2006 Tie Luo Han from The Tea Gallery

Class: Oolong
Origin: Wuyi Shan, China
Year: 2006
Vendor: The Tea Gallery (Product page *be sure to select the 2006 option*)
Price: $23.00 (25g)

This is one of those rare instances when I am in agreement with a description on a vendor's site (though it's debatable who is usually at fault!). This is an interesting tea, as it should be for its high price, but it's not my favorite.


Even the dry leaf smells strongly of rocks (especially when placed in a warmed gaiwan), though the aroma is tempered with caramel and some tropical fruitiness. It certainly has a strong mineral taste, too; so much so that it overwhelms almost all traces of other flavors unless one is paying attention. It's like the crafter of this tea took a normal yancha and cranked the usual mineral character (aroma, taste, aftertaste) all the way up to 10.

Personally, I like a bit more sweetness and a more balanced flavor in my tea, but I wouldn't say that this isn't a fun tea to try; partly because it's a great example of yancha mineral character, but also because it is quite a bit different from the typical Wuyi you'll find on the internetz. (Did I mention it's expensive? Yikes!)