Making Tie Guan Yin Cold Brewed Iced Tea

Another hot day today! I decided to make some iced tea for the hot day. I was in a mood for Tie Guan Yin and wanted something very simple. 5 minutes + 3 hr wait later, I am drinking my cold brewed Tie Guan Yin iced tea.

Here is how I did it:
Step 1: I measured 4g Moderately Roasted Tie Guan Yin and added it to an empty water bottle.
Step 2: I poured in 1L bottled water, and let the water bottle cooled off in refrigerator for 3 hours
Step 3: Time to enjoy! If you are like me, you can drink with the tea leaves in. Otherwise, drain the leaves before drinking it.

Linda
www.teahub.com

Lightly Roasted vs. Heavily Roasted Tie Guan Yin

I have wanted to blog about green (lightly roasted) vs. traditional (heavily roasted) Tie Guan Yin for quite some time. Finally, I devoted this afternoon to do so. I have long formed my opinion between the two. To be fair, I brewed the two of the same grade (Grade AA) side by side this afternoon and started blogging while I was sipping....

I took a picture before brewing. You can easily differentiate the two by simply looking at dry leaves. Color of lightly roasted Tie Guan Yin dry leaves is green. That of heavily roasted Tie Guan Yin, on the other hand, is much darker – more of a brownish color. Dry leave aroma of the two are also quite different. While smell of lightly roasted Tie Guan Yin dry leaves is soft and floral, that of heavily roasted Tie Guan Yin dry leaves is heavy and roasty.

I brewed up the two and slowly sipped them down... The lightly roasted Tie Guan Yin filled my mouth with soft, long lasting orchid aroma infusion after infusion. It was refreshing, buttery, and sweet. The heavily roasted Tie Guan Yin offered more complex taste. At first, it was this mouth full of orchid aroma with a honey undertone, then a nutty aroma arisen from back of my mouth...It was thick, mellow, smooth with vivid long lasting sweet aftertaste.

Lightly roasted Tie Guan Yin started in the early 90s when Taiwan tea manufactures first entered mainland. It quickly gained popularity in mainland due to its pleasant aroma. Because lightly roasted Tie Guan Yin has some green tea characteristics, it has shorter shelf life and requires fridge storage . Heavily roasted Tie Guan Yin, on the other hand, remains seasoned tea drinkers' favorite because of its complex taste. It has longer shelf life and can be stored in room temperature. Unlike lightly roasted Tie Guan Yin, heavily roasted Tie Guan Yin does not hurt stomach. After several years' retreat, heavily roasted Tie Guan Yin is coming back to reclaim its market.

Linda
www.teahub.com

A Comparison of Xi Ping, Gan De, and Xiang Hua Tie Guan Yin

Inner AnXi is famous for its Tie Guan Yin tea. Xi Ping, Gan De and Xiang Hua are the three most well known tea production areas in Inner AnXi. Tie Guan Yin from the three areas have different charateristics.

Xi Ping is the origin of Tie Guan Yin. Xi Ping Tie Guan Yin is famous for its excellent taste. Its aroma is relatively light. Xiang Hua is the major Tie Guan Yin production area. Xiang Hua Tie Guan Yin is famous for its high aroma and good taste. Mainly younger bushes, Gan De Tie Guan Yin has high aroma but light taste. Gan De is famous for its lightly roasted Tie Guan Yin.

By carefully blending Mao Cha (raw tea) from different areas, tea producters can now offer Tie Guan Yin of good taste and aroma.

Linda
www.teahub.com

Quality of this year's Tie Guan Yin is better

This year's AnXi Tie Guan Yin starts to be available on the market. Due to this year's good weather, quality of this year's production is better. The best time to harvest spring Tie Guan Yin is the several days around LiXia (Start of Summer) . AnXi tea farmers enjoyed several sunny days around this year's LiXia.

Linda
www.teahub.com

Tie Guan Yin expected to be available after May 1st

We received many inquires about this year's Oolong. Unlike green teas which value early spring young leaves and buds, Oolong teas require maturer leaves that can stand the partial fermentation process.

Although AnXi Oolong started harvest this week, those harvest now are Huang Jin Gui, an Oolong famous for its high aroma. Tie Guan Yin lovers will have to wait till May for this year's Spring Tie Guan Yin. AnXi Tie Guan Yin will start harvest on April 28 and mass production will start between May 2 to 7.

Linda
www.teahub.com