Thursday, January 12, 2012

Teavivre, Tie Guan Yin “Iron Goddess” Oolong Tea (Ti Kuan Yin)

This sample is one of 15 provided by Teavivre,  a tea distributor located in China.

This is a lightly oxidized full leaf oolong. The dry leaf is rolled into typical nuggets with a faint grassy smell. I used almost a 3g scoop of leaf. First steep for 3 minutes at about 175F. The wet leaf is dark and looks like broccoli leaves and is mildly grassy smelling. The brew was a very pale yellow almost clear. It has a sweet floral aroma. The taste is sweet and floral with a bit of a grassy aftertaste. A bit weak my fault (keep reading).

On the second steep, 2m, the leaves are now open and covering the entire bottom of my press rising up almost to the plunger screen. Slightly darker brew with more pronounced flavor that is a lot closer to what I was expecting. Still a bit green. I am detecting melon(?) in the aftertaste that lingers. Just noticed Teavivre recommends 212F water! Oops! What is the point of brewing instructions if you don’t read them?

Third steep, 2m. Got the temp right this time. Well, hello flavor. Feels a little milky to me now. No bitterness.

Fourth steep, 3m. The TGY flavor is a lot milder. Longer steep would have helped. Still tasty.

Fifth and final steep, 4m. The flavor changed to darker and earthier with almost raw puerh qualities. The aftertaste is a mix of floral, grass, and fruity. It no longer tastes like a TGY but I like where it is going. Wish I had time to try one more steep.

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