Huang Shen Mao Feng from Jing Tea Shop
I was very curious about this tea in particular because I’ve very much enjoyed Norbu’s large-leaf green tea from Yunnan also called “Mao Feng”, but I suspected it was quite different from the ‘real thing’, and wanted to see what the original was like.
Medium green, thin twisty leaves
http://www.flickr.com/photos/debunix/5698368316/
5 grams in a 200mL pot with about 150mL of water, 150 degrees
First infusion 30 seconds, warm, sweet, a certain smoky/toasted/grilled vegetable background…..
2nd infusion 20 seconds, pale green liquor, the sweet warm flavor is still there, but the toasted vegetable flavor—not a bitterness, perhaps a touch of astringency in it—is dominant now.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/debunix/5697792635/
Ran out of time, so I added cold water and set the leaves to the refrigerator to try to get one more steeping out of them. But the resulting infusion, a day later, has a strong bitterness underlying a delicious fresh sweet vegetal flavor; I did not finish it. I also forgot to shoot the leaves after infusion, but they were pale minty green, long, thin, rolled almost into little cylinders.
I used a quite moderate tea-to-water ratio, and very cool water with short brewing times, all designed to moderate and minimize any bitterness. This is a tea that sat, sealed from the shop, for some months before I opened it, so it might have lost something re: freshness. Before assuming this just isn’t my cup of green tea, I’ll try it again—it took me nearly a year to ‘get’ Dragon Well, after all.
Preparation
Comments
150 F is probably too low for huang shan mao feng. You can try much higher temperature and a little longer infusions.
So, how does it compare to Norbu’s Yunnan Mao Feng (which is no longer available)? Nice pics on Flickr.
It has a much deeper toastier flavor than the lighter, more floral (camphorous, even) Yunnan Mao Feng. I prefer the Yunnanese version to my first experience with this one. Given my general taste preferences, I doubt higher temperature will please my tastebuds more here, but I’ll probably try a little more dilute and not quite so cool next time.
150 F is probably too low for huang shan mao feng. You can try much higher temperature and a little longer infusions.
So, how does it compare to Norbu’s Yunnan Mao Feng (which is no longer available)? Nice pics on Flickr.
It has a much deeper toastier flavor than the lighter, more floral (camphorous, even) Yunnan Mao Feng. I prefer the Yunnanese version to my first experience with this one. Given my general taste preferences, I doubt higher temperature will please my tastebuds more here, but I’ll probably try a little more dilute and not quite so cool next time.