87

Okay, here is the third and likely final backlogged review for the day. This was yet another mid-late June sipdown. At the time I was working my way through what I had of this tea, it was very likely the first tea from Guizhou province that I had tried. Regardless, I found it to be an extremely pleasant green tea with some interesting herbal undertones.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a brief rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 176 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 14 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of hay, lemon, seaweed, and malt. After the rinse, I detected a subtle cream aroma. The first infusion then brought out scents of grass and straw. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented delicate notes of hay, lemon, seaweed, grass, straw, and cream that were chased by hints of honey sweetness. The bulk of the subsequent infusions brought out scents of toasted rice and umami along with subtle mintiness and nuttiness on the nose. In the mouth, I detected subtle, belatedly emerging malt notes as well as impressions of chestnut, barley, toasted rice, bamboo, minerals, and lettuce. When I really focused, I could also detect very subtle spinach and mint notes, though the mint presence did eventually strengthen to a limited extent. The later infusions emphasized mineral, grass, seaweed, and spinach notes that were underscored by vague umami. There were also traces of mint and honey on the swallow.

I found this to be a very unique Chinese green tea in the sense that I did not find it to have much in common with many of the other Chinese green teas I had recently consumed. It may have just been me, but this tea’s body and texture coupled with some of its aroma and flavor components reminded me a little of some Japanese green teas. Overall, this was an interesting and very satisfying green tea, one that I am fairly certain fans of subtler, more mellow green teas would enjoy.

Flavors: Bamboo, Chestnut, Cream, Grain, Grass, Hay, Honey, Lemon, Lettuce, Malt, Mineral, Mint, Seaweed, Spinach, Straw, Toasted Rice, Umami

Preparation
6 g 4 OZ / 118 ML
derk

This one has been sitting in my What-Cha wishlist for a few months and if it’s still in stock, will likely move into my cart in the spring. Thanks for the review.

eastkyteaguy

No problem. I hope you enjoy it.

eastkyteaguy

derk, I just checked the website and it appears that the 2018 harvest of this tea is available. It was only like $4.62 for 25g.

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Comments

derk

This one has been sitting in my What-Cha wishlist for a few months and if it’s still in stock, will likely move into my cart in the spring. Thanks for the review.

eastkyteaguy

No problem. I hope you enjoy it.

eastkyteaguy

derk, I just checked the website and it appears that the 2018 harvest of this tea is available. It was only like $4.62 for 25g.

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Bio

My grading criteria for tea is as follows:

90-100: Exceptional. I love this stuff. If I can get it, I will drink it pretty much every day.

80-89: Very good. I really like this stuff and wouldn’t mind keeping it around for regular consumption.

70-79: Good. I like this stuff, but may or may not reach for it regularly.

60-69: Solid. I rather like this stuff and think it’s a little bit better-than-average. I’ll drink it with no complaints, but am more likely to reach for something I find more enjoyable than revisit it with regularity.

50-59: Average. I find this stuff to be more or less okay, but it is highly doubtful that I will revisit it in the near future if at all.

40-49: A little below average. I don’t really care for this tea and likely won’t have it again.

39 and lower: Varying degrees of yucky.

Don’t be surprised if my average scores are a bit on the high side because I tend to know what I like and what I dislike and will steer clear of teas I am likely to find unappealing.

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