250 Tasting Notes
This one was a free sample from Verdant with my order. Glad to get to try another of Mrs. Li’s Dragonwells. This is the most potent by far. At the opposite end of the spectrum from the #43. Actually a bit too potent for my liking, but certainly not bad.
Lots of chestnut and big mouthfeel. A touch of hot astringency too. No sweetness or bitterness.
Harvest: March 2025
Cultivar: Longjing Qunti
Location: Longjing Village, Zhejiang Province
Elevation: 300 m
Flavors: Chestnut, Vegetal
This is so much better than that junk from iTeaworld. Don’t ever plan to buy from them again. This is the Longjing I’m looking for.
Not as transcendant an experience as the variety I tried last year from Verdant, but still quite nice. Minimal to no sweetness. No bitterness or astringency. Lasts 5-6 steeps.
Harvest: Pre-qingming, 2025
Cultivar: Longjing Qunti
Location: Longjing Village, Zhejiang Province
Elevation: 300 m
Flavors: Chestnut, Roasty
Well this is very different from the other Ding Dong I’ve tried. First of all, the leaves look NOWHERE near as dark as in the photo. In fact, they’re not even brown. And the smell of the dry leaves is pretty fruity. I was convinced this was not roasted until I tried the liquor. Even still, it is a VERY light roast (they call it a medium roast though).
This isn’t bad, but just confusing. The flavor is there and there’s some sweetness and stuff, but it’s just a bit jumbled to me.
Flavors: Cream, Fruity, Honey, Roasty, Sweet
Interesting. I created the page on it, and it was more of medium roast when I first got it. I almost didn’t order it because I thought they did a darker roast based on the picture. That’s a good thing for me in my recent order. I particularly like this one because it’s fruity with a little bit of roast.
The first of the oolongs I tried from my first spring order from WFT this year. So good just like last year! Similar mix of flavors too.
Harvest: Spring, 2025
From my Verdant order that I placed to secure some Dragonwell after a disappointing first effort. I decided to add a sample of this tea, a style I’ve had my eye on for some time but have yet to try. It is definitely a unique flavor!
Unfortunately, there is no “okra” descriptor, as that is the exact smell the dry leaves give off! On the palate, that has evolved into artichoke for sure. The broth is somewhat sweet (medium low) and thick as milk. Definitely a nice green!
Harvest: Spring 2025
Location: Guixi Village, Qimen, Anhui
Elevation: 200 m
Cultivar: Shi Da Ye
Flavors: Artichoke, Milk, Sweet, Vegetal
So ecstatic for my fresh order from WFT! In their infinite kindness, they sent me 30 g of this tea as a free sample, a value of $22! And a great tea it is indeed.
The sweetness is there from the get go and evolves into a more savory flavor as the infusions progress. Definitely get a mung bean flavor throughout. No bitterness or astringency. Nice potency and decent longevity for a green – about 4-5 infusions.
Harvest: Spring 2025
Location: Sanxia
Cultivar: Qing Xingan Zi
Elevation: 400 m
Flavors: Chestnut, Creamy, Mung Bean, Seaweed, Sweet
Another one I forgot to review. I don’t think I had ever even tried this one as I don’t remember it at all. It is very very nice!
The sweetness is very palatable and intense, especially in the earlier infusions. Wish I could get a cake of this as it’s very affordable, but will hold off until the tarriff situation blows over haha.
Flavors: Camphor, Honey, Sweet, Wood
In preparation for the arrival of my 2025 stash of greens and oolongs, I did some spring cleaning of my old tea samples and came across a few samples I had seemingly tried but not rated on Steepster. Whoops!
This one is certainly one I remember and tried awhile ago, and I recall enjoying it at that time as well. There is maybe a touch of sweetness. No bitterness or astringency. Very woodsy flavor in a warm and calming kind of way. Definitely not worth $0.85/g, but a pleasant drinker for sure.
Origin: Baoshan, Lincang and Xishuangbanna in Yunnan, China
Flavors: Orange Zest, Wood
I seriously debated for weeks about whether to purchase this tea, some more of Mrs. Li’s Dragonwell from Verdant, some of the disappointing One River Tea’s stash because they supposedly have good greens, or splurging on the exorbitant offerings from Bitterleaf that garner so much praise online. Safe to say, I settled for iTeaworld’s offering and I cannot be more disappointed. The tea is not repulsive, but has none of the characteristics that I think represent Longjing and is a sad excuse for a green tea overall. I’m surprised to see positive comments about this from other reviewers here. Maybe this year is just a bad batch? I mean, this is far worse than all the other’s Ive tried, including TeaVivre’s.
Anyways, because I can’t go another whole year without some Longjing, I went ahead and made an order from Verdant. Let’s hope that one is much better.
Harvest: March 25, 2025
Origin: Shengzhou, Zhejiang, China | 600-800m Elevation
Next time, consider Seven Cups. Their Longjing is expensive but good, and their First Pluck Bi Luo Chun is amazing in my opinion. They also have many unique greens to try.
I definitely will give them a try! I need to just bite the bullet at some point and get some really good stuff haha
Yes, their Longjing is a bit pricy. However, whenever they get new tea in stock, they offer a 20% discount on it that weekend. The best way to know when the sales are is to subscribe to their mailing list. I think they have a low shipping threshold in the U.S. as well. I’ve also heard good things about Bitterleaf’s Longjing, though I’ve never tried it.
I once received a sample of Teavivre’s finest Longjing. Ashman took a sip and said, “This is really good.” Paused, and then…”It’s expensive, isn’t it?” Ha ha! I told him, yes, it is very expensive, but I ordered some just for him after that.
Another great puerh from YC! I just figured I’d throw this sample in my order as well, and it proved fruitful. I think this tea is really yummy with good staying power and hui gan.
The mouthfeel is decent. Not thin, but also not crazy good. The sweetness has great depth of character and lasting quality. The tea begs to be drank.
The price is quite nice too at $0.15/g. For arbor tea (qiao mu) that tastes this good, that’s a great value.
Tea Producer: Yi Cun Guan Yin (see below)
Location: Pressed in Lo Jiao Village, then stored in Kunming
Yi Cun Guang Yin ( 一寸光阴）
“In 2010, a young couple started off their own new brand of tea, named Yi Cun Guang Yin.
Before they were working like sales people tea brands or tea manufacturers like Da Yi , Lao Tong Zhi or Long Sheng. During those years working this kind of ‘no future job’ they’ve got an opportunity to get in touch with farmers, tea producers etc. Didn’t take long when they started to learn how the tea business works and opened up their own.”
