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__Morgana__ drank Iron Goddess of Mercy (Tie Guanyin) by Rishi Tea

1945 tasting notes

The package says the finish is reminiscent of baked grain and dates. Hmmm.

It does have rather more toastiness to the dry leaf aroma than I expected from a greener oolong, and yeah, it’s a little grain like. Like toasted bread.

Gaiwain. 195F, rinse, 15 seconds plus 5 for each additional steep.

The tea has a hint of toasted rice in the aroma but mostly the smell is reassuringly floral and slightly buttery, which is more like what I expected. The tea is golden yellow, a sort of medium hue.

And there, in the aroma of the last steep (I found this interesting enough to go through 6), it is. Dates! Otherwise not a lot of change from steep to steep, but the consistency is also reassuring.

It’s a little different from other tieguanyins. I get the feeling it may be less green than some others. Though it did an amazing job of unrolling in the gaiwan. It easily doubled in volume and the wet leaves smelled sweeter to me than the usual “wet leaf” smell.

I liked this more than I expected to. I think of Rishi as a serviceable brand that is consistently good but not necessarily spectacular except for a few outliers like the chai. This is one of those outliers.

Flavors: Baked Bread, Toasted, Toasted Rice

Preparation

195 °F / 90 °C

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I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes