Roasted Lemon Tieguanyin

144/365

Another of my older LPs, finally seeing the light of day. One thing I’m quickly realising about this challenge is that once it’s done I’m going to have a lot of opened things to sip down. I’ll likely need another challenge just for that!

LP says that this one is a blend of 1999 and 2006 medium roasted tieguanyin, aged in dehydrated lemon for over 60 days. He also says it’s an ugly tea, but I find the lemon segments quite beautiful in their own way. I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it around 2.5 minutes in water cooled to around 180. It smells like lemon pie that’s burnt a bit in the oven, and it tastes quite like that too.

The TGY brings a pretty toasted taste to the initial sip, and it pretty much as you might expect from any roasted oolong – a little brassy, perhaps, but pleasantly so. I was expecting more pungency, but it’s really very palatable. The lemon almost explodes in the mid-sip, in a bright, sunshiny burst. The tangy, sour citrus cuts through the toastiness in a swathe of wonderous efficiency. It’s a pairing that works really well, perhaps somewhat unexpectedly. I feel like lemon is an accessible flavour, whereas TGY perhaps isn’t so much. I hope it encouraged a few of the less experienced oolongers to give it a go when it was on sale.

As the lemon wears off, the tieguanyin flavour returns in full force and lingers well into the aftertaste. It’s a pleasing contrast, and an inspired pairing. I’m glad I’ve got plenty more!

I was curious about this one, and Andrew kindly gave me a pouch. Thanks, Andrew! :)

I’ve only had one TGY before this, and I like this one a bit more. I like the lemon in this. Part of me wishes there were more. I’m on my first set of steeps, and if I really desire more lemon, I’ll add some lemon juice to it. I do get some of the roast in here, but it’s not overpowering.

Thanks again for this, Andrew!

Thank you Andrew! This was quite lovely. And I got it right after I ranted about how particular I am with Dark Roast Tie Guan Yins. Lemon pie is what I smell. Like a fairly cooked and crispy lemon pie.

That’s also how I can approximately describe it. Lemon really takes a balanced control of the taste being simultaneously tart and sweet. The body is on the lighter side, but the mouth feel was a little bit thick. At least for me. I get bits of roast and char in the background. Again, the more cooked aspects of this tea reminded me of a pie a little bit. In some ways it reminded me of a fattier lemon tort or cookie. It really has a more savory quality that I can’t quite accurately describe, so I’m just calling it savory for now until I can think of a more precise adjective. I over-describe with sensualist language anyway.

I definitely think it is worth a try and it certainly made me like dark roast Tie Guan Yins a little more. But like Andrew writes in the description, it really is for more experienced drinkers. At the same time, the lemony quality might convert a curious few.

I hope that this review is somewhat helpful. That said, I brewed it at 190 F, steeped it five times, and started off at 50 seconds in three ounces.