Hand Picked Spring Tieguanyin (2013)

I am really behind on my TOMC sampling!!
This one is from October, & I’m just now finally getting around to trying it. It’s lovely! Nuggets with tails, in shades of medium to dark Jade green, the dry aroma is sweet & fruity, the wet aroma is a gentle banana rice pudding kind of smell.
5G + 4oz Gaiwan (rinse) X 3/6/9/12/15 etc…
This is a very delicate cup of gentle fruitiness. In the earliest cups I tasted homemade dehydrated bananas. Not the crunchy ones like you get from the store, but the chewy caramel textured ones you get when you dry them yourself, much sweeter, & a real pleasure to eat. The color is a very pretty spring yellow. Over the next several steepings (12 in all) the tea took on a sunny quality, a lightly fruity (peach?) & sugarcane taste, with a creamy vanilla texture. Near the end it reminded me of banana rice pudding.

I smell no cotton candy, apricot or bananas…
I feel rather confused with this one.
This is a very mild brew and I drank two entire pots
back to back, and still am unsure of flavors.
This is my first oolong…
I will have to have another pot or two on another day…hopefully,
I will have a better analysis…suffice it to say…It IS VERY GOOD :-)

Hmm. I’m not really sure on the year, but this was sent in my most recent Verdant order that I received last week.

Also, I may have steeped this as a green, eek. However, it seems to have turned out tasty anyway. This one is nice and light, with a typical (typical from the 3-4 tie guan yins I’ve tried haha!) tie guan yin flavour, and no mineral taste, which is just so lovely.

Verdant is always so delicious.

Update: The second steep still has plenty of flavour.

The first sip of this literally prompted an “Ooh, hello baby” out loud from me – so delicious I apparently felt compelled to flirt with it. The delightfully complex, dessert-y floral taste really fills the mouth and lingers. I’m definitely getting the cotton candy notes. Very full-bodied for an oolong on this type.

Did thirty seconds for my first steep, looking forward to seeing how the flavor develops through successive steeps! It’s the first I’m trying of the Verdant $5 for 5 package I got in the mail yesterday, I’m definitely excited about the rest now.

Thank you Kimquat for a sample of this one with the teas I bought! It sounded amazing. I’m thinking the spring picked oolongs are lighter in flavor? But the flavor notes are intriguing. The leaves smell very sweet – like a milk oolong. All three steeps were very similar! Surprising in an oolong. I either could have used more leaves or a longer steep, as the flavor on this is pretty light. I didn’t fill the mug all the way either. It’s very good though. Maybe a little too light to list some flavor notes: basically very sweet and a little milky/creamy, hints of fruit though I can’t tell which fruit. Never any astringency in any steep. I like this one, but my favorite oolongs have much more flavor!
Steep #1 // 1 tsp // rinse // 7 min after boiling // 30 second steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 1 min
Steep #3 // just boiled // 1 1/2 min

This tasting note is number 500 for me. Hooray! So excited to have reached this landmark. I had to pick a special tea to review, so Hand Picked Spring Tieguanyin from 2013 it is. The scent of the tea is very floral, green and a little bit sweet. I’m really looking forward to some of the flavors that I might find in this tea.

First Infusion: Oh, this is such a nice tea. I am always afraid of the floral hit of some oolongs, but this one is floral + such a light sweetness. I can definitely see the comparison of this to cotton candy as the sweetness is light and fluffy. Swirling around the sweetness and flowers is a bit of leafy, mineral, earthy note. I think this keeps it from getting too much like perfume, thankfully! The finish is very lightly buttered, asking you to come back for more.

Second Infusion: the floral scent is a bit stronger with this cup. It’s actually on the verge of being a little bit like stinky flowers.. jasmine often becomes stinky for me if it’s too strong. It’s interesting how much this cup changed from the first. It seems a lot heavier to me. Not a bad thing, but definitely noticeable. A sharp floral note dominates the sip, bit it ends with a nice cantaloupe flavor.

I’d like to keep steeping this one, but it’s time for dinner and I want to brew a few other teas before the night ends. This was a very delicious oolong with plenty of variety for those who want floral, fruit and sweetness over the course of different infusions. Yum!

This tea is the embodiment of springtime to me. The tea liquor is pale yellow-gold. So pale as to be almost clear. It starts with a vibrant green, floral flavor, then gains the sweetness and softness of honeysuckle flowers. The finish is buttery, smooth, and marshmallow sweet. It leaves a very soft pillowy feeling behind. Absolutely lovely. It has been a while since I’ve had this tea, and it’s much sweeter and softer than I remembered.

Parameters:
2tsp / 10oz water
pre-boil
15 second rinse
1st steep – 40sec
2nd steep – 1min 10

I went to open this sample packet, and I must have popped it… all the oolong ended up on the, luckily, clean floor. This takes “hand picked” to a new level.

I did a rinse, until it started to unfurl a little, and then steeped it in 180F for 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

From the smell of the dry leaf and liquor, I can already tell that this 2013 spring harvest is (or was) sweeter than the autumn batch, which I finished off last week. That sweet aroma is like bubblegum or cotton candy.

Has anyone here had dandelion burdock soda, or elderflower? This tea has that kind of sweet floral vibe. Along with the sparkling floral quality, it has a mellow sweet component, like cotton candy, gum, or marshmallow textures. There’s a little salted butter in the aftertaste too.

Soon I’m going to start describing Ferris wheels and merry-go-rounds, so I will end here. This tieguanyin’s first steep is a kind of crazy.. or maybe I’m just crazily projecting my carnival fantasies onto this hot mug of tea, on this miserable rainy day. This tieguanyin has made me doubt my perception of reality.