Bi Family Top Grade Anxi Gande Tieguanyin

I apparently forgot that I brewed this one western style the first time I tried it. Oh well, western style again! I will still have enough for a good gongfu session as well, thankfully. The last time I had this I was operating under the mistaken idea that I preferred the autumn picking of Verdant’s usual Tieguanyin over the spring picking, when in fact I actually preferred the spring. So I cam in to this thinking that I would inherantly like this better as a a spring picking. Just goes to show you what preconceptions can do to your tasting experiences.

This is really an astounding tea, now that I really taste it. So floral, so creamy, so honeyed, it is the essence of spring in a cup, pretty much. This tea is everything about why I love the fresh, green tieguanyins so much.

Also, apparently I blew past my 1000th tasting note this weekend. I remembered that it was coming but then completely forgot about it once it came. So here’s to 1005!

There was supposed to be almost a blizzard today…but it whistled on by, preferring to thump tumbleweeds on the Plains with howling wind and pelting snow.

I bundled up in layers, called Schey to meet me at Happy Lucky’s at 2PM for tea, and selected several new tea’s for my green tea pouch. Without that pouch and a “What did you bring us today Bonnie?” the visit wouldn’t be complete.

Five people were in and out behind the tea-bar when I arrived (including the owner, George).
Joe picked a group favorite (this Tieguanyin) and brought out complete aroma sets, a gaiwan and small fairness pitcher.

The Oolong Symphony Began. 170 degrees and short steeps.

At first the tea was delicate, a blend of linen…squash blossom and cucumber flesh. I commented that the taste was subtle in the beginning, then stalled like a wave gathering more water before unfurling on the sand.

The second steep was very floral without being old and tired, thickening on the finish. There was a feel of unsalted butter (so said Joe and I). The aroma was so heavy with orchids and honey, it pulled me deep down into the cup and I was lost.

One steep was vanilla cream scented and another orchids and jasmine.

The color, floral aroma and flavor were the same as we approached the 6th steeping.

One of the things that Eric mentioned was the size of the leaves and the amount of flavor. “Someone has taken very good care of these leaves to get them to give this kind of flavor for this long. This is very good Tieguanyin.” (Eric is the scientist, one of the people I’ve dissected tea’s and ingredients with. He’s also a West Coast Bay Area person like me).

We’ve had Tieguanyin (Oolongs in general) discussions about how the climate on the Frontrange is PERFECT for aging. It’s DRY and Oolongs like DRY storage.

George drifted over to the gaiwan and made a round for everyone. As the owner, he’s tasted LOTS of tea, and his eyebrows tweeked up like the Rocky Mountains. He was impressed at the look of the leaves after many steeps.

What sets this apart and makes this different that any other?

The aroma is complex and lingering.
It’s a warm day in May, and just before the morning becomes humid…I’ve gone into the garden to pick flowers for my table.
There’s a fence with honeysuckle. Sweet jasmine, lily of the valley and orchids in the garden. White cotton sheets are drying on the clothesline, flapping in the wind.

The aroma lingers. That was the first thing I noticed.

The flavor grabs attention in a subtle way.
Buttered squash blossom, diced peeled and seeded cucumber, clover honey with the scent of all the garden flowers and linen.

The flavor moves so slowly through the mouth, informing the brain with a ‘seven-second delay’ that “An event has taken place, tastebuds wake up”!

This is the point, that the tea is sneeky! It doesn’t behave the way you are expecting a Tieguanyin to behave.

This is NOT a Boring OOLONG!

And, the flavor goes on forever!

Tea of the Month reserve Club – February

First off, this is a beautiful tea to look at: tight little clusters in deep & medium shades of green. Dry, the aroma is of salted flowers. Warmed in the Gaiwan, I smell a lovely floral scent, with a quality similar to lilac but not as strong & not really the same. The wet tea smells of longbean & green bean flowers, and expands beautifully to fill the Gaiwan with nice sized leaves.

The steeped tea is a beautiful yellow, & it tastes yellow too!
Light vegetable flavors were there, especially the flavor of long beans. I grow them every summer, & although they can be used just like green beans, their flavor is uniquely it’s own. They have lovely flowers, & they are very prolific. The flavor of raw soaked almonds was also present, along with an essence of pear.

All in all, it was very light & spring-like.

This tea makes me sneeze. I pretty much wasn’t expecting to like this tea since it’s a green one :) I had a go at this one, mostly just to sip a few of the steepings and move on to the next steeping. I can see how lovers of the green, would really enjoy this one :) It’s subtle and then floral and stuff. Wasn’t a fan of the jasmine that came from behind! ha. Overall, i can appreciate this tea, but it’s not for me so no rating here. If you like creamy, floral delicious green oolongs…this is a tea for you :)

When warm weather starts my tea drinking really starts to drop. It isn’t even summer yet but yesterday it reached 36ºC. Needless to say, I haven’t been too keen on hot beverages but have been a bit too lazy to make up jugs of iced tea.

This morning is a bit cooler so I sifted through Sil’s samples and grabbed this one. About the time I started drinking it my hayfever set in so I haven’t been able to enjoy it as much as I’d like. The first steep, which I’m on now, has a lovely fresh cucumber note but with that unmistakeable sensation of hot liquid on tastebuds that are switching off. Hopefully by the later steeps my antihistamine will have kicked in.

Thanks Sil :)