Mineral and bright Tie Guan Yin, brimming with fruits. White peach, nectarines, Asian pear and custard apples all grounded with stoney minerality and creamy florals.
This was originally going to be our new batch of 'Sour Sap' because it was produced n the Tuo Suan style.
The Tuo Suan method of Tie Guan Yin processing lengthens the time before firing the leaves. This extra time increases the sour notes in the final tea.
But when I tasted this batch on arrival, I realised that the tea was not twangy enough to be called Sour Sap. Instead, the Tua Suan processing has brought out a lot of stonefruit notes hence the name!
This is a very elegant Tie Guan Yin with the clean minerality of mountain streams and pebbles adding a stony freshness.
But over this bed of minerals are loads of gorgeous fruits from nectarine and white peach to guava and custard apples.
The acidity is there in the form of young coconut yoghurt or sour cream. Plus there is a powdery and fresh floral face cream note to bring you out of the orchards and into the meadows.
A beautifully crafted rendition of this style of Tie Guan Yin from the Gande village of Anxi.
