Review: Tie Luo Han (Iron Monk)

Cultivar: Tie Luo Han (Iron Monk)

Type: Wuyi Rock Oolong Seller: Mei Leaf Origin: Zhengyan, Fujian, China Season: April 2018 Wet Leaf Smell: woody with something sweet (black cherry?) Liquor Color: light brown Taste: mineral, smokey, subtly sweet finish This was my second attempt at tea tasting. At first, I thought it was a complete failure. For the first 3 infusions, I could barely taste any flavors. There was a minerality and smokiness, but apart from that it just tasted like hot water. I had followed Mei Leaf's instructions and used good quality water. I kept expecting flavors to suddenly appear with each new steep, but none made themselves noticeable. On the last sip of the 3rd infusion, I got a flash of a sweet (cherry?) aftertaste. I sat with it, breathing deep to try to bring it out. For about 20 seconds I held onto a faint, distinctly cherry taste. But that was it. Was I doing something wrong? Was my palate just not refined enough yet? For guidance, I looked at the tea's profile on Mei Leaf's website. "Taste: Milk coffee, vanilla toffee, slate and sour cherries." I could taste the slate and cherries, but that was it. So I kept steeping, hoping that the toffee and coffee would magically appear and increasingly doubting my tea tasting capabilities. And then I read the tasting notes written by other customers, and one resonated. "Beach pebbles, leather bound books bitterness with a back of mouth sweetness. Sage." "Beach pebbles" was a great description of the brine-tinged rockiness. The smokiness could be seen as leather. And after reading it I could suddenly put a name to a lingering aftertaste: herbal, like sage. That reviewer wasn't getting any toffee or coffee impressions either, and that was okay. My slim list of tasting notes felt validated. I remembered that much of tea tasting is personal and creative; we all notice different flavors and they spark different memories, impressions, feelings. The Iron Monk was nice, but I think I'll try to stick with stronger tasting teas for a while, until I feel more confident.

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by Ciel