Could there be anything better than enjoying a high-quality Chinese tikuanyin -that will refill your cup for hours on end with just 8oz of leaves - on a lazy Sunday afternoon? For me, the answer is pretty clear…

Grand Tea’s premium tikuanyin offering comes in individual vacuum-packed foil bags of 8 grams each. I decide this is just enough to use 1 cup of water for my initial 30-second steeping at185F(I also do a quick rinse with the water beforehand).

In my personal experience, Chinese teas generally have a strong pungent aroma and flavor. And this one certainly does their country proud. The color of the dry rolled leaves is a vibrant greenish blue and it’s matched with a strong, fragrant orchid scent. The first steep has an amazing, velvety mouth feel, but as with many first steepings of tikuanyin, is a little lighter in flavor. But its beautiful, sweet floral taste still shines through. Ah, the second steeping at190F for 45 seconds is nectar from the gods! This beautifully golden liquor is packed with a rich, full-bodied texture that slides around the tongue like butter. And there’s nothing subtle about the flavor either – those sweet orchid notes create an entire garden of taste in my mouth. I happily keep re-steeping my leaves (it is Sunday afterall!) and increase my steeping times by about 15 seconds for each successive brew, keeping my temperature around195F.

The color of the liquor remains vibrant, eventually taking on a bright greenish tint. The mouth feel is consistent – a smooth velvety texture combined with pungent floral notes. Overall, I did six steeps and this tea held up remarkably well – no bitterness and the only possible downfall was that the pungency decreased around the fifth steep. But that’s when the flavor changed a bit and these intriguing, subtle sour notes started coming through on the sides of my mouth.

It was a real pleasure to spend a few relaxing hours with this tikuanyin and taste how this tea changed over time. The way this tea held its taste and texture throughout the morning for me makes it well worth the money – six steeps without bitterness can be hard to find!

— To purchase Grand Tea King of Tikuanyin Oolong Tea, or for more specific information on ingredients or the story behind this particular tea, click here to go directly to the manufacturer's web site.

Rebecca Teaviews.com Reviewer » Read more about this reviewer on Rebecca's profile page. » Find a list of recent posts by Rebecca.

---