Charcoal Roasted Gan De Village Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea of Anxi - Yunnan Sourcing
Notes of burnt marshmallow, molasses candy, and frothed cream.
Charcoal Roasted Gan De Village Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea
Name: Charcoal Roasted Gan De Village Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea of Anxi
Source: Yunnan Sourcing
Price: $6.25 / 25g
Harvest: Spring 2021
Origin: Gan De Village, Anxi County, Fujian Province
Varietal: Unknown
Tea Quantity: 6g
Brew Temperature: 95ºC
Water Quantity: 100mL
Brew Time: 30s
Wash: Yes
Visual Notes
As a Tie Guan Yin, this dry tea leaf is tightly rolled up into a shriveled ball. However, unlike a Tie Guan Yin, the color of this tea is a deep brown and close to black, looking like a heavily oxidized oolong. A normal Tie Guan Yin (TGY) is vibrantly green in color, with varying shades of emerald green. The dry leaves are fairly uniform and slightly large in shape. There does not appear to be any visible stems, but there are some small broken pieces. Visually, I would guess that this is an above average quality TGY. The color of the tea is a lighter brown color, with some amber notes.
Scent Notes
This tea gives off a strong, deliciously sweet roasted scent, similar to a more heavily oxidized oolong. I am also picked up other notes of seaweed and some woody notes. The scent of the hot tea leaves gives off a fruity like smokiness that has a natural molasses sweetness. On a sharper sniff, I get notes of a charred oak barrel, similar to what you might get from an aged spirit.
Tasting Notes
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The first taste is strong, rich, and forward. There is a roasted smokiness that surrounds the tongue. There is a natural sweetness in this tea as well, and nearly zero bitterness. There is some natural drying of the tongue, though. The texture feels slightly smooth, but also drying. The finish is warming, and leaves a smoky essence. This tea seems to mimic the qualities of a heavily oxidized oolong, while still maintaining that light green sweetness of a TGY.
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By the second infusion, I would expect a TGY to have fully expanded and be quite volumes. It appears that this tea still has more to grow. The flavor of this tea is rich and sweet, with notes of burnt marshmallow, molasses candy, frothed creamy notes, and an inkling of spiced fruitiness.
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I was wrong about this tea expanding more. Perhaps it just does not expand to the same volume of a regular TGY. The scent has developed into a steamy smokiness. The color is leaning towards red hues, slightly. The taste is mellowed out a little, and that roasted smokiness is heavily subdued, but still noticeably present. There is a rich sweetness in this tea with sweet notes on the front and sides of the tongue, and smoky woody notes on the back. The texture has lightened up, now more similar to water, while the drying sensation has not increased by much. This tea is still delicious due to its sweet and rich notes, despite falling off in intensity slightly. The empty tea cup leaves behind a faint scent of sweet burnt sugar candy.
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The color has not diminished in intensity, but the smoky scent has. There is more creamy milkiness to the scent now. The flavor is more drying, and less fruity. At this point I would say that the tea is done, as it is creeping more into dry bitter notes, and loosing its sweet smokey notes.
Rating: 5/5
I really enjoyed this tea. The first time I tired this tea, I was very pleasantly surprised with its enjoyability to price ratio. I think that the charcoal roasted nature adds a lot of complexity and richness to the flavor profile of a normal TGY. It is not exactly like taking a TGY and adding even more flavor, as while there are some similar overlaps in taste, and even more so visually, I would also consider them as two separate classes of teas, as the experience is so different. I loved the sweet smokey nature of this, giving off creamy candy notes, like a burnt marshmallow or molasses candy.
Tea Seller’s Description
Tie Guan Yin from Gan De village in Anxi county was carefully picked and then roasted by hand over pine wood charcoal. The process is repeated many times until the tea has been heavily roasted and becomes almost black in color. The result is a highly aromatic tea that can be infused more than 10 times without losing much flavor. The tea soup is a bright red color and the taste is sweet and full with kind of chocolaty after-finish.
Limited supplies of this rare hand-processed tea!
The roasted taste can be quite strong without some aging. We recommend storing for 3 to 6 months (or longer) before drinking. Those that love a strong roasted note need not at all!
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