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Kittenna drank Dragon Well (Long Jing) by Rishi Tea

6106 tasting notes

Inspired by TeaEqualsBliss, I decided it was time to randomly choose some more teas from my box from LiberTeas! So this is the first of three teas… which I’m drinking while sitting through a series of wicked thunderstorms. (While I was on the bus home, there was a simultaneous crack of thunder/flash of lightning so loud that I thought perhaps we had been hit. It wasn’t us, but must have been extremely close. Scary. As I write this, downpour #3 is occurring. #1 had pea-sized hail; hoping that was all we’ll see of that…)

The only dragonwell I really remember having is Verdant’s, and I’m sure I’ve been spoiled by it, so I have to say that by contrast, the leaves of this tea look a little dull and broken. Luckily, as soon as they were in the water, I was getting a delicious fresh green, rock sugary scent that did make me think of the teas from Verdant, so all hope is not lost!

The flavour appears to be much the same as well, although perhaps not quite as strong. I’m pleased about this similarity in flavour, because that means that I Like Dragonwell. And now I want to run upstairs and grab any dragonwell samples I can find and see if they taste similar! I did just get one from Teavivre….

Anyways, to specifically describe the flavour, it is a little bit vegetal, with some rock sugar sweetness poking through. The sort of vegetal here (and in Verdant’s dragonwells) is almost a sort of crisp-cooked veggie, where some of the raw flavour has been cooked away, but it’s still crunchy. Snow peas or asparagus come to mind here, but it’s probably more the former as there isn’t a sulfury flavour or aroma. There’s only the barest hint of astringency here, and I’m only noticing it as I’m finishing the cup, so perhaps it’s because some little leafy pieces snuck through my brewing basket(?)

Mmmm, either way this is a good cup. I prefer Verdant’s version probably because it’s a little greener and sweeter, but this one is likely a good bit cheaper. Doesn’t matter for a while anyhow, because I have quite a bit from various sources to drink up before I even contemplate another purchase!

ETA: Second infusion (I have no idea of the parameters, whoops) was only consumed once cold, so it’s unfair to judge it (it wasn’t great). The leaves seemed pretty aromaless and spent afterward, so that’s as far as I went. I suspect the second infusion, drank in a more timely manner, would have been just fine, so I’d take this tea to two again next time.

Preparation

175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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I have always been a tea fan (primarily herbals and Japanese greens/oolongs) but in the last year or so, tea has become increasingly more appealing as not only a delicious, calming drink, but as a relatively cheap, healthy reward or treat to give myself when I deserve something. I should clarify that, however; the reward is expanding my tea cupboard, not drinking tea – I place no restrictions on myself in terms of drinking anything from my cupboard as that would defeat my many goals!

My DavidsTea addiction was born in late 2011, despite having spent nearly a year intentionally avoiding their local mall location (but apparently it was just avoiding the inevitable!). I seem to have some desire to try every tea they’ve ever had, so much of my stash is from there, although I’ve recently branched out and ordered from numerous other companies.

I like to try and drink all my teas unaltered, as one of the main reasons I’m drinking tea other than for the flavour is to be healthy and increase my water intake without adding too many calories! I’ve found that the trick in this regard is to be very careful about steeping time, as most teas are quite pleasant to drink straight as long as they haven’t been oversteeped. However, I tend to be forgetful (particularly at work) when I don’t set a timer, resulting in a few horrors (The Earl’s Garden is not so pleasant after, say, 7+ minutes of steeping).

I’m currently trying to figure out which types of teas are my favourites. Herbals are no longer at the top; oolongs have thoroughly taken over that spot, with greens a reasonably close second. My preference is for straight versions of both, but I do love a good flavoured oolong (flavoured greens are really hit or miss for me). Herbals I do love iced/cold-brewed, but I drink few routinely (Mulberry Magic from DavidsTea being a notable exception). I’m learning to like straight black teas thanks to the chocolatey, malty, delicious Laoshan Black from Verdant Tea, and malty, caramelly flavoured blacks work for me, but I’m pretty picky about anything with astringency. Lately I’ve found red rooibos to be rather medicinal, which I dislike, but green rooibos and honeybush blends are tolerable. I haven’t explored pu’erh, mate, or guayasa a great deal (although I have a few options in my cupboard).

I’ve decided to institute a rating system so my ratings will be more consistent. Following the smiley/frowny faces Steepster gives us:

100: This tea is amazing and I will go out of my way to keep it in stock.

85-99: My core collection (or a tea that would be, if I was allowing myself to restock everything!) Teas I get cravings for, and drink often.

75-84: Good but not amazing; I might keep these in stock sparingly depending on current preferences.

67-74: Not bad, I’ll happily finish what I have but probably won’t ever buy it again as there’s likely something rated more highly that I prefer.

51-66: Drinkable and maybe has some aspect that I like, but not really worth picking up again.

34-50: Not for me, but I can see why others might like it. I’ll make it through the cup and maybe experiment with the rest to get rid of it.

0-33: It’s a struggle to get through the cup, if I do at all. I will not willingly consume this one again, and will attempt to get rid of the rest of the tea if I have any left.

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