Ti Kuan Yin Oolong tea from Adagio Teas is an excellent medium strength Chinese Oolong tea that produces a nice light golden liquor that has a pleasing floral aroma and smooth flowery taste with some subtle smoky vegetal notes. I found that the aftertaste is not bitter and just seems to blend away on the palate.
The tea is best steeped in almost boiling water for about 4 minutes (no more than 5). It is not a hard variety of tea to brew as like some green teas, and for the most part will produce consistent results.
After doing a little research on Adagio's reviews section, one person stated that if brewed under the recommened time, it turns out to be more grassy like a light cup of green tea. I never confirmed this myself though.
The leaves of this loose oolong tea are rolled into curly little balls, that once fully steeped, open up into brillant long light green leaves. So be sure and try to brew in an infuser that will allow the leaves room to move around and release as much flavor as possible.
Ti Kuan Yin, which also means "Iron Goddess of Mercy" happens to be a common variety of oolong tea, and is considered to be one of the most priced Chinese oolongs around. It is reported that competition grade varieties can sell for hundreds of dollars a pound!
While not the most expensive, and probably not the best either, this variety offered by Adagio Teas is still a very pleasing tea for folks who do not fancy the "woody" Chinese oolong varieties also mentioned on this site.
Overall, a nice relaxing cup of tea. Please browse more reviews at Adagio.com.
