What lies behind a such an intriguing name – Maiden Dream tie guan yin? Fresh bouquet of lily flowers soaked in warm milk – or, the amazing traditional tie guan yin.
No, I won’t bother you with my tie guan yin addiction anymore. But, I am very happy I got the chance to try Mei Leaf teas, especially tie guan yins. Maiden Dream is another terrific tea. Same as Sip Spring, this tie guan yin comes from the same place, Xiping in Anxi. I would recommend watching video on sourcing tie guan yin in Anxi, they put a lot of effort into it and share very interesting information. Mei Leaf is sharing amazingly interesting tea knowledge, which is still very rare in Europe.
Let’s go back to our Maiden Dream tie guan yin. Again, there is probably no point in writing detailed descriptions, Mei Leaf already did that and there is not much more to say about scents and flavors. I would rather talk about the experience itself.
Name: Maiden Dream
Tea Vendor: Mei Leaf (UK)
Type: Chinese oolong tea
Maiden Dream Tie Guan Yin Exposed
Maiden Dream tie guan yin is an unroasted Chuan Tong tie guan yin. Basically, teas no matter where they come from are usually roasted for two reasons – either to cover or to enhance the original flavor. Market is flooded with low quality tie guan yin, no matter is it modern green style or traditional. I cannot even describe my happiness when I tried the first one from Mei Leaf. (I even had one of those bad teas today, so my happiness is even greater). Maiden Dream tie guan yin comes from Xiping, Anxi, and is grown at 1600 meters. Price is 14.50 GBP for 40 grams, or around 19 USD. Is it worth the price? Definitely.
First, leaves are very beautiful. I love how all these high quality tie guan yins have amazingly beautiful dry leaves, so live and full of color. Not just some dull light leaves that easy to crush. They have beautiful spring flavor, more flowery than the previous tie guan yin I wrote about and definitely with the more traditional feeling. They look very fresh with blue green color.
Brewing Excitement
I love love love placing leaves in a heated teapot. It’s the moment I probably love the most when brewing tea. Scent is more airy with a creamy touch this time. Just like the previous one, Maiden Dream tie guan yin offers quite a lot of infusions. It is more thin than Sip Spring, less green and more flowery. I did get just a tiny bit of astringency, but pleasant still, in later steeps. There is a bit of a raw feeling to it. It’s like a person with great talent, but without a proper education that will still amaze you no matter how raw the talent is, but can be exceptional if given good guidance. Overall feeling – fresh bouquet of lily flowers soaked in warm milk. I like this tea a lot.
