I have a spot in my heart, and palate, for traditional aged oolongs. Autumn is upon us as well, which means my tastes have changed with the season.
This is an Anxi Tie Guan Yin.
Dry leaf;
Cocoa, caramel, mahogany, a bit earthy, and the slightest smokey hint.
This is a smell all too familiar. In some ways it reminds me of Jing Tea Shop's 2003 TGY.
The liquor's aroma is of cocoa, baking bread and caramel apple. The earthiness has turned into a more wood-like aroma; a deciduous forest.This is fitting for the current season.
The taste is excellent.A rich, warm syrup coats my palate in dark chocolate and wood tones.
The prevalent caramel has now turned into sweet maple.
Sweet raspberry notes mingle with the dark chocolate as the ripe fruit characteristic is revealed. This tea has not bitterness or astringency whatsoever.
The tea gets mellower and thinner in body, but heavier in aroma in the latter infusions.
The long lasting infusions are very satisfying.My infusion times were approximately, 1:00, 1:30, 3:00, 5:00, 10:00, 20:00 and 2 hours.
I find that if the tea is brewed longer, the liquor is more like a syrup and less like a liquid. This gives the tea very interesting textural quality.
The warming character of this tea is one that produced a smile among me and a few close peers of mine.
Thank you Gingko.
~billy
Beautiful reviews with awesome pictures. I look forward to trying Gingko's teas in the near future. I'm particularly curious about the wild Oolong you featured too.
ReplyDeleteJ.
Jackie,
ReplyDeleteGingko sources wonderful teas! Out of the four that I have tried so far, I have not been disappointed yet! More reviews on her teas are still to come! Thank you for stopping by!
May I ask the reasons behind your choices of brewing times?
ReplyDeleteIce,
ReplyDeleteAged oolongs, in my opinion, require long steeping times to bring out the essence of what the tea really is. This is GongFu preparation (lots of leaf to not too much water). Because of the aging and roasting, the caffeine is removed, so there is less tannins, which results in little to no bitter qualities.
These teas will continue to give flavor for a very long time as well, so to get the best bang for you buck, this is the preferred way to brew.
I hope I answered your question in depth and in an understanding manner!
Wow! Two hours??? You're a very patient man, Will.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I could leave it that long. It'd be long cold by the time you get back to it. And I don't like my tea cold. :/
Fox,
ReplyDeleteCold tea is actually not bad. It brings out qualities in the tea that you may not normally find otherwise! Try it sometime. You might be pleasantly surprised!
I have to agree with you William about cold tea bringing out other qualities of the tea.
ReplyDeleteThis tea sounds really good, and your review got me wanting to try this Oolong.
Jordan,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great representation of a traditional TGY at a good cost! It is difficult to find authentic TGY anymore, and if one does chance upon it, the price is much too steep for what its worth.
Will,
ReplyDeleteTried drinking some tea with cold water. Let it steep for about 20 minutes and was disappointed. Also, I couldn't finish the cup. I couldn't drink it like that. It makes me physically feel sick drinking tea cold.
Fox,
ReplyDeleteI am sorry you were disappointed! I maybe should have mentioned that one does this usually with the last brews of an aged oolong or a yancha.
I hope you didn't get too sick!!