2022 harvest/roast. My first (that I’m aware of) Tie Guan Yin. Pretty excited.
First steep, no rinse, was a light golden-brown pour. Notes of honey, light charcoal, and grapes.
Second steep poured a tan-honey color. Notes of violet, purple grapes, a nice round roast with no sharp edges. I’m getting durian, cotton candy on the nose as it cools, very ripe cantaloupe.
Browner pour, less gold on the third steep. Durian and violet still present, very similar to steep 2… some dry roasty leaves. More mild roasted notes come through in the fourth; this fruit sweetness has a “sickly sweet” note to it. I don’t not like it, it’s just very distinct. But fun. Some maillarded sugar… I wouldn’t quite call it caramel. Mild tannins peeking through.
Mild brown bread in the fifth, with twigs; sweetness is more secondary now. More of the same in the next steep, with a little nip of that sickly sweet flavor coming back… heck is that? Like a nice kukicha for the rest of the steeps. I forgot about one of them and it was still lovely, only mildly tannic. Hint of charcoal at some point.
If this tea had a color profile, it would be purple. Grapes and violet and that sort of overripe-almost-turned kind of sweet. Really delightful little session.
Flavors: Burnt Sugar, Charcoal, Grapes, Roasty, Violet, Woody
