Anxi Tie Guan Yin (roasted)

o Quantity: Half sample pack / 110 ml
o Water temperature: 100°C
o Several infusions, 60 seconds each.

Stream of consciousness notes (ie. don’t think too much, don’t care about grammar, just write what you are experiencing as you experience it)
o Dry leaf aroma: Sweet roasted nuts, dried fruits, huapia (Hawaiian coconut pudding), a bit of molasses, the freshly roasted tea note arrives at the forefront when the tea airs out a bit
o Dry leaf aroma in heated gaiwan: Roasted aroma intensifies and overshadows the other notes, sweetness is sharp
o Throat: roasted nuts, sharp sweetness, hint of stone fruits, some caramel
o Wet leaf aroma: cooked fruit, roasted leaves, dull sweetness reminiscent of a fruit liqueur
o Liquor aroma: Huapia is upfront, followed by cream, almond milk, and honey.
o Taste: light but complex and with deep notes of huapia and toast, fruit notes appear in the middle, huapia note lingers the longest. small amount of astringency at the end. medium body. medium length. mouthfeel is a bit dry. soft sweetness. honey notes appear towards the end.

Notes on the remaining infusions:
o Was able to do four infusions after the first. The fifth infusion was incredibly faint.
o Aroma changes: More roasted aroma than any other aroma
o Tastes changes: Mouthfeel is a bit more creamy. The notes of huapia and fruit vanish quickly, sweetness also vanishes quickly.

o Spent leaf aroma: figs and dates, wet leaves, small amount of minerals

Method:
2tsp/12oz
Pre-boiling
Rinse: 10sec
First steep: 1min 55sec
Second steep: 2min 45sec

Liquid is a clear, pale yellow. Mineral and stone fruits are at the forefront of each sip; toasted rice, vanilla bean, cream, and flowers on the back end. The second steep developed some really nice, buttery, bread-like flavors that were absent from the first. I suspect that the strong roasted mineral notes were a result of my not watching steep time carefully enough. This is why you don’t use steep time to keep studying for an exam!!! You take a break. The plan was to begin steeping at 1min 15sec, and increase by increments of 20-30sec. Next time I will treat this tea more gently. Thank you very much nannuoshan for the sample.

Second round of samples from the courteous people at Nannuoshan! I wanted to sample all of their Tieguanyins so as to compare the huge differences there are just by processing the leaves differently. I will be trying one each of these a day for the next three days. Something nice and relaxed for the crazy weather that’s going on for the next three days! I would love to try them side by side, but all of my gaiwans are different sizes.
So I used my 150ml gaiwan, 4g leaf, at 100c water for 1 minute each infusion

Now, I don’t usually like roasted or oxidized oolongs. But, I figured, ‘Hey, it’ve never had a roasted Tieguanyin before!" I love the way modern TGY tastes. The light roast is so enchantingly smooth, and… that is a review for another time.

On to this tea! It is a toasty and roasty brew that still retains it’s fragrant aspects. It is sweet, like brown rice syrup. I am detecting a bit of ripe stone fruit. This is like drinking the equivalent of a late summer dessert. Peaches sprinkled with brown sugar baked into a crispy browned crust.

Thank you to Gabriele and nannuoshan for this sample!

I left it to my husband to pick our tea for the night and this was the one he enjoyed the most when he opened each to smell. He’s been wanting to try this type of tea for a while now, ever since he had a conversation with a friend at work about monkey-picked oolong. I didn’t know at the time that monkey-picked oolong is another name for Tie Guan Yin, not until I started asking around here on Steepster. I was happy that nannuoshan had this tea to sample and even happier still that my husband picked this one from the batch without even realizing what it was. I really hope he likes it.

The leaves are brown and came tumbling out of the bag in clusters to hit the inside of my gaiwan with a bright, tinkling sound. Each is a different shape – no two seem alike. Some look like tiny parcels, others like flower bulb shoots. A few have opened more fully, as if they’re stretching upward toward the blue. The color is dark – black and tan and a bit of green.

After rinsing the leaves, this incredible aroma floats out of the cup. I could be wrong about this, but it seems like the perfect cup to wake up to in the morning. The fragrance is roasted and almost sweet. For some reason, I think of oolong as a darker tea (like a step down from black tea), but I must be wrong because this is very light in color. The flavor is outstanding – it tastes just as it smells. I can’t quite put my finger on exactly what it is. It may be bread. It may be brown sugar. My husband even said he tasted something like roses.

We steeped this four times and finally decided it was time for bed. Not wanting to waste any remaining flavor, I put the leaves in the fridge with two cups of water for a cold brew and left it for almost a full 24 hours. The color is very pale, almost golden. I expected it to be lighter since I’ve already steeped it a few times, but it’s even paler than I thought. The leaves have unrolled, but instead of being silky like I expected they look as crunchy as a piece of fresh kale. Lightly sweetened, this is very enjoyable and certainly isn’t lacking in flavor.

I’m enjoying each of my samples from nannuoshan better than the last – this one is my favorite so far!

Infusions
4 ounces water + 212 degrees + 60 sec each
16 ounces water + iced + approx. 24 hours

I prefer oxidized Oolong , this is one, on paper.

The smell is very herbal , vegetable-y : a bunch of spinach . I do not smell too much roast .

Come on, Tie Guan Yin would magic operates? Pictured without special effects , this tea plays like a diamond …

The liquor smells spinach , too. And the wet leaf is a spinach leaf ! very very well imitated …

The liquor is a translucent pale yellow.

From my taste , oxidation is not the most obvious. This Tie Guan Yin remains much vegetable-y, not very creamy .

Much on the floral and unoxidized side IMO.

This is a good Tie Guan Yin but insufficiently creamy and oxidized to persuade me to buy it and store it in my permanent collection.

Pics are available here (with the diamonds in my tea leaf…:) ) : https://thevangeliste.wordpress.com/2015/01/27/anxi-tie-guan-yin-roasted-nannuoshan/

I have been drinking Da Hong Pao and Tieguanyin with my grandfather for long time. They reminds me my childhood :)
I got a sample of this tieguanyin together with other two from nannuoshan.org
My grandpa used to drink only this old-style tieguanyin. I like also the fresh ones, but admit having a weakness for the roasted one. Maybe just because my body type is cold, so I prefer warm teas.
This tieguanyin is full, warm and pleasant. I like the sweet note in it, although I cannot really describe it. It is long present in the month but not dominant. So, how to say, well harmonized with the rest of the tea. Lovely, I could drink it long time without having enough.