Monday, April 19, 2010

2003 Anxi Tie Guan Yin

In the land of perpetual sunlight, there happens to be a rainy, muggy day.
To comfort me, this Tie Guan Yin, compliments of Jing Tea shop.
Could not have picked a better choice.

The dry leaf is pungent of roasted cocoa; almost like a dark chocolate, with a dash of cinnamon.
The sweetness presents itself to the nose already.


The first infusion;
heavy chocolate aroma.
The liquor is on the light side, but my mouth is filled with a sweetness present of anise and pumpkin.
A wonderful prelude to this tea.

Second;
The roasted notes take control in this movement.
The undertone of sugary sweetness lingers.



Third;
Chocolate and berries dance on the tongue.
But it is not an overpowering sensation.

Fourth;
Spicy. Cloves, anise, cinnamon...
then a caramel arises.


The following infusions play around with the said flavor notes.
This tea is sensational.



After eleven infusions, I am tea drunk.
Maybe the worst I have ever been.

It is excellent.

Rainy day blues are resolved.



~billy

5 comments:

  1. TEA DRUNK WOOOOO :D

    "Everybody must get stoned" - Rainy Day Women #12 and 35.

    Wow, this tea sounds fantastic! You always seem to order nothing but the best.

    How much did you get? Just a 25gr sample? Or 100 gr?

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  2. Fox,

    Im not too critical of a tea for the most part. I take it for what it is.
    I have run across some bad teas but I just do not post about them.

    I ordered a sample size. If I had more I would definitely send some to you!
    But in your next order from Jing, I recommend this tea!
    The other good thing about it; it never gets bitter. I left one of the earlier infusions to brew for three minutes (gong fu style, 3 mins is a LONG time!) and it was not the slightest bit bitter!

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  3. It's fascinating to me how diverse Tie Guan Yin can be...this one sounds totally unlike any I've tried.

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  4. Alex,

    I do believe that it could just be the aging on this specific one. Although I have tried several aged TGYs I am not well versed enough to be a trustworthy source of information!

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  5. I was unable to find this tea on Jing Tea's site...do you have a link to it? Do you know if it is still available?

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