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December 07, 2004
Ti Kuan Yin Oolong
Name: Ti Kuan Yin Oolong
Kathy's Rating: 5.5/10.0
Company: Teavana
Origin of tea: China
Price: $7.50/2 oz.
Tea form: Rolled loose oolong leaves
What they say: A high quality semi-fermented tea from the Chinese Anxi County. Ti Kuan Yin translate from the Chinese to "Iron Goddess of Mercy." This oolong gets its name from the legend depicting its devine origins. Famous for its mild flavor and brownish-green infusion.
Preparation method: Pour boiling water over leaves and infuse for 3-5 minutes.
Review: I did not have a great experience with Teavana's Iron Buddha Oolong, so I wan't quite sure how it was going to be with Ti Kuan Yin Oolong. In case you're wondering why I'm even associating the two oolongs, let me just explain that the word 'Ti', as in 'Ti Kuan Yin' means 'Iron'. So, both varieties of oolong - Iron Buddha and Ti Kuan Yin - both have the word 'Iron' in it. Uh-oh. Anyhow, since Ti Kuan Yin is a famous variety of oolong tea, I was more than eager to try it out. The first thing I noticed is that there really IS an iron taste to the tea. I have no idea if that's why it's called 'Ti Kuan Yin', but Iron Buddha Oolong had absolutely no iron taste to it, so maybe not. Believe me, I was surprised when at the first sip, there was a metallic aftertaste from Ti Kuan Yin Oolong. Actually, I rather liked the iron taste, which I thought gave Ti Kuan Yin Oolong some character. It's not every day that I taste iron in my tea. As I sipped to the end of the cup, though, I started to get this headache, just like I did with Iron Buddha Oolong. The tea started to taste cloying and unpleasant. By the way, despite what Teavana says, this is not a mild-flavored tea. I'll just say that I don't normally get headaches from drinking tea, and that I did not have a headache before I started drinking this tea. So, the verdict is, I liked the iron taste, but didn't like the headache. Now I have to go drink a huge cup of water to chase this headache away.
Posted by Kathy at December 7, 2004 07:09 PM