Tie Luo Han "Iron Arhat" Premium Wu Yi Shan Rock Oolong tea

I got to try this tea thanks to Liquid Proust Dark Matter tea buy, and I really enjoyed this tea. It is a very floral tea, especially in the first steeps. After that the floral notes become less prominent.

This was my first tea from the 2016 Dark Matter.

This tea was pretty okay. I really enjoyed it in the later steeps but the first few steeps were almost uncomfortably floral and in your face. Much akin to brewing a Michael’s craft store. I enjoy floral notes, but not as the prominent flavor. As far as oolongs go, I think I enjoy the more creamy and savory ones. It lasted my usual 10 steeps before I decided to call it quits.

I would definitely recommend this to someone who enjoys intensely floral flavors.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BECBshYj_aD/?taken-by=pyramid_king_brandon

I’m pretty sure this is my first time drinking a rock oolong. It starts out very roasty and minerally. I prefer sweeter, brighter flavors so I wasn’t a fan of the start but a light sweetness and fruitiness comes in on later steeps and I liked it more.

The first tea I chose from the Dark Matter 2016 package. Thumbs up! Right up my alley… Roasty, but not too. Never got the pepper note. Fourth steep and counting. A very nice tea. Would definitely consider purchasing this one.

After seeing some comments about this particular wuyi on IG, I knew I had to try it. Well, it turns out that it fit perfectly in with the Dark Matter 2016 group buy because it’s profile is much different then the rest.
Being that I’ve been spoiled with oolongs now, it takes something superb to provide an enjoyable cup; this is not something I like because that generally means it cost more.
Imaging this to be an up scaled oolong, but not as precise as the $20+ an ounce stuff, I underestimated the leaf by thinking of money instead of just tasting the tea.

The first brew has the most roast in the profile, but it’s after that first brew that one can begin to understand why this tea is considered premium. I find it extremely interesting that the roast fades while keeping a smooth texture throughout the session as the floral notes pop out. Clearly this is a tea meant to be resteeped and given time to understand what is happening throughout its stages. If you take a moment you might find that the mouth feel is more balanced than other wuyi that have a strong upfront taste but do not compare with the after taste. While the feeling isn’t a lingering tingle that some stronger wuyi have, the taste and developing flavors that come out of this tea are what make it what it is.

The first tea from Dark Matter 2016 and I’m 1 for 1 for what I have enjoyed! With black teas, shou, and then some weird stuff from YS, I know I won’t report a solid 100% enjoyment rate… but I think I’ll do well as there are some more oolong in there :)

Re-review of this tea, after competing all my dark roast Oolongs against each other in a gongfu steep-off, I found this one to be quite a superior tea.

What I liked about it was the way after a few steeps some floral creaminess appeared that I missed in my first tastings. I’m unsure why I missed this flavour – as this tasted really very heavily mineral before.

The fact that it has a nice roast, not too much but still strong, and the change from roast to creamy floral made it a much more enjoyable experience, so I’ve upped the score a bit to reflect that. A few of the others just faded out instead of making a nice interesting change like this one.

This is some good stuff, nice floral roast with minerally fullness that opens up on the tongue and lingers. Some pepper very late. got a sample of this from a friend and will keep it in mind for a purchase.

Light firing, charcoal and dark chocolate with a sweet fruity finish! Very nice!

10 sec rinse, 15-20 sec steep + 5 per infusion.