#monkey picked oolong

[watchmetea-blog]

Today's tea legends, Monkey Picked Oolong.

[verbingtea]

Monkey-Picked Tie Guan Yin - Teavivre

A little while after starting this blog, I was contacted by a representative of Teavivre asking if I would like some samples for review. I of course responded with an emphatic yes, stating I like oolongs best but would love to review anything they'd send me. Soon enough, a box came in the mail with plenty of goodies to try.

What does "monkey-picked" mean? As Teavivre themselves state, "Legend has it that the cliff [on which this tea is grown, in Lishan, Taiwan] is too abrupt for people to pick the tea leaves. Therefore, monkeys are trained to climb the cliff and help tea farmers pick the leaves." In the modern age, "monkey-picked" teas are rarely actually picked by monkeys but they do tend to be of very high quality.

But back to this beauty of a tea; little did I know that I've been sent the best example of Tie Guan Yin I've had to date - which has me extremely excited to get to reviewing the rest. I've never had a Teavivre tea before, but if they're all like this they can count me as a regular customer.

The leaves are tightly rolled and so deeply brown as to almost appear black, with some visible streaks of green. They have the bark scent commonly found in darker oolongs like this, along with some subtle floral/orchid undertones.

Those undertones come front and center when steeped - in fact, it is almost as if the earthy notes and floral notes switch places as to who's in charge. Tie Guan Yin is one tea I find absolutely unmistakable by its scent, and even at this step of the process I knew I had something special on my hands.

The liquor came out a perfect, pure gold with a - not to keep using the word - perfectly nutty scent. When I worked for a local tea shop, Tie Guan Yin was most often my recommendation to customers looking to get into oolongs - I find it straddles the line between roasty blacks and grassy greens well enough to demonstrate why oolong is considered a distinct type of tea.

At first, the liquor tastes just as it smells, with a pleasantly full mouthfeel and roasty quality. That flavor then mellows out into a (can you tell I like this one?) perfect mix of grass and earth tones, with the floral notes present in the dry leaves showing up more and more as the liquor cools.

I generally prefer this varietal iced - Ito En's fantastic Golden Oolong iced tea uses TGY as its base - but Teavivre's is one I will drink hot again. If you're new to oolongs or just looking for a great example of the varietal, you can't go wrong with this.

Steep: 195°, 2 minutes. Second steep: 195°, 3 minutes.

Score: 10 / 10

Teavivre's Tie Guan Yin Oolong is available for purchase from their website.

[toxicslutsyndrome]

tea-fucking-vana

idk if you've heard of this 'teavana' place 

but it's fucking great

I'm new to the tea leaves and strainer way of making my tea but teavana made it 12542542 times easier. I got my first tea leaves 'monkey picked oolong' and that is supposed to speed up your metabolism and its really good for your skin and teeth. I also bought a cup made specially for tea leaves, and it's really pretty. I'm super pumped, and i think i'm going to go make some right now!

[looseleaf-loyaltea]

Body + Mind White Tea.

A romance of the senses indulged with a soft bouquet of jasmine and orchid scents released from these three amazing teas. Nothing short of an aromatic masterpiece, this triple tea blends the Buddhist legendary Monkey Picked Oolong, with Jasmine Pearls green tea, and white Silver Needle tea creating a perfect floral aroma and taste of jasmine and orchid. Uplifting to the body, soothing to the mind and soul with sweet notes that intertwine and enlighten. Fragrant orchid infusion with jasmine undertones.

[hipsterteatime-blog]

6/365

Teavana. Monkey Picked Oolong.

Their "finest" quality of tea. It is said that Buddhist monks trained monkeys to pick the youngest leaves at the very top of tea trees. Monkeys are no longer used, instead it is picked by hand and the leaves are unbroken and evenly sized that unfurl when they are brewed. It is also designed (if that's the right word) to be brewed more than once because of the way the leaves are. This is actually my second brew with these leaves, and it's quite delicious still. The first brew was yesterday afternoon and I saved the leaves. Unlike some other teas that get blander with each re-brew this one still brewed strong. Not to mention it has tons of health benefits, blends well with other teas, and is low in caffeine (which I don't need right now considering I'm about to go to work for 14ish hours).