Kimberley's Kyusu

Hey There Teacups! It’s time for another Let’s Talk Tea post this time around I’m going to be reviewing the JK Tea Shop’s Anxi Gande 2A Tie Guan Yin (Iron Goddess of Mercy) Oolong. I’ve tried a lot of Tie Guan Yin Oolong’s over my years of tea drinking and I never get tired of trying new ones they are one of my favourite oolongs to drink as I’m a huge lover of floral/vegetal teas. I have so many of them in my collection that I really need to either stop buying them or drink more and make my way through them all. This Tie Guan Yin tea is from Gande town of Anxi, where it is famous for its high floral aroma and taste.

Dry Leaves

Dried tea colour: Dark & Light Green

Shape: Tight bold ball shape (or some call dragonfly head shape)

Aroma: Vegetal – Sweet – Floral (Orchid) – Fresh

Grade: 2A

Original: Gande town Anxi county, Fujian Province

Harvest time: 2017 spring

Picking standard: Two or three half-matured tea leaves

I love the way Oolong leaves look when they are steeping they start off so small and I never expect to open the pot and see it so full!

Tea Tasting Notes

Slightly Sweet – Floral – Vegetal – Fresh – Mineral

The strong floral note from the aroma didn’t come through at all in the taste which disappointed me quite a bit as that’s is normally my favourite aspect of a Tie Guan Yin Oolong and it just wasn’t the same without it. Aside from that though this tea is actually really tasty the vegetal notes were definitely the star of the show and when paired with the natural sweetness made for a tasty cup of one a rather unique Tie Guan Yin. At first I was quite disappointed that the floral notes didn’t come through as strong as they normal would but over a few sips the more vegetal heavy oolong really grew on me it was like a breath of fresh air for my palette.

As time went on and my tea began to cool the floral (orchid) notes only got stronger which of course I was really happy about. Like I said at the start of this post I drink a lot of Tie Guan Yin Oolong but this was something completely different to what I have tried in the past and I’m going to make the most of what I have left of this I can’t see it lasting very long though. I would urge anyone that love Oolong to give this a try because it really won’t end up being what you expect it to be. Mouthfeel wise this is incredibly fresh and has somewhat of a mineral side to it that makes me think that it would make for a great cold brew (I’ll have to experiment and see what it’s like)

Overall Teacup Rating: 4/5

If you want to find out more about the JK Tea Shop and purchase this Oolong for yourself, you can do both here. As always Teacups if you have any questions at all either stick them in the comments or send them to me on Twitter/Instagram @teaisawishblog and I’ll answer them as soon as I can.

Speak to you all again soon. Happy Steeping – Kimberley