Country of Origin: China
Leaf Appearance: deep green, tightly rolled
Ingredients: oolong tea
Steep time: 3 minutes
Water Temperature: 195 degrees
Preparation Method: Teavana Perfect Steeper
Liquor: deep gold
I’ve had a lot of Tie Guan Yin over the years but this one made me sit up and take notice because it is from the Wuyi Mountains. What’s so unusual about that? Nearly every example I’ve ever had was from Fujian Province. The taste was floral with a nice bit of toastiness but there was also a very unusual spicy quality. I’ve never experience that from this type of tea before. There was also a hint of vegetal notes but not much accompanying astringency. The oxidation level was somewhere in the middle, not super light but not very high either. At just $5.50 per ounce (and even cheaper for bulk), it seems that this tea is quite a bit cheaper than its Fujian cousins. The unusual spiciness I noted is exactly what I was talking about in my What is Terroir? post last week. Producing the same tea in a different region made it taste very different.
Ti Kuan Yin sample provided by Ocean of Tea