Tea: Tie Guan Yin Special Edition, traditional charcoal roast
An Oolong Tea from Life in Teacup
Brand: | Life in Teacup |
Style: | Oolong Tea |
Region: | Fujian, China |
Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
Loose? | Loose |
# Ratings: | 1 View All |
Product page: | Tie Guan Yin Special Edition, traditional charcoal roast |
Reviewer: Alex Zorach
✓ 1452 teas reviewed
✓ 143 of Oolong Tea
✓ 953 of Pure Tea (Camellia sinensis)
✓ 29 of Life in Teacup
✓ 97 from Fujian, China
✓ 381 from China
Review of Tie Guan Yin Special Edition, traditional charcoal roast
August 18th, 2010
Aroma | Flavor | Value | Total |
8 of 10 | 4 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 73 of 100 |
Excellent | Good | Good Value |
This tea got my attention with its unusual aroma, and I suspect it's the Mao Xie. There's like a familiar woody quality, typical for a roasted oolong, but with a peculiar quality suggestive of a savory soup containing celery root and other vegetables. The flavor is surprisingly savory for an oolong, with not much in the way of bitterness, sourness, or sweetness.
I normally prefer pure teas, but every now and then a well-chosen blend gets my attention, and I'm impressed by this one. Do I prefer this one to the straight Tie Guan Yin with a traditional charcoal roast? Surprisingly, I would say I do, slightly. This one is less fruity but has more dark, complex qualities. I also found this tea to be much more full-bodied than the Tie Guan Yin alone was.
This tea is definitely good for multiple infusions. After a third (long) infusion, using a fairly small amount of leaf, the resulting cup was still quite rich, although the complexity of the aroma had diminished notably--it was mostly wood and roast left. The second (5 min.) infusion (after a 3 min. first one) was probably the most flavorful, it had fewer of the light aromatic tones, but it was bolder in flavor and considerably more full-bodied.