Tie Kwan Yin (Organic)

This tastes soooo good! Smooth, flowery, no overpowering flavors or bad taste left in my mouth. It’s also a terrific resteeper.

I picked this up on the recommendation of the guy behind the counter at the David’s Tea on Mont Royal in Montreal – didn’t catch his name. He definitely didn’t steer me wrong, though. The dry leaves don’t have much smell, but as soon as you add hot water, it’s stunning. It smells like spring to me – lillacs just starting to bloom.

The flavour isn’t as strong, which is probably a good thing. It’s a somewhat delicate oolong with a very slight flowery taste to it…

I think I may have found my new favorite oolang tea!

Sipdown!

A friend if mine reached out a few months ago to see if I can put together another tea box for her. Obviously I said yes! Work has been crazy and I finally had time today to get a package together for her. This tea box was a great way to get eyes on my collection to see which ones I could just drink/remove from my collection.

This tea is delicious, gives me a bit of a smoky taste and I love it. Bit of a darker amber color, mellow and smooth body.

Once I get my stash down, I’ll probs get more of this in the future.

A bit weak, but I didn’t have much on hand so the water:tea ratio may have been off. A pleasant flavour though!

I really enjoy this tea. The leaves are tightly wrapped. It haa a taste that is comforting, and hard to describe. The leaves take a while to unfurl, so put some in a clear mug and pour some water in. Resteep several times!

Split a teapot of this with coworkers earlier in the week. I usually forget about this on the wall, to be perfectly honest – it’s a nice enough oolong but not a standout one for me. My coworkers like it a lot though. It’s hilarious, one of the actually has a martini glass on his desk and will quite often drink tea out of the martini glass. It’s a great visual – especially when people who aren’t used to seeing him do it walk into the lab and see him drinking tea from the martini glass. This is one of his favourites…

Nutty, toasty, and warm. Maybe a little astringent? But it adds complexity to the cup, so I’m ok with that astringency…

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

This tea was okay, but after having the tie Kwan yin from Mandala tea it pales in comparison. Prior to brewing the dry tea was light brown and wood coloured. Once brewed, There was a slight floral scent, but predominantly roasted scent. The taste is mostly nutty/roasted and buttery, with some vegetal taste. The leaves opened up nicely on the first drinkable steep. The liquor is pale brown. Not one I would purchase again.

I really like this tea. I steeped it “gong fu” style which is multiple steeps into a mini teapot. It was interesting to see how the flavors changed with each steep. They were all delicious.

Kicking off the new year with my first cup of Tie Guan Yin. Used hotter water and shorter steep time than advised because I am impatient. Golden yellow liquid on the first steep.
Golly wow am I glad I bought a 50g bag.

Second steep // ~3 min, ~180 F – I’m getting less floral and more woody now, and a sweeter aftertaste.

i sit here with davids tea’s tie kwan yin. looking at it dry i see that it is med sized, tightly rolled, and appears to be highly oxidized. the tea looks dark, with slight greenery coming through in spots. stems are visible.

dry, it has a kind of cutting aroma, with hints of nut.. what kind i dont know, maybe raw almond. besides this i get an almost toxic smell like fresh paint.. its not enough to be off putting, but its there.

im using 5g with a 125ml vessel with the suggested temp of 85C or 185F. i am not pouring a rinse, instead ill start with a 5s infusion, then 10, then increase as needed.

1st- 5s, wet leaves have hardly opened at all as can be expected. leaves smell- to me atleast like a da hong pao, very heavy, musty, warming but slightly odd.. makes me feel like im in an antique store or grandparents basement or closet. lol.
the liquor is pretty much clear except for a slight tint of yellow. floral notes come from the aroma of the cup.
taste is weak of coarse, green and floral mix.

2nd- 10s, wet leaves are opening and kind of clumping up you could say. smell of leaves is bolder and rounder.. muskier. liquor is a nice light yellowish tan colour.
the heavy aroma of the leaves has transferred into the aroma of the cup, and is not the nice and friendly light brew anymore.
so far most of the experience is in the smelling of the tea.. the taste is not there yet, although i am getting a richer mouthfeel from this second brew. its hard to describe, the taste evokes the image of the tea.

3rd- 20s, wet leaves are slowly creeping up the vessel, smelling strong.
the liquor is a darker golden yellow- not so dark though. the heavy aroma is giving way to a more vegetal smelling cup… still creamy and buttery with less “antique” smell.
i had not detected any astringency until now.. its very minute though. vegetal, still rich mouthfeel.
… this is literally very warming (obviously.. hot water but) ive shed a layer of clothing plus socks, haha. the cutting sort of astringency thinly coats the mouth and tongue with an active feeling, similar to mint, cooling at times.

4th- 25s, leaves have opened up even more, coming up the vessel, going strong, still smelling roasted and “old people-like.”
in the cup the liquor is yellowish.
tastes a bit watery. mouthfeel stays with you for maybe a minute after drinking. this brew has been less bold and flavorful despite the smell of the leaves being strong.

im cutting the review off here.

over all, not one of my favorite teas,didnt blow me away, id rather just drink da hong pao… although that may be an awful comparison.. i don’t know, havnt drank dhp for a few months and dont completely remember the subtleties.

probably wont buy this tea again from davids tea, anyone else know of other good sources for this tea, or optimal temps?

have a good day.

-nycoma