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“So, I slept in late today – somehow my alarm didn’t wake me. Got up around noon – strike that, 12 exactly, I checked the time. I was an hour late for my class, so I didn’t bother going. After...” Read full tasting note
This tea is sometimes referred to as “Monkey-Picked Tea”. As legend has it, Buddhist monks used to train monkeys to pick the young leaves on the steep cliffs that were inaccessible to humans. Although our teas are not actually picked my monkeys, this is still a very distinctive tea. It is only lightly fermented, which allows it to retain its crisp, flavor and its flowery aroma, without some of the grassy tones found in green teas.
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So, I slept in late today – somehow my alarm didn’t wake me. Got up around noon – strike that, 12 exactly, I checked the time. I was an hour late for my class, so I didn’t bother going.
After wasting some time online, I felt like tea, and I thought about the unopened two ounces of Competition grade (3rd place) TKY in the tea cupboard.
So, the Iron Goddess and I sat down for a conversation, of the Gong Fu persuasion. She was a little touchy – I think the water was bad. I didn’t realize I had bought purified water that was “enhanced with minerals”. Left a bit of a sour taste in mouth.
Wonderful tea, though. The instant I added the water, her fragrances were apparent. If I may so compare the leaves and liquor to the goddess’ eyes, as I feel, poetically, not only effective but necessary – the darkness of the roast made of the tight-rolled leaves intense, black pupils, and the round iris in my decanter was the most gorgeous liquid amber I’ve seen.
ahem Purple prose aside, I think I initially approached this tea in the wrong frame of mind. I’ve been taking in finer Formosan teas for a while now, so I believe I’ve conditioned my tongue towards greener oolongs. I don’t remember the last time I enjoyed a TKY – the cheap one I had the other day doesn’t count.
So, upon drinking this, I noticed the lack of smooth after-nuance, and forgot to appreciate the boldness of darker oolongs. After an infusion or two, I started using hotter water, and bracing myself for the kick. Much better.
But still, I think my bad water left the tea with something to desire. I’ll go out tonight and by some clean water, and try her again.
Aside from that detail, the quality of this tea was undeniable. I can tell that simply by the feeling it gave me. I found myself floating a little in reminiscence of the beginning of my tea exploration. Back when tea was little more than a choice from Peet’s selection of oolongs (all of three teas), steeped indefinitely in a white beehouse teapot, and then served through a sake set from a San Francisco flea market. But I digress.
Being as Merciful as she is, the Iron Goddess let me finish off with a nice brew or two before I had to bike off to Sociology. I need to get back into darker oolongs – definitely a must for next time I visit China town. I used to be an addict to the kick of dark oolong! What’s become of me? Sheesh.
