The Tie Luo Han tea I had came as part of a three-bag sampler, including Ban Tian Yao and Shui Jin Gui, with no descriptions for any of the teas. At the time (2018?), I don’t think any of the three had yet been offered by Old Ways Tea. Notes by other users for these three may not reflect the same teas I have.
At first, the aroma and flavor profile had me almost uninterested in continuing to brew. As the alkalinity faded by the end of my second cup, complex herbal-spice sensations revealed themselves while my body and mind became very relaxed.
In the mineral and rice-like sweetness reminiscent of a small stream with marshy banks, I could taste wet oak logs and wet yellow chrysanthemum. My mouth instantly tingled all over.
The tea had this unique quality that made me want to keep my mouth closed. I sat, and the complex herbal tastes materialized and shifted: the herb called chocolate mint, wintergreen, horehound, celery root, lettuce, spearmint, cucumber, anise, dill — but it didn’t taste green. The tea guided me through drawing a nature scene in my notebook that featured some of the sensations I was experiencing.
This Tie Luo Han’s nuanced structure and energy certainly speak of a very high quality tea, and I know nothing more about it.
Flavors: Alkaline, Anise, Brown Sugar, Celery, Charcoal, Chocolate, Chrysanthemum, Cucumber, Dill, Goji, Grass, Hazelnut, Herbal, Lettuce, Medicinal, Mineral, Mint, Oak, Peanut, Raspberry, Rice, Roasted, Spearmint, Spicy, Spring Water, Tobacco, Vanilla, Wet Earth, Wet Moss, Wet Wood, Wood
You do have a way with words. I enjoyed reading it while drinking a cup of Tie Luo Han.