Competition Grade Ti Kuan Yin from Chicago Tea Garden
This review, the final one in my series of ti kuan yin reviews, comes at an opportune time: Chicago Tea Garden, the suppliers of this final ti kuan yin, officially launched yesterday. Congratulations to Tony and his partner Erin — all the best of luck to you both!
Now, the tea.
This is a competition-grade ti kuan yin from Anxi County in China. It’s lightly oxidized, presenting beautifully with lush green leaves tightly rolled and intermingled with darker shades.
It’s nose is quite sweet and floral, though it isn’t as heavily aromatic as the Serenity Teahouse ti kuan yin, which is the ti kuan yin I find it most comparable to. Like the Taiwanese oolong, it has a nutty flavour, though this is hardly as pronounced as in the former tea.
What amazes me is that, despite the sweetness of its dry aroma, the tea’s flavour is almost completely savoury, with barely a hint of the sweetness that my nose detected. It reminds me quite a bit of rhubarb; there is a tarty character to its flavour. This became much more prominent in the second infusion, both in the mouth and in the nose.
One things that struck me about this tea is just how energizing and refreshing I found it. None of the other three ti kuan yins really left me with that feeling (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing). There is something implacable about this tea that makes me feel ready for the day.
Competition Grade Ti Kuan Yin is available from Chicago Tea Garden for $17.99 for 50 grams.
2010 First Flush Hawaiian Oolong Tea from Mauna Kea Tea | Tea Finely Brewed wrote:
[...] and a traditional green-style ti kuan yin, like Chicago Tea Garden’s tie guan yin (review here). It has a markedly faint dry aroma which blossoms with plum-like notes upon infusion.The leaves [...]