Organic Tie Guan Yin “Iron Goddess” Oolong Tea with honey

Another sample that was generously provided by Teavivre! Thanks! The leaves were so incredibly sticky with honey that I almost just wanted to eat them instead of brew them, but I stuck them in the teapot anyway. The first couple of infusions tasted like a very high quality, smooth medium oolong with a slight sweet, floral aftertaste. This isn’t as overly honey sweet as I expected, but you can tell this is a nice quality oolong. This is only the second tieguanyin I’ve had so I’m not sure if this is a preferred oolong for me – it is good though.

The second of my free samples from Teavivre.

I tried this one before the puerhs they sent me because I was wary of it. I am generally more of a savoury person than a sweet person, although I do like honey every now and then, especially orange-blossom honey and similar types that are not supermarket generic. Anyway, the thought of honey-soaked TGY did not grab me immediately because of my predilection for savoury things. Hmm, I was wrong to be wary.

First up, stick my nose in the packet. I do this with tea, food and books. Especially books. I love the smell of a good book. So, I’m odd! What of it? :-) Anyway, the aroma was more honey than anything else and I thought that the tea would be much the same. The honey smell was gentle and pleasant as I added boiling water to the leaves in my gaiwan, although I felt it dominated the aromas.

Then it was time for the first cup. Yes, honey in boiling water. I only steeped it for a minute but the TGY flavour did not really come through. Should I have steeped it longer? I’m not sure that I should. I drank the first cup and really enjoyed it, then it was time to re-steep the tea. So I went on. Steep, drink, re-steep. I’m on the sixth infusion now and have really enjoyed the journey. The honey flavour steps more into the background and the TGY comes forward more with each steeping. This makes for an interesting journey. Let’s see how long it goes on for.

So, what’s the final verdict? Lovely. Yes, this tea has plenty to offer and the longevity of it is great so that you can get a whole range of flavours from just one session. Marvellous, and thank you, Teavivre.

Thank you Teavvire for sending me this complimentary sample to try.

Very interesting how sticky this tea is upon opening the bag. I was also worried this would be too sweet for me. I did not drink the first infusion but went straight to #2.

This is a lovely oolong. light yellow color and smells very floral/buttery. Has a substantial amount of flavor like clover. I am wondering how much of the sweetness here is natural and how much the honey is contributing. Not overwhelming, you can still taste the tea here very prominently. Very well done and Organic is a definite bonus.

Mmmmmmmmmm. The last of our sample, so I tried to do it justice.

Dry, this tea is . . . not dry! It’s sticky from the honey, which is awesome. But it is a dark green, with a hint of muskiness from the tea covered by the predominance of the real honey. Steeped Western-style, about two or three teaspoons of tea in one of the BrewT-type steepers from DT.

First steep: Oversteeped! Three and a half minutes, because I got distracted while it was brewing up. Still! Delicious. Tea turned out a rich golden colour, with a darkly vegetal flavour. The honey toned down to a hint of sweetness throughout the cup, that sweetened without turning it floral.

Second steep: Successful steep time! Minute fifteen. Not as much of the honey flavour – I was tempted to add some myself. A lighter gold colour, and the cup was much smoother in taste, not quite as herby.

Third steep: Just under two minutes, maintained the smooth deliciousness of the second steep, but less honey.

Four steep: Two minutes. No honey taste, sadness. But the oolong is still going strong.

Fifth steep: Two minutes. Would have been delicious, but I forgot about it on the windowsill when I went to bed and didn’t drink any of it.

Sixth steep: Two minutes. Leaves have actually been sitting in the steeper overnight, so I’m hoping I’m not going to give myself an allergic reaction to it. Was actually more of a trial to see if it could be done – I never want to give up on this tea. More of a bitter vegetal flavour, but surprisingly drinkable. Don’t think I’ll try for another steep.

(This sample was generously provided to me by Teavivre. Thank you Team Teavivre.)

Dry Leaf: Has a sweet gentle floral aroma with some vegetal fragrances in the background.
Wet Leaf: You get the floral notes up front with a touch of sweetness and that nice vegetal aroma that is light.
Liquor: A dark yellow or even a golden color.
Taste: I get a smooth floral taste with a touch of sweetness and a slight vegetal flavor.The broth feels rich and full in the mouth.
Overall Opinion: I give this tea a 89. Now, the Tie Guan Yin part of this tea is nice and good quality. The problem I have is this tea was soaked in honey and you can see the rolled up leaves covered in a sticky substance but I really never felt like it really gave this tea that big honey sweetness as most people would have thought.So, I think over all people will enjoy the taste of this Tie Guan Yin but feel let down because of the expected honey blast that was never reached with this tea.
Vessel: Sama Doyo 500ml Gongfu Teapot with a single sample(3-5grams) that was placed in the inner cup that holds 220ml of water( around 7oz.)

I’m on my fourth or fifth pot of this and am absolutely in love. I opened one of the little packets it came in put it all in my steeper and just kept brewing pot after pot. I’ve been brewing it for less than a minute each steep, since that seemed to work best for other steepsterites and it still hasn’t become astringent! While I don’t taste the honey much, if at all, I love the taste of the oolong. It’s rich, but not overpowering, and just gives a wonderful soothing sensation after drinking. Once I run out of all the oolong samples I bought from Teavivre I will definitely consider buying a larger amount of this one. yum yum yum. Even all my roomates liked it, and they don’t drink much tea.

I opened up the little pouch expecting an explosion of honey scent, but I was surprised to smell a green oolong. As everyone has already said, the leaves are covered in sticky honey! It’s not so bad that one cannot get the leaves into the cup, but I had to be a little careful to maneuver them into my cup. I love the idea of tea leaves soaked in honey. What a beautiful image!

The tea steeps into a rather dark, almost murky, color. It doesn’t really smell any different than other oolongs I’ve had before. The taste is of a relatively smooth oolong. It’s floral and definitely vegetal. The honey, for me, comes at the end of the sip. You know the way your mouth sometimes puckers after you have just honey? That’s how mine is feeling after each sip. In a way, the honey note at the end cuts off the smoothness of the rest of the tea. It remains enjoyable, though, because you get just a tinge of honey sweetness. This is a very unique tea and I am enjoying this cup because of it! Thank you to Teavivre for a sample!

Just got my package (actually, 2 packages!) from TeaVivre! (oh, I love that store so much)

Well, evidently, I’m starting my own little venture into Oolongs, something I’ve never properly done before, because I seem to have a bad luck for picking those. If you’ve got some oolong brewing/drinking tips – please share those with me :)

This tea comes packed in a TeaVivre-style small packages, packaged once again inside. The leaves are super-sticky with honey and give a nice rich smell, though I expected much more honey in it.

I steeped it twice – 1 minute and 2 minutes. Came out very strong and rich, almost no differences between the two steeps, except some subtle changes in taste.

As for the taste, it was honestly not what I expected. I was ready for some in-my-face honey action, but the honey was very subtle, only adding a few touches of sweetness after every sip. I didn’t add any sugar, which is pretty unusual for me and it still was good. I can definitely say that I’m starting to like oolongs and I’m looking forward to drinking this tea again soon!

Booklog:

Though I’m kind of late with this one, but I just started reading The Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones), so far so good, I’ve read about 25% of the book, it’s engaging and interesting, with some really deep characterization.

Goodness. This one is a keeper. I had to wait until my second time tasting this before adding a note, just to make sure I do like it this much.

Looks: My sample came in a purple package with the leaves vacuum packed inside. The tea itself is sticky with honey and brew up a medium green.

Fragrance & Taste: The aroma is characteristic of Tie Kuan Yin, but the addition of honey make it more..comforting, somehow. There is a little more sweetness, and the flavour is more mellow. I find I crave this on morning when I’m sore and tired.

Brewing note: This tea is not great for resteeping, in my opinion, because the honey is pretty much gone after the first steep. Sure, you can resteep and the TGY flavour is still fabulous, but I find myself missing the delicious honey flavour. I brew at just under 200F, for 2 minutes. There is a slight astringent flavour if I overbrew, which I imagine will get worse the longer you steep.

Disclaimer: I got this as a free sample from TeaVivre.

I finally opened up a package of this tea that I had bought from Teavivre a long time ago. I love the shiny purple packaging. Upon opening it up, there was another plastic bag inside that I had to peel off the tea leaves. The tea leaves were sticky and looked glazed. I put them in a small teapot and watched as the water turned a translucent and slightly muddy honey color. The leaves expanded and were medium-large in size. I love oolong teas, but this is the first time I have had this blend before. This tea tastes great! It has a floral and sweet taste to it. I love how the honey is infused in this tea, and it isn’t overpowering either. This is a delicious tea. I have one more packet left!