Having also reviewed Norbu Tea’s Tie Guan Yin from this year’s Spring harvest, I was not sure that this tea would be so different.  And to be completely honest, because it has been a while since that review and the last time that I’ve tasted the Spring Harvest Tie Guan Yin, I can’t truly compare one harvest from another.  Instead, I shall review this tea based strictly on its own merits.

The aroma of this tea is remarkable, possessing a strong floral essence as well as a green vegetal quality.  Norbu Tea likens the fragrance to that of orchids or possibly lilacs.  Personally, I think it smells a bit more like orchid than like lilac.  This tea is neither scented nor flavored, so this is the natural aroma of this tea, which developed possibly because the surroundings of the estate upon which the leaves are grown.

The flavor of this tea is exquisite, as has been my experience with every Norbu Tea that I’ve been privileged enough to sample.  The liquor is slightly thick, and this makes for a delightful mouthfeel — sumptuous is the word that immediately comes to mind.

The flavor is a nice balance of vegetal and floral, as well as sweet and bitter.  In this case, when I say “bitter” I do not mean bitter as in foul-tasting, but more like the flavor of a bittersweet chocolate, but without the chocolate.  The delicate bitterness here provides a delightfully elegant contrast to the natural sweetness of the tea.

Norbu Tea describes this tea as

This Tie Guan Yin is of the newer Green style and is not roasted beyond the time required to drive out the moisture in the leaves after processing. In order to better preserve the fleeting freshness of this spectacular tea, we had this shipment individually packaged and vacuum sealed at the producer’s facility into 25 gram portions.

The concept of different grades of this type of tea is largely Western, but, in general, the grade of this style of oolong is determined by the intensity of the floral aromas in the tea.  The more intense the aroma, the higher the grade.  This tea is what the producer refers to as an AAA grade Tie Guan Yin when dealing with me, which I have named “Diamond Grade” to go with the Norbu/Jewel theme of Norbutea.com…Norbu means “precious jewel” in Tibetan language.

Highlights:

Harvest: Fall, 2009
Growing Region: Anxi County, Fujian
Roast: Heat dried, no roasting
Grade: Diamond (AAA)

Please read more of Norbu Tea’s description of this fantastic tea here.

This tea should be consumed hot with no additions — no sweetener, milk, or cream — because it would ruin the unique complexity and layers of flavor in this tea. This is a tea that is bliss to experience.  Inhale the aroma before taking a sip, and enjoy it to its fullest potential.  Trust me, you’ll be glad you did!