March and April were bad months to receive packages because the world was (and still is) in lockdown. With a small delay, I received the March tea club from Essence of Tea. I had to wait a bit, but it was totally worth it. In the package were two Tie Guan Yin teas from 2019; a Spring and an Autumn one. For this session, I brewed the 2019 Autumn Tie Guan Yin.
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2019 Autumn Tie Guan Yin
The 2019 Autumn Tie Guan Yin is an organically farmed tie guan yin tea from the area in the North of Anxi Province. The land where this tea was farmed is located inside a protected forest, which means that they are not allowed to use chemical farming methods. The altitude of this land is around 600m and they used the Hong Xin Wai Wei Tao (红心歪尾桃) cultivar. They made this tea by using normal older leaves and gave it a charcoal roasting. In essence, the production of the Spring and Autumn versions is similar, but the final products are noticeably different.
The colour is a uniform dark brown and the leaves are rolled, but not really ball-rolled. I see leaves and quite a few stems. The aroma has baked/roasted notes to it.
Once the leaves are wet, there are still roasted/baked notes, but there is also an exotic fruitiness popping up. The colour has changed into dark olive green and the leaves are really big.
Tea Tasting
- Water 90°C
- 4g for a 100ml porcelain gaiwan
- 1 rinse
- 6 infusions
Infusion 1 (15 sec): this one was a bit too hot so I let it cool down because I didn’t get much flavour. After cooling down, it’s really good. I’m getting roasted notes and a light and exotic sweetness are coming through. Good aftertaste of exotic fruits.
Infusion 2 (20 sec): less roasted and baked notes and there are more fruity notes now. It starts out feeling like spring and changes into a hot day in summer. The sweetness at the beginning is fresh, while the sweetness in the finish and aftertaste is deeper and warmer.
Infusion 3 (25 sec): the roasted notes from the start are gone and it’s replaced by a sourness that makes your mouth water. This changes into an exotic sweetness towards the end. Also a light astringency after swallowing.
Infusion 4 (30 sec): the sourness is less prominent during this one. It’s mostly flowery with a light astringency and sweetness towards the finish and in the aftertaste.
Infusion 5 (40 sec): it has become a bit more subtle. I’m getting very light notes of a roasted sweetness. The finish even has some buttery notes to it.
Infusion 6 (50 sec): it’s still really enjoyable, despite being the sixth infusion. I’ve had oolong teas before that were already spent by now. It’s subtle, but I’m getting buttery notes. It’s a sweetness that is bright and buttery at the same time.
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Conclusion
I don’t drink oolong teas that often, but this one makes me want to drink it all the time. It was so pure and delicate, while still being full of flavour. Every infusion was different and it started out with an exotic sweetness and roasted notes. I also got a sourness in the middle that really made my mouth water. Towards the end, the sweetness became a bit buttery. All in all, this is definitely one of the better oolong teas I’ve had. It starts out feeling like spring and changes into a hot summer day perfectly describes my experience with this tea.
You cannot buy this tea because it was part of Essence of Tea’s monthly tea club. If you want to be part of the tea club, you can subscribe here.
