Tea: Iron Buddha

A Tie Guan Yin from Simply Good Tea

This tea has been retired/discontinued.

Picture of Iron Buddha
Brand:Simply Good Tea
Style:Tie Guan Yin
Region:Fujian, China
Caffeine:Caffeinated
Loose?Loose
# Ratings:2 View All

Review of Iron Buddha

AromaFlavorValueTotal
7 of 104 of 54 of 573 of 100
Very GoodGoodGood Value

This is a classic example of the "modern green style" of oolong, popular in Taiwan and China these days, with no discernable roast or oxidation.

The dry leaf is an intense green color with yellowish accents, not particularly tightly rolled, and not very aromatic.

As soon as water hits the leaves though, there's an explosion of a pleasing floral aroma. The floral aroma is hard to describe; it's not as orchid-like as some green Tie Guan Yin is. I find it delightful though. It's tending a little in the direction of chrysanthemum.

The brewed cup is very clear in color and the flavor mild. The leaves release their flavor relatively slowly and this tea is not easy to oversteep. If brewed very strongly it begins to get a tad soapy, and there are a few "off" aromas in there. I find these notes didn't keep me from enjoying the tea though.

Beyond the floral notes, there are very leafy, "planty" flavors, like fresh foliage, vegetables, spinach, celery. Combined with the floral notes, these make this tea smell a lot like the inside of a greenhouse filled with tropical plants. There is no discernable roast or oxidation.

This tea strikes me as a good everyday tea. It falls short of the top-notch examples of modern green oolongs. After steeping, it becomes evident that the leaf is relatively broken.

This tea seems almost perfectly suited to the brewing method Simply Good Tea advocates, "lazy brewing" where you throw in a bunch of leaf, and then refill with hot water as the tea starts to get too strong. If brewing more traditionally, I recommend using more leaf than you'd expect. The big, loosely-rolled pellets of leaf don't expand as much as I'm used to, and the leaf is only mildly aromatic, and the flavor gentle. This tea comes out best when brewed strongly. Either way, it's easy to get 2-3 steeps out of the leaf.

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