An Xi Tie Guan Yin traditional charcoal roast

Very nice fruit-like flavors, with a slight roastedness at the end.
I was expecting/hoping for a more houjicha-like roasted flavor, but perhaps that would have killed all the nice fruit flavors.
It can supposedly go 7 infusions, perhaps if one uses all 7g from the pack (I just had this 1 sample), but I split it so I could try it twice, using perhaps ~3g the first time and ~4g the second. It seems like after 5 infusions, it didn’t have enough flavor to continue (though I did go to 7).

I’m not sure whether I liked this or the modern green more, but it was very enjoyable.
Going to have to keep trying different Oolongs to see if I find one that I love as much as Japanese greens. So far the closest contender has been pricey – Phoenix Yellow Stone Oolong.

The biggest surprise is that out of 3 samples, I was really excited to try this TGY (charcoal) and the TGY (modern green), while the real sample originally offered was Yunnan Golden Bud…. However, in the end, the Yunnan Golden Bud was my favorite!!

A big thanks to Gingko for the free samples! (Btw, I realized that you DIDN’T duplicate the samples…. I originally thought the Charcoal Roast was going to be packaged in the Red bag, and the Modern Green II in the Green bag, but it was in fact opposite).

Clear cup but full-bodied. Aroma is dominantly woody, with some fruity and floral tones, and a hint of skunkiness. The aroma is more reminiscent of more oxidized teas, even black tea, than is common for most oolongs this light.

Good for multiple infusions, even with a long infusion time and less leaf. I like using fairly hot water.

First infusion is fruitier, like apricots. Second is more woody, skunky, and herbaceous. All infusions have a fair amount of bitterness, which I find pleasant.

Leaves smell weird. I guess the roast mart makes it like that. I never had roast tea other than black. This one could be interesting.
Tea smells less roast than the leaves. Like a typical oolong. Color is slightly darker – bit on the red side.
Tastes interesting. Like roasting killed all the green tea sourness. It’s smooth but not really sweet. Slightly nutty. It’s really really yummy.

wow, what a treat this tea is, thank you for introducing me to it.

Earthy and toasty. A nice breakfast tea for me. The 2nd steep was a little smoother and better than the first.

I liked this tea a lot, when i first drank it. However I didn’t realize just how much I had liked it, until a few days after my little sample was finished, when I started to really crave more of that gentle smoky taste. I think I need to give it a higher rating that I originally had.

I call the taste “lilies”!!! I love all the comments on this tea, trying to explain its aroma and flavor and feeling. A few years ago I bought a bit of this type of tea from another source and at first I didn’t think I liked it, but then I found myself drawn back to trying it again and again. From the very first, my thoughts went to lilies. It tasted like lilies! Or how I would think they would taste based on their aroma. Smell a lily, it is pungent, strange, not unpleasant, but not sweet like other flowers. A lily is not as bitter smelling as a tulip. Originally the tea I bought did not mention charcoal, and I was new to oolongs, so the only thing I could use to decribe it was lilies. Every time I drank it, the vision of lilies got stronger. I grow lilies, Asian ones and daylilies and Easter lilies. The tall stalk lilies are stronger smelling, and when they are in bloom their aroma hits me every time I walk out my front door. The tea was my lilies! Soon I loved this tea so much that I hoarded it and was afraid to finish that last bit. Why? because the place I got it from didn’t have it anymore! They had something “similar”, but it was awful compared to my beloved “lily tea”. It was bitter, and not of lilies, and could not take multiople infusions. Then I found Gingko Bay on ebay. They had samplers of many oolongs, and with some lovely discussions I chose my samples. Tada!!! here are my lilies!!! The it is it, and in fact, even better as I still did have a little of my old tea left and compared them., This one was smoother and lingered better. So I finished off that last bit of old tea and am on to a new, better tea and a great source, lifeinteacup.com (or ginkgo bay on ebay).
In the winter, when the lilies are sleeping, I can drink their aroma with this tea, and think of the next coming june! You can all have your charcoal, I will be drinking lilies! :)

PS – this tea can take sitting in the yixing pot for long periods without getting too bitter for me, and this is an important trait for me. I start sipping it at 5-6 minutes or later, and continue for as long as 30 minutes or until it is gone. I don’t even mind it cool. Then I re-infuse. If I infuse a third time, I may add a few fresh pieces to perk it up a bit, I like my lilies to produce a full bouquet!

This is the first time I have tried an oolong that has been roasted traditionally over charcoal but I have to admit I am hooked.

The taste is a delight. This oolong rolls over your tongue and leaves behind the tastes of pear and hazelnut. The aftertaste is lingering and is both drying and sweet. And it leaves you craving for more. My first cup disappeared too quickly to really analyze the flavors as I couldn’t drink it quickly enough. The second went the same way. I was finally able to slow down and savor the flavor on my third mug.

Oh but this is smooth.
This is a very nice tea, with a creamy feeling to it, a touch of sweetness towards the end of the sip, and a touch of brightness.
I’m only sorry that what I had was only a sample, and I’m out now!

Today has been a day of tea, I am a wee bit tea drunk at the moment, and I am pretty sure my mom is too. We have been gongfu-ing several different teas that I wanted her to try from my private stash while listening to music and cleaning around the house. You know how it is post travel, no matter how organized and neat the house is when you get home, as soon as you bring in the luggage it ceases to be. It is always a great feeling to have everything in its proper place.

For the chosen tea on this most pleasant of Tuesdays, I am having a look at Life in Teacup’s Tie Guan Yin Traditional Charcoal Roast. So fun story with my relationship with TGY, when I first started drinking it many years ago, I preferred the charcoal roast over its more green variety…then I fell in love with the green variety for about a year…and now I am back to preferring the roasted one again! It is enjoyable to see how desire for certain tastes change over time, sometimes it changes over the seasons and sometimes it changes over longer times, it is a journey. The aroma is quite delicious smelling, it blends baking bread and charcoal with an underlying heady aroma of orchids. The blending of flowers and roast makes for a very interesting aroma, the yeasty notes of baking bread add a level of sweetness to it as well. I always find roasted oolongs that retain their floral notes to be fascinating.

The aroma of the leaves after the first steep is surprisingly floral, very strong heady presence of orchids with a hint of honeysuckle. There are also notes of baking bread and a tiny bit of char and mineral, much like burnt sticks and a freshwater spring. The aroma of the liquid is fairly mild, with notes of buttery baking bread and orchids, there is a finish of fresh vegetation. Surprisingly no empyreumatic notes in the liquid.

The first steeping is very sweet, very strong notes of honey drizzled yeasty bread. The bread notes transition into heady orchids and honeysuckle nectar. Sipping this tea is like eating freshly baked bread while sitting in an orchid filled conservatory. Remind me to add that to my ‘to do’ list.

On the second steep, the aroma has more of a roasted tea aroma, there are notes of toasted sesame seeds, yeasty bread, and a touch of nutmeg. The taste is very sweet, just like the first steep, but this time it is the sweetness of honey on toast! This transitions to heady orchids and a bit of charcoal with a sweet, flower nectar finish that lingers.

For the third steep, well you can certainly tell this is a charcoal roasted tea, because the char notes are strong. There are also notes of baking bread and honey, the previous notes of flowers have faded. I found all the roasty toasty notes! The taste of this steep is rich with charcoal and toast notes, the mouthfeel is dry, and there is a hint of leaf pile at the midtaste. For the finishing note there is rich raw honey and a hint of toasted sesame. As charcoal roasted teas go, this one is pretty mild, one I would recommend for someone who only wants a little of that char taste in their teas.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/10/life-in-teacup-tie-guan-yin-traditional.html