers and...” Read full tasting note
    94

From Teavivre

Origin: Zhangzhou, Fujian, China

Ingredients: Jade colored leaves (hand made into small, rolled up), then soaked in organic honey

Taste: Delightfully sweet honey flavoured and aroma

Brew: 3-4 teaspoons for 8oz of water. Brew at 212 ºF (100 ºC) for 1 to 3 minutes (exact time depends on your taste – a longer time will give the tea a stronger taste and color)

Health Benefits: Tie Guan Yin tea is the premium form of Chinese Oolong teas. Being lightly fermented, these teas are high amino acids, vitamins, polyphenols and antioxidants. These combine into a tea that reduces cholesterol and helps reduce hardening of the arteries, and so can help reduce risks of heart attacks. The antioxidants it contains can also help guard against some forms of cancer, and also help fight the affects of aging and bacterial infections. Apart from the health benefits of Oolong tea, the honey used in this tea is also a completely unprocessed organic honey, collected from flowers in the forest in the area around where the tea is grown.

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38 Tasting Notes

75
136 tasting notes

Anyone who follows my notes enough, must know that I love honey … and use it to sweeten my teas. This was a untested, last minute addition to my early April order, but have been busy testing other teas to do a fair tasting. Yesterday I wrote up my thoughts on Teavivre’s (non organic) TGY, so want to follow up with this one (to compare).

I bought 50g, and that means 7 separately sealed packets in the pouch. I used one for today’s comparison. Brewing, it behaved in much the same manner as yesterday’s. The brewed aroma is very similar (hey, I added honey to the TGY yesterday : ) Others have mentioned that this doesn’t strike them as sweet. I agree. Very strange. Since I like my teas on the sweet side, I’m even pondering adding some honey. More strange. The TGY is very strong and upfront, vegetal and … uh, ack … hold on (runs to add honey) … ok, it now tastes very similar to yesterday’s. Not favoring overly sweet things, this is baffling to me right now.

Organic TGY w. honey is their highest priced oolong, priced more than twice the price of the (non organic) TGY (for 100g, $10.50 vs. 22.90). I can add my own (local raw) honey.

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 0 sec

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75
676 tasting notes

Thank you Teavivre for this sample!
This sample came vacume packaged in a purple and gold wrapping and then inside vacume packed again. These little darlings were not moving in transit!

I had volunteered some time removing cobwebs from garage doors this fine Spring Saturday in my community condo complex…and not feeling particularly up to fussing with complex brewing techniques…decided on Western Style (side saddle being that I’m a Colorado lady) steeping of this fine tea. This Oolong is soaked in honey. Interesting.

A 2 minute steep and the removal of the leaves smells wonderfully sweet with a bit of floral vegital glamor. The color is medium deep honey gold and somewhat cloudy…maybe from the honey.
On tasting I am surprised that there is not a heavy honey flavor. There is sweetness which is quite light, but not honey. I taste the light lilac and vegital flavor that my nose picked up from the first introduction. This tea is a bit salty with a tingle of pepper.
Adding some sweetening improves the flavor, bringing to the forefront the beautiful floral lilac expression. I am disappointed in the lack of honey flavor. As an Oolong, this is something I have had before, and it is a nice Oolong but not remarkable.

Also, 3-4 teaspoons tea for 8oz of water is a lot. I used 2TB for 16oz pot good grief! For this tea not to taste great is a shame.

The second steeping (I’m being fair here) is light and clear!
Whatever the honey coating was doing globbed onto the leaves so tightly before and clouding the tea is gone. Now the liquor sunny yellow-gold and shimmering. My second brew is much more illusively scented…as if a breeze lifted the scent of one lilac on a strand past my nose. There is absolutely no honey at all. None. Nada. But, the flavor is pleasant. This second steeping is where you want to be with a nice Oolong (still this is an average-plus one though).

My overall rating will have to be somewhere I don’t want to go, but I must be honest. I get no honey flavor in this tea. I think you have to sacrifice too much product for a good cup. The first 8oz is cloudy and not that good but the second steeping is much better and I expect the 3rd and 4th will be fine also. I have had such good experiences with my Teavivre tea’s that this one is just not spectacular like I’m used to. I may be expecting too much. I do appreciate the experience.

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77
525 tasting notes

I don’t know why this tea appealed to me so much. Normally, I don’t like sweetener in my tea. I supposed I was thinking this would taste like honey but not be sweet. This tea fulfills that ideal.

When I opened the packet, I was surprised to see all the little leaf balls stuck together with honey. I thought it would be only honey flavored! But now that I look at the description, I should have been expecting honey covered tea leaves. :) They come in neat little single serving packs. There’s enough in there for a large pot if you’re brewing it western style. I planned to just take a small portion of the leaves to make a small serving, but I wasn’t sure how the leaves would keep since they were covered in honey, so I had to take out my large teapot and use all the leaves at once.

The resulting liquid is a light brown and slightly cloudy from the honey. It brews up quite strong. This seems to be a medium oxidation. I’ve had greener oolongs, but also darker ones. Honestly, it’s a bit dark for my taste, but that’s purely personal preference. It’s still very enjoyable. It’s not sweet at all, and the honey taste is light but pleasant. There’s a sweet toasty hay flavor and something fruity. It’s all very nice and comforting on a chilly day.

I’ve got a bit of a sore throat so this honey tea is probably pretty good for me right now. :)

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89
4843 tasting notes

Delicious! Even though I had read previous tasting notes for this tea, and understood that this tea would be sticky, I had still had not been adequately prepared for what I’d encounter when I cut open the vacuum sealed pouch … it really is STICKY. Like TeaEqualsBliss said, it is quite like a rice crispy square … only with Tie Guan Yin pellets instead of rice crispy cereal.

The first two infusions were incredibly sweet and delicious. Very honey-esque, but I was glad that the honey did not completely mask the flavors of the Tie Guan Yin. I still tasted notes of flower, and a hint of vegetation.

The next two infusions (third and fourth) were less sweet … much of the honey had been “rinsed off” by the first two infusions, but I could still taste honey tones, especially in the aftertaste. The flower notes were sharper, and I noticed more astringency.

The final two infusions (fifth and sixth) – there was very little honey flavor left here, but, it still had a very pleasant sweetness to it. The flower tones had softened somewhat, but were somehow more in focus … I could taste orchid … or possibly lily? Sweet, very lightly vegetal, and very delicious.

A very nice tea, this. I think I will steep my other package of this as an iced tea, combining all six infusions into one pitcher to see how it all melds together.

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1220 tasting notes

I have had this tea for awhile now, I must have swapped it to someone too? I don’t know. I think everyone’s notes about it threw me off. I do recall one about how we Americans probably have palates more suited for stronger tastes than the nuances of this. Anyway, first I made sure I didn’t touch the leaves and just popped them from their inner bag into the infuser.

I definitely smell honey in the liquor, the color of this tea is even reminiscent of honey.

It tastes slightly sweet, not too sweet for something coated in honey though. There’s a lot of minerality to this TGY. And then in the middle of drinking it I left to meet up with JoonSusanna so now it’s cold, and it still tastes good.

Decided to give it another steep because how can you not with an oolong….but I oversteeped badly so maybe next time.

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90
1473 tasting notes

This tea was generously provided to me by Teavivre!

My package came today! It came todaaaaaaaay! bounces and sings

Ahem.

This was the tea I was most excited about. The thought of honey-covered tea leaves? Yes please! I was incredibly impressed by the packaging, unsticking the tea from the waxy bag in a bag in a bag in came in and dumping it into my glass gaiwan.

Oh my bob, it brewed up pretty. I’m on my fourth steep and the leaves have gotten huge. The first steep earned me a scolding from my wife. I poured the water and then quickly poured the liquor into my little cup before filling the pot of goji pop I was also making and asked her to set a steep.it for 3 minutes. She thought I was trying to steep this little beauty in my gaiwan for three minutes >.<

The flavor is lovely. I’m saving the other pouch for my wife, as she’s a huge fan of TGY’s. The first few steeps were very strong, but that’s fading to make room for a sweet, delicate floral note. I’m very much enjoying my cup of this and this from someone who doesn’t really like florals!

I also reached for this one because we had a horrible lunch out – Poutine and Pizza. Oh yes. Needless to say, I was feeling greasy and gross after lunch, so on Teavivre’s recommendation, I had my first steep of this about half an hour after we ate. I quickly started feeling better, which is a blessing.

All in all, this was a great tea! The floral got a bit overwhelming for me, but I’m not a fan of florals, so I’m calling that my issue. It is one I look forward to sharing with my wife, however.

Ninavampi

I’m now convinced that I absolutely can’t live without trying this tea in the near future…

Plunkybug

I have the regular TGY and it is excellent, I agree. Would love to have the honey TGY.

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477 tasting notes

Wasn’t sure what to expect. Would the leaves be dry? You can’t “dry” honey. Maybe crystalized. Nope, I realized when I got the vacuum-sealed bag open and went in to scoop some out. Honey coated. Not leaves in a pool of honey, though. Really infused.

Couldn’t smell the honey on anything but my spoon after I’d scooped. Brewed in a gaiwan, the liquid is a cloudy, toasty yellow. Smells like a toasty oolong, no sweetness.

First Steep: Despite the obvious stickyness of the leaves, I’m not getting too much of a honey flavour. A nice oolong—not sharply vegetal, very pleasing, buttery notes. When I breathe out… Sweetness, I think, bordering on honey. As if the honey does not directly add any flavour, but somehow enhances the oolong itself so that I am enjoying this immensely.

More sweetness as I sip. I have a feeling the honey may have settled to the bottom—as it tends to do when you stir it directly into the tea anyhow. Starting to get a sticky honey taste with just a touch of sweetness.

Second Steep: Bolder taste in the second steep, as I didn’t actually rinse this. I think I’m getting more honey. Just a faint, sticky sweetness under the toasty oolong notes. I like darker, roasted oolongs, and I think the honey goes with it well.

Third Steep: Didn’t pay as much attention to this one. Still fifteen seconds. Didn’t get any sweetness.

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec
lizzi

It tastes all right, steeping it in boiling water? I’m leery of doing that with my oolong teas, ordinarily, and aim for a few degrees cooler.

AJ

Whoops, didn’t realize I’d set that to boiling. I let the boil fade completely (but didn’t take the temperature) before I poured, but still pretty close.

Yeah, most companies recommend that you don’t us boiling, but Teavivre and a few others recommend that you do, but also suggest very short steeps. Was playing with that first, and then was going to try cooler water and longer steeps with what’s left of the sample. It didn’t taste bitter with near-boiling, or flat. Luckily.

But I think a cooler temperature and longer steep would help the honey.

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85
100 tasting notes

Another of the samples sent by the lovely Angel from Teavivre.

As others have mentioned, this comes vacuum-sealed and boy does this smell fresh!

I separated my first steeping of this tea into three cups, each steeped for a minute longer. 1 minute was light, as you would imagine, and pleasent. Not tasting any honey at this stage, but the overall flavour makes me look forward to cup #2. 2 minutes and the flavour was beautifully rounded. I could taste the honey just barely and it complemented the oolong beautifully. 3 minutes and the vegetal oolong comes out. For personal taste, I’ll probably steep it around the 2 minute mark from now on.

I thoroughly enjoyed this tea and have marked it down as one to purchase. The little packets would make great stocking stuffers actually. Might have to pick up a bunch for Christmas!

Preparation
Boiling 1 min, 15 sec
ashmanra

Tea stocking stuffers. I think you just made me cry.

Miss Starfish

With joy, I hope?

ashmanra

Yes! Just the thought of those adorable little packages of tea squirreled away in a stocking!

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93
4170 tasting notes

Additional notes: Sad sipdown of the last sample of this treasure in my tea collection. It was so good while Teavivre sold it. I love the light honey notes on the already sweet, mildly roasted oolong. I’ll be enjoying it on this gloomy day while packaging up teas to go to the post office on Wednesday. :D I have teas for sale on page 13 of the ‘official sale’ thread if anyone wants to check that out for any last minute orders.

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97
892 tasting notes

I received this one from a random sample swap from Meowkattack! I was so excited when I got this one because it was soaked in honey. I have never, ever seen a tea that was soaked in honey. Well I went to Teavivre’s site and read up on it. I decided to do multiple steeps with this oolong. So here it goes!
1st Steep:
212° for 1 min.
The color of the liquor reminds me of watered down honey. The smell is light, sweet, and with a hint of fresh veggies. The flavor is kind of floral and sweet. I can get a slight hint of honey in the background.
2nd Steep:
212° for 2 min.
The color has gotten much, much brighter. Almost to a yellowish-green. The smell is very vegetal. The flavor has gotten a little more deep into the oolong with hints of vegetal and savory flavors.
3rd Steep:
212° for 3 min.
The liquor has turned to a light brownish-yellow. The aroma has turned deep and vegetal with buttery notes. The flavor has a slight mineral taste to it along with a deep oolong flavor. There is still a slight buttery/vegetal flavor to it but it’s very light.
This is the first oolong I have tried steeping multiple times and I loved it! I think it is so amazing how the flavor changes with every steeping! Thanks again!!

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