China Oolong (Fine TKY) - Grace Rare Tea

What a whirlwind of activity! Spring has sprung...beautifully so I must say. Summer is almost here. My oldest had his last day of preschool yesterday. What a bittersweet moment. He had an amazing year and soon he'll be off to kindergarten. I'm so proud of the wonderful boy he's become, but cannot believe how quickly time rolls on. More writing here - the book and a few magazine pieces and lots of copywriting.

My new samples have been piling up and I wanted to get in a new post for my wonderfully loyal and patient readers. For the past couple of weeks I've been enjoying a fantastic tea from Grace Rare Tea. This was sent over to me by my friends at Mark T. Wendell who acquired Grace in 2010. (The MTW owners have been working with Grace for more than two decades, handling the packaging and distribution of the teas.)

Today's sample was the China Oolong - Fine Ti Kuan Yin. I know TKY is a much-beloved oolong and many count it as a favorite. I've rarely really flipped over a TKY. I must say that Grace's TKY may just change my mind.

These tea leaves are gorgeous. They are beautifully rolled with colors ranging from gold to tawny brown to olive and black. I honestly couldn't keep my hands out of the tin. The scent of the dry leaf reminded me of string beans and chestnut. I brewed 1.5 tsp in 6 ounces of water just below boiling. I often do slightly cooler temps for TKY (depending on how green it seems) but I found that this temp was perfect for this tea.

The wet leaf smelled like swiss chard with a distinct sweetness and nuttiness in the scent of the liquor. The tea brewed to a lovely amber topaz color. This tea was bursting with flavor. That chestnut flavor -- nuttiness and a little smokiness -- was warming and calming. I was having a hard time not gulping this down. I don't have any complaints about this tea whatsoever. Am I just in a good mood or is this tea really this good? Seriously, though, I've been drinking it for a couple of weeks and continue to be very pleased with it.

I have two more Grace samples I'm going to try to get to this week and then I have some new ones from Adagio and from Aura Teas. (Aura - I am already dreaming of these. I don't think I've gotten a bad sample from them yet. Thanks, Fiona!) The Grace teas are a Sencha and a Silver Needle.