Okay, this was the last of the teas I drank in June. Fortunately, I do not have many reviews left from July and August, so I should be able to get things caught up fairly quickly from this point forward. I recall drinking what I had of this tea the day after I finished the last of the China Guizhou ‘Dew Drops’ Green Tea, and I have to say that I found this tea to be the more impressive of the two. Both were very good, but if I could only have one of the two, I would choose this one.
I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a brief rinse, I steeped 6 grams of green tea pearls 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: 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 pearls emitted aromas of hay, grass, malt, and corn husk. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of bamboo and spinach. The first infusion offered nothing new on the nose. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented delicate notes of hay, malt, grass, and corn husk that were chased by subtler impressions of smoke, apricot, and sugarcane. Subsequent infusions saw sugarcane and apricot make themselves known on the nose. Stronger notes of smoke, sugarcane, and apricot appeared in the mouth alongside belatedly emerging bamboo and spinach notes and new impressions of minerals, sour plum, asparagus, cream, and lettuce. The final few infusions emphasized soft mineral, cream, grass, asparagus, and bamboo notes that were balanced by impressions of stone fruits and malt as well as a faint pear-like note that came out at the very end of the session.
This was very much a straightforward, easy-drinking green tea equally suited to solo consumption or pairing with a variety of foods. I could see it making an excellent introduction to Guizhou green teas or a fantastic daily drinker for those who like heartier, less subtle green teas. I would love to see how this particular tea pairs with jasmine because I bet it would make a knock-out jasmine dragon pearl green tea. Anyway, try this one if you are looking for a regular drinking tea and/or are curious about the green teas Guizhou Province has to offer.
Flavors: Apricot, Asparagus, Bamboo, Corn Husk, Cream, Grass, Hay, Lettuce, Malt, Mineral, Pear, Plum, Smoke, Spinach, Sugarcane
