ZO78: Tie-Guan-Yin Oolong Second Grade

AHA!!!! Instead of following Upton’s brewing directions, I increased the leaf quantity by 50% (used 1 tablespoon for a 12 oz pot), lowered the temp by 10 degrees, and infused for 30 seconds less than the lower part of their range, and LO AND BEHOLD, tea with flavor and little to no astringency! YAY! Now I will feel better about trying some more expensive teas… More hopeful that I can get good results.

The tea itself tasted very nice, but it is closer to a green tea than a black tea. I think I would prefer a darker oolong. I thought this one might be darker because the leaves were more brown than green, but it still tasted more like a green. But it was certainly a pleasant flavor without too much astringency.

So the first Tie-Guan-Yin I ever had really impressed me. I ended up adding it to my regular stock of tea. This one is good, but also kind of underwhelming. It’s a very green/light oolong that has a slightly dry finish. It has a toasty note that reminds me a bit of Da Hong Pao, but other than that I don’t have much to say for this one. I will either finish it or share it with someone else that wants to try it.
Ah! So I forgot that this is a second grade TGY. I bought this as part of a tasting experiment so it will be interesting to see how this compares to TGY First-grade, Special grade and premium.