Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Dachi Tea
Tea Description:
Commonly referred to as a Tie Guan Yin, the Iron Goddess Oolong has a mature, nutty, smoky aroma that leads you nicely into a very full-bodied tea with the puckering effect of citrus fruit. The sweet linger of this tea reminds you of dried apricots, but the woodsy and earthy taste which comes from the deep roast could well lead the mature palette to pick up more savoury notes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
A really lovely Iron Goddess Oolong Tea from Dachi Tea! This is a Taiwanese Tie Guan Yin – so you’ll experience more of the roasty-toasty, nutty flavors with this tea as opposed to the creamy, floral notes of a jade/greener Tie Guan Yin.
To brew this, I measured a bamboo scoop of the tightly wound pellets of tea into the bowl of my gaiwan. I heated my kettle to 180°F and poured just enough water over the leaves to cover them. Then I let this steep for 15 seconds to awaken the leaves. After straining off the liquid and discarding, I filled the gaiwan with hot water and let it steep for 45 seconds for the first infusion. For each subsequent infusion, I added 15 seconds. Each cup is the combination of two infusions, so my first cup is infusions 1 and 2, the second cup is infusions 3 and 4 … and so on!
The flavor is very much what I’d expect from a top-notch roasted Tie Guan Yin. I must say that my experiences with Dachi Tea thus far have all been very positive – this is a company you really should experience!
My first cup is smooth, sweet and toasty. It’s nutty, fruity and creamy … and oh-so-wonderful to sip! It’s not bitter (I rarely encounter an Oolong that is!) and there’s very little astringency to this cup. Just a hint of tangy ‘pucker’ at the end that works with this tea because I’m also picking up on some lovely citrus-y notes toward the tail. This tangy quality plays well to that citrus tone.
As I neared the bottom of my cup, I also started picking up on the apricot notes as the description above suggests – and I like the way the sweet apricot flavors contrast with some of the earthier, woodsier notes of the tea and how those earthy, woodsy notes complement the the roasted nutty flavors. It’s a beautiful medley of tastes in one teacup.
The second cup was not quite as creamy as the first cup – but still just as flavorful. That is to say that the texture was thinner now, not as creamy feeling on the palate, but I’m still getting delicious nutty notes that remind me of freshly roasted chestnuts and that really pleasant citrus note toward the tail. The flavors I experienced in the first cup are still there for the second and they’re better defined now.
With my last cup (cup 3) I found the flavors starting to mellow and become more unified. I could still taste the toasted nutty flavors and the sweet apricot notes, the notes of wood and earth and citrus, but they seemed to have less distinction between them, like they were melding into a seamless flavor.
Another really fascinating cup of tea from Dachi Tea – I’ve loved every cup that I’ve tasted from them! This is a must try company!
Alishan Jin Xuan Oolong Tea from Tea Ave.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Tea Ave.
Tea Description:
Known to some as milk oolong, around here we think of Alishan Jin Xuan as our dreamy, creamy oolong. An elegant tea with a refined, subtle taste, Alishan Jin Xuan’s fruity and floral aromas complement its smooth, milky mouth feel.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I received the amazing package that I received from Tea Ave., I was most excited about trying this Alishan Jin Xuan Oolong Tea. I mean … hello? Alishan? My FAVORITE! Of all the many different Oolong teas out there, Alishan is my favorite … especially a Jin Xuan (aka milk Oolong).
And given how much I adored the other two Oolong teas that I’ve tried from Tea Ave, I knew that I was in for an amazing treat with this Alishan Jin Xuan. So, I got out my special Alishan YiXing mug and started brewing! 
LOVELY!
I’ve had many different Alishan Oolong teas over the years, and many of them were Jin Xuan. Some were ‘flavored’ Jin Xuan where the milky notes were enhanced with added flavors. Others were not. I’m happy to say that this is one that is not. Don’t get me wrong, I quite enjoy a flavored Jin Xuan, but there is something just so amazingly, naturally beautiful about a pure Jin Xuan!
The creamy notes are generally more subtle in a pure Jin Xuan, but they are so soft and wonderful. I love how the creamy notes don’t inundate the palate with the flavor so that other characteristics of the tea can be explored and enjoyed. Notes of flower mingle with the notes of cream. The floral notes are not sharp. They are mild and meld beautifully with the creamy flavors. Sweet hints of fruit reveal themselves and develop as I continue to sip.
I was surprised to find that later infusions were still just as creamy as the earliest infusions. Sweet, luscious and thick on the palate. The floral notes softened in later infusions as the fruit notes emerged stronger. It’s difficult to really pinpoint the fruit flavors that I’m experiencing because the sweet notes of the fruit aren’t really present. The sweetness of this tea is more from the creamy notes – almost vanilla-esque!
But the fruit notes taste more like the fruit but not so much of the sugar sweetness of the fruit. It’s like an apricot or a peach that has had it’s sugars extracted from it, quite interesting.
A truly AMAZING Alishan Jin Xuan – this is a tea I’d recommend to all tea drinkers. Not just Oolong enthusiasts! I think that this is a tea that all tea lovers can appreciate and enjoy.
We Want To Take Over 52Teas – We Need YOUR Help!
Please check out our Kickstarter Campaign here!
I’m back to tell you a little more about this campaign – why? Well, because we need YOUR support!
This campaign is about something that’s near and dear to my heart – something that I’m very passionate about: Tea! If you’ve been reading my reviews for any length of time, you’re probably well aware of the fact that I love 52Teas.
I love the idea behind it! I love the plan to make a brand new tea flavor every week: 52 teas a year. That’s just awesome. For someone who is creative – the idea is like Christmas morning! Which flavor to create next?
It allows that kind of freedom. It allows me to create some amazing tea flavors that you won’t find anywhere else. Some of the flavors that I’ve got ‘steeping’ in my brain are: Watermelon Mint Limeade, Mango Sticky Rice Custard Genmaicha and Lemon Cheesecake Bar Houjicha. That’s not even the tip of the iceberg!
We’ll also be reblending some of the classic 52Teas favorites like Maple Cheesecake TieGuanYin and Graveyard Mist!
I’ll also be bringing back some of my classic blends from when I ran LiberTEAS. Teas like Sweet Caramel O’Mine and Masterpiece Chai.
And now that I’m teaming up with my daughter, Amethyst, I know that we have the tools that we need to make this venture a success. With her business sense and my creativity, I’m confident that we’ll be creating some amazing teas that you’ll LOVE!
So please, if you haven’t yet contributed to our campaign – please click here now and help this mother/daughter team make this project happen!
Thank you!
Ti Kuan Yin Oolong Tea from Fong Mong Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Fong Mong Tea
Tea Description:
Adopting pure An-Xi Ti Kuan Yin tea seeds, and producing under Taiwan traditional technique standards, medium fermented also heavy baked, traditional Ti Kuan Yin Oolong tea is leading out a unique Kuan Yin aroma differing greatly from Chinese one, deeply presenting authentic Taiwanese flavor of Ti Kuan Yin.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I took my first sip of this tea, I found myself thinking: “This is really different. Isn’t this a Ti Kuan Yin?” I’m used to Ti Kuan Yin tasting more vegetal and floral, but this Ti Kuan Yin Oolong Tea from Fong Mong Tea tastes roasted and nutty.
Then I read the description above. This is a Taiwanese Ti Kuan Yin and instead of the greener type Oolong, this one has been baked which gives it that roasty-toasty flavor. Where I’m usually tasting floral notes, I’m experiencing more of a sweet, nutty flavor.
To brew this tea, I grabbed my gaiwan. I started with a quick 15 second rinse in hot water. Then I steeped the first infusion for 45 seconds (the water was heated to 180°F) and strained the tea into my cup. I added 15 seconds onto each subsequent infusion. The first cup was made up of the first two infusions; my second cup was infusions 3 and 4 … and so on.
My first cup is very much what I experienced above: sweet, roasted and nutty. I taste light honey-like notes. It has a very smooth and silky mouthfeel. This cup isn’t as creamy as other Ti Kuan Yin teas I’ve tasted, this is more mineral-y. Different, but I am enjoying what makes it different.
My second cup has stronger roasted notes with more pronounced notes of mineral. The roasted flavor is so strong that it almost has a coffee-like flavor, only this is smoother than a typical cup of coffee and lacks the bitterness. This is really smooth and has very little astringency. This second cup of coffee truly evokes thoughts of a really good cup of coffee, only better – because it’s tea.
My third and final cup was very similar to the first two – the roasted notes were very well-defined and again – a lot like a cup of coffee only better. This time, I do pick up on more astringency – I experience a light dryness toward the tail. It’s still not very pronounced, though, so those who tend to shy away at the word “astringency” shouldn’t shy away from this tea because the astringency is barely noticeable.
A very lovely – and different! – Ti Kuan Yin!
Honeysuckle Oolong Tea from Dachi Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Dachi Tea
Tea Description:
With tea making methods borrowed from the Sun Moon Lake style, the Honeysuckle Oolong’s deep cocoa and plum aroma eases you into a baked fruit flavor with a lasting honey nectar finish. With its natural sweetness and full-bodied flavor, this is one of those teas which has you constantly sipping and subconsciously craving more.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve been eagerly awaiting the time when I could review this Honeysuckle Oolong Tea from Dachi Tea! This company was launched thanks to a successfully funded Kickstarter campaign that ended at the beginning of January. I managed to do one review of their four teas from their inaugural collection before their Kickstarter campaign reached it’s deadline. Once the campaign had come to a successful close, I held off on doing a review until they launched their new website so that people could get their hands on some of these fantastic teas!
And this Honeysuckle Oolong Tea is amazing. It’s reminiscent of a Sun Moon Lake black tea – in fact, given that this says that it’s fully oxidized, I think this might actually BE a black tea. It’s a little lighter than a typical black tea though, it doesn’t have a really strong, robust, kick your butt into gear type of flavor that say an Assam or even a high quality Ceylon would have. It’s lighter, sweeter and more reminiscent of an Oolong in that way.
The flavor is sweet with notes of flower, so I think that the name “honeysuckle” is quite appropriate. Those sweet, honeyed flavors mingle beautifully with a deep, stone fruit flavor. The description above suggests plum and I would agree with that assessment. I even get a slight ‘sour’ note that arrives about mid sip – similar to what I might experience if I were to bite into a fresh, tree-ripened, juicy plum.
The description above also suggests a chocolate/cocoa flavor and I do get hints of that. The hints of cocoa are hardly something that this chocoholic would call ‘chocolate’ but I do understand the comparison. It’s a subtle insinuation of chocolate and makes me hope that subsequent infusions would lead me to a stronger chocolate-y taste.
Yes! My second cup (infusions three and four) was certainly more chocolate-y than the first. I also noticed, though, that the texture was a bit thinner than the first cup which lead me to surmise that while this tea is certainly a spectacular tea – it’s not quite as ‘go the long haul’ as a typical Oolong. This is more ‘black tea’ in that respect. You’ll get a really lovely cuppa for the early infusions but the flavors begin to wane pretty quickly with this one.
Don’t let that sway you from trying this tea – it’s a lovely Sun Moon Lake type black tea and I’d recommend steeping it as such so that you can get that rich, amazing flavor as a Sun Moon Lake type black, rather than steeping this like an Oolong (in a gaiwan). Next time, I’ll be reaching for either my Kati Tumbler or brewing it in my Breville One-Touch instead. The gaiwan efforts – while absolutely LOVELY – seem a bit more intensive than necessary for a wonderful cuppa when the flavors aren’t going to go for more than a few infusions.
Yet another lovely tea from Dachi – I look forward to exploring the other two with you!