Multiple Infusions

I’m a little unclear as to what tie guan yin this is exactly, but it’s probably Canton Tea’s house oolong, 2008 Autumn Xi Ping Tie Guan Yin.

I think this one falls into the toasty category, reminding me a little of Red Circle’s Golden Heart, though it lacks that tea’s perfection. It smelled like toasted bread in the gaiwan, its steeped aroma was toasty grass, and the first infusion flaunted a long toasted note in parallel with slightly buttery mixed florals and greens.

The next two infusions were a little rough, even bitter in the finish, but things quickly straightened themselves out. A complex, intermittently toasty flavor took over, and I found myself frequently gulping and then holding the soup at the back of my throat before swallowing. It wasn’t pretty, but that’s where the tea seemed to want to be tasted, so I complied, trying to prolong the clean sweetness.

I’m going to have to rethink my budding criteria for what makes a fake or mixed tie guan yin, because this one got rosy towards the end in almost exactly the same manner as the Iron Buddha from Friday. I’m still going to mark that down as a deficiency–I might equate it with sourness in a darker oolong–but the rose was chaperoned by toast, so I feel okay about looking the other way while it drinks a Zima.

What Canton Tea’s house tie guan yin has going for it is a kind of imprecise complexity, and toastiness. It isn’t going to win any competitions, but neither is it going to disappoint you if you want a better-than-average daily drinker with a little character.