100th tasting note, and this one is bittersweet for me. On the upside I’ve reached a mile stone writing 100 reviews (and reviewing near 100 different types of tea presumably, excluding any duplicates), but on the downside, I had to say goodbye to my Teavana double-walled glass mug that I absolutely adored. A while ago I somehow managed to crack the inner walls of it while doing dishes, but I was able to keep using it because the crack was not on the exterior of the cup and didn’t seem to be letting any liquid through. However, after taking out of the drying rack today I noticed the crack had spread all the way down the side of the mug, and I could now feel the edges of it. So there goes my favourite mug, which is not even for sale anymore. I am down to my very last one, but I keep that one at work 24/7 since I spend most of my time there anyway. Maybe I can mooch one off of my mom, who has 4 of these. So I guess it’s not that bad, hah.
I am drinking a green tea to help perk me up for an after-work study session, which are usually harder to stay focused than in the early mornings before work (although that’s a whole different kind of difficulty!). I haven’t had this dragonwell in a while, so I felt like refreshing my memory of it. The aroma of the dry leaf and the tea itself is very light and delicate – almost indiscernible. The flavour is much the same. I added a bit more leaf than my instincts told me to, because I remember from my last tasting that the tea is quite weak in flavour, so I was hoping to draw some more distinct notes out of it.
Freshly brewed and quite hot, the tea doesn’t have much of a flavour profile. It’s very light on the tongue and doesn’t leave much of an aftertaste either (something I personally look for in a green tea.) As it cools, the body improves slightly, but still not enough to make a noticeable difference.
This tea is probably supposed to be a lighter type of green tea, but for my own enjoyment, next time I will try to add even more leaf and steeping time and see how that goes.
Comments
I use about 16oz of water (one large mug) and roughly two teaspoons of this tea. I don’t measure it exactly, I only eyeball it most of the time so I can’t say precisely.
Another factor is that these tea leaves are extremely long and I’ve only steeped them once before so it’s still at the trial and error stage for me. For my other teas I learn how I like them done after a few steeps and that’s what I stick to consistently.
The best thing is to get a little scale so that you can measure the tea out in grams. In order to improve the taste of the tea, I recommend brewing it with 200 mL of water when you want a stronger flavour. You’ll need a couple of table spoons of leaf, if memory serves or about 4 grams. Long Jing is a special and very refreshing tea. You can also eat the tea leaves after. If you just want a light refreshing cup, you can use the mug of water.
I forgot to mention, with this tea, I like to brew it in a bowl and then pour it out into a cup. The leaves really take up quite a bit of room. By bowl, I mean like a cereal bowl size. You can also put in the bottom of a cup and keep adding water as you drink from the top.
How much water are you using? How much tea?
I use about 16oz of water (one large mug) and roughly two teaspoons of this tea. I don’t measure it exactly, I only eyeball it most of the time so I can’t say precisely.
Another factor is that these tea leaves are extremely long and I’ve only steeped them once before so it’s still at the trial and error stage for me. For my other teas I learn how I like them done after a few steeps and that’s what I stick to consistently.
The best thing is to get a little scale so that you can measure the tea out in grams. In order to improve the taste of the tea, I recommend brewing it with 200 mL of water when you want a stronger flavour. You’ll need a couple of table spoons of leaf, if memory serves or about 4 grams. Long Jing is a special and very refreshing tea. You can also eat the tea leaves after. If you just want a light refreshing cup, you can use the mug of water.
I forgot to mention, with this tea, I like to brew it in a bowl and then pour it out into a cup. The leaves really take up quite a bit of room. By bowl, I mean like a cereal bowl size. You can also put in the bottom of a cup and keep adding water as you drink from the top.
Ah, good suggestions, thanks! I’ll give that a try for next time.