Red Tea Tie Guan Yin

I just received this tea from Life In Teacup a few days ago, but cannot find it on their website.

When I read the label, I found the idea of a Red Tie Guan Yin to be somewhat surprising, as I’m so used to associating “Tie Guan Yin” with Oolong. But one glance at the leaves and I knew it was not a mistake, this IS a black tea. And what an amazingly good black tea it is.

SO SO SO SO SO GOOD! I love this. It reminds me quite a bit of Dawn (The Simple Leaf), it has that same deep chocolate-y note with a freshly baked cake kind of quality to it. Rich and incredibly satisfying. Caramel undertones. Sweet and smooth and delicious.

I’m off to write my rough draft review of this tea for the SororiTea Sisters!

A darned-good Red Tea! Lovely! medium strength and perfect for mid mornings or mid afternoons!

Real nice black tea. Has some very pronounced creamy, thick, malty cocoa notes – even reminencent of a black Assam. Delicious in every sip and very warming to the body.

yum!easy drinking…

I’m pretty sure this is the black tea I reviewed a few days ago after much deliberation by my fellow steepster friends. And the description just fits from the other tasting notes.

Here’s the review that belongs here:

“Whiteantlers, the Red (Black) Tie Guan Yin you sent me is fantastic. The dry leaf reminded me of a Laoshan Black. The leaves themselves were black strings tipped by gold. This is exactly the type of Black Tea I prefer. 30 sec, then 55 sec, 1 min 15, 3 min, and 5 min. First, I get cocoa, malt, thickness, berries, jam, and a little bit of astringency. Second, more jam and cocoa. Third a leathery quality comes out with the berry jam. The same can be said of the fourth. The fifth just has light berry jam and cocoa in light water. This is good. Really good. Thank you so much!”

I am happy to repeat this review again and this tea is incredible for today’s lovely Easter afternoon.