Tie Luo Han (2020)

Promising but short-lived hope with this tea. I got this tea from my OWT order, and it was yummy but fell short. Beautiful leaves with a rich and nuanced aroma, vibrant liquor, very rich taste that balances the floral and mineral of yancha, texture that is smooth yet juicy. Character fell short quite hard as the tea fell to mediocrity as steeps went on. Finish & aftertaste was decent with a prominent minty and airy aftertaste, cha-qi was almost non-existent, and steep longevity was poor, topping at around steep 8.

Somehow this type of tea evaded me up to now despite being one of the classic rock oolongs. I tried it and I liked it, and now I do not know if it is just an excitement of discovering a new type that vibes with me or if this is actually a good tea.

Anyway. Dry leaves have an appealing aroma of time and past: dust, old books…The tea, which I prepared Western style, turned out to be limpid golden liquid, which I had not expected. The taste: a satisfying and complex roast, very mineral, tangy and a bit sweet – reminded me of barely ripe apricots, peaches and Granny Smith apples.

What I liked the most about this tea was that it was extremely invigorating and energy-giving. You want to drink it and then do stuff. Even the long mineral and tangy aftertaste was energizing. At least it energized me enough to immediately sit down and right a review, so there is that.

I am going to try it a couple of times more and if the initial impression lasts I will stock up on it to make it my get-up-and-do things tea.