Trying this one today after tasting the taiping houkui yesterday is a good illustration of the variety of experiences you can have from Chinese green teas, lol.
Dry leaf is a medium green with some silver tips, twisted and kind of irregular. The dry scent in the tin is lovely and green, like freshly cut grass. Interestingly, there was basically no aroma when I put the dry tea leaves in the preheated mug, or when I poured over the hot water. I did 2g leaf + 300ml water at 180F, grandpa style.
This was a better tea than the taiping houkui to really get a feel for grandpa style brewing. Initially it was very entertaining to watch the leaves bob up and down and gradually unfurl. There is a phase in the beginning where most of the leaves pick up tiny air bubbles and float to the top, and this is usually the point in the past where I’d loose patience with grandpa style and pull out the strainer because I get so annoyed with trying to take a sip without ending up with a mouthful of leaves. Love this mug and its filter. And yes, eventually the leaves do absorb enough water to fall to the bottom of the glass. The sipping experience was also interesting because it really changed a lot as I drank and the leaves steeped. It kind of went from “hmm, nothing” to “nothing but in a very refreshing way” to “oh hey, there’s some bitterness and astringency kicking in” to “yes, my mouth is awake now”. It’s a pleasant bitterness though, accompanied by a bit of a sweet aftertaste in the back of the throat, very reminiscent of a young sheng, which makes sense since this is a green tea from yunnan after all. Then more hot water to dilute and mellow it out again, then notice as the flavour gradually intensifies. It’s enjoyable, I can definitely see the appeal of brewing these cheaper green teas this way. Uncomplicated and easy to just sip away while doing something else.
