Iron Goddess of Mercy. Pretty epic name for a tea, right? It's an oolong tea—one of the ten "China Famous Teas," actually, although what teas are among the ten seem to differ from source to source.
Anyhow, I bought this tea from the Oolong Tea House in Calgary about a year and a half ago. Had a cup tonight and decided it was a pretty awesome tea.
Many people say that an aged oolong can be a good thing. Normally, pu-erh tea is the only intentionally aged tea, but from what I understand some oolongs can change for the better with some aging as well. I'm not sure how I feel about this as I wasn't the tea connoisseur when I first bought this that I am today, but it certainly rocked my socks earlier tonight, while a year ago it didn't do much more than jiggle my shoelaces.
The liquor itself looks too light to have come from the leaves, yet here it is. It's actually a lot lighter than it looks in the picture. Seriously. But like good scotch, you can't judge its flavor by its color—if Iron Goddess of Mercy were an action movie (and it undoubtedly is), it would have Bruce Willis as John McClane playing the male lead, Linda Hamilton (Sarah Connor from the Terminator movies) as the Iron Goddess (of NO mercy), and Slash on guitars because it would be such a badass movie that it would need its own guitars.
But back to the flavor. It's good. Great, even. Somewhat fruity, doesn't come on too strong, and there's a slight smokiness, but it's definitely in the background. Reminds me of myself sometimes. This one is closer to a black tea than a green tea, as there is no grassy taste whatsoever, although don't expect a strong cup of tea—it's no bold Ceylon or kick-in-the-ass Assam (that's where the first syllable of the word comes from, you know).
If you can get ahold of some of this, at least try it. At the very worst you can get on your high horse about how you hate one of China's most famous teas, and at the best? Orgasmic bliss.
Personally, I do both.
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