This is an interesting Chinese green tea. I haven’t had this style before. Dry leaves are twisted and curled, taking up a lot of volume for their weight (so don’t be afraid to use a lot when you brew). They have a nice range of colors from a pine needle green to frosted and slightly fuzzy tips.
I used 4.5 g in a 100 mL gaiwan. I heated my water to 180 F.
First steep—15 sec.
The liquor was pale yellow with light green tint.
Taste is complex without overwhelming you. A nice middle ground between subtle and intense. One of the first things you notice is the texture, which has a creamy, brothy body that reminds me of something like Tom Yum soup. The flavor has many components, overall is mild, sweet, and comforting. Not grassy at all. I get summer squash sauteed in butter, especially as it cools down a bit. A hint of a bitter note like dark chocolate. A slight minty coolness. Somewhere in there, fruity sweetness.
Second steep—about 30 seconds
Less sweetness and overall less flavor, and this steep brought out some tannins and more of that minty cooling/numbing sensation. I’m wondering if 180 was too hot for this.
Later steeps with cooler water dialed down the astringency, but a lot of the flavor had been squeezed out by that point. Will try cooler, shorter steeps next time to see if I can get more rounds out of it. Still, that first steep was good! And at this price, it’s a bargain!
Flavors: Broth, Butter, Butternut Squash, Chocolate, Fruity, Menthol
