Golden Dragon and Ti Kwan Yin Oolong

Gara-gara menikmati oolong di Tea Habitat minggu lalu, kami berdua jadi ketagihan tapi malas untuk kembali ke Tea Habitat lagi, maklum lokasinya agak jauh untuk ukuran kami berdua :-) Jadilah kami balik ke Peet's di dekat rumah untuk mencoba oolong mereka. Saya memilih Golden Dragon sementara suami mencoba Ti Kwan Yin. Untuk rasa kedua oolong ini tidak mengecewakan tapi tentunya tidak fair jika membandingkan keduanya dengan oolong dari Tea Habitat.


Golden Dragon Oolong
Termasuk salah satu Rare Teas-nya Peet's. Rasanya manis dan tidak ada rasa pahit sama sekali.  Air seduhan berwarnanya berwana coklat kemerahan.

Peets's on Golden Dragon Oolong: "Golden Dragon Oolong is our top quality Formosa tea, with a distinctive sweet, dry, peach-pit flavor and floral aroma. This tea receives more attention from its planting through leaf processing than almost any other tea on earth. Bushes set aside for growing Golden Dragon Oolong are grown in shade to slow the leaf growth and develop unique properties. Unlike other fine teas, the leaves are allowed to grow longer prior to plucking, and instead of two leaves and a bud, three leaves and a bud are plucked. After infusion, one can pick out of the pot entire leaf bud sets, still intact from the moment of plucking. To make the tea, the leaves are first withered in the sun for two hours. Then, several pounds of leaf are wrapped in cotton and hand-pressed, so as not to tear the leaves. The leaves are then unwrapped and allowed to wither and oxidize in shade; then all three steps are repeated multiple times. To finish the tea, the leaves are first pan-fired, graded, then finally fired in baskets over hot coals." 


Ti Kwan Yin
Rasanya agak kompleks dan sulit untuk dilukiskan dengan kata-kata. Kami berdua sepakat TKY terasa lebih 'mild' dari GDO. Untuk kami berdua yang masih awam soal oolong, TKY terasa lebih cocok. 

Peet's on Ti Kwan Yi: "Ti Kwan Yin translates as "Iron Goddess of Mercy," and is the most famous oolong tea produced in mainland China’s Fujian province. The bushes grown for producing this tea are special varietals unique to this province, where hundreds of small tea farmers dot the mountainous terrain. Ti Kwan Yin is a "greener" style of oolong than the Formosa teas, with perhaps half the degree of leaf oxidation, and a flavor that tends much more toward the vegetal. The aroma of this tea can be very complex, with hints of orchid, herbs, nuts, melon and even candle wax commonly made reference to by tea tasters. Ti Kwan Yin is easily recognized by its dark green color, large leaves, and unique crumpled appearance."