This is my second “high quality” dragonwell I’ve tasted (first one being Panan from Redblossom) and my first ever Shifeng. As soon as this was announced I immediately preordered 1 ounce just to see what all the fuzz was about.
>Dry Leaf Appearance/Aroma
The leaf is somewhat coarse, with a pale golden green color and a very faint grassy, nutty, hay-like aroma. Leaves are mostly medium sized, with several broken pieces and leaf bits.
>Brewing Method
I’ve experimented with this tea with Verdant’s gong-fu style and Redblossom’s recommended shifeng brewing guidelines. Both yielded somewhat different results. Gongfu was done following Verdant’s guidelines of 175F water, 4 grams of leaf, with 3 second steep times. Redblossom’s I used 180F water, 2 grams of leaf, with 1 min steep time.
>Liquid Appearance
Clear pale yellow-green.
>Taste/Aroma
Following Verdant’s gongfu style, this tea was very light, slightly creamy, grassy, and with a very noticeable cashew-nutty taste. I was able to brew the tea several times in a row with similar results, with it slowly losing its flavor.
Following the more “default” way to brew green tea, using Redblossom’s guidelines, I was able to get a super thick and creamy first cup with crisp grassy notes, but surprisingly lacking the clear cashew hint. Subsequent re-infusions were noticeably weaker in taste and texture (losing its thick creaminess at the second infusion).
>Wet Leaf Appearance
After several infusions, the coarse leaves become very tender and reveal their beautiful shape of three young top leaves.
>Overall
I really liked this tea. It’s also very interesting to see the differences between good dragonwells. I still prefer the panan version, but this one, with its clear cashew nut taste and thick creamy texture makes it a delicious green tea. I also found verdant’s gonfu way to be my preferred method to brew this tea, Redblossom’s way gave me a very one dimensional tea compared to the gongfu style, but maybe this method will work better with their version of shifeng? we’ll have to find out once I try that one in the future.
Preparation
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Have you gotten a chance to try this one “Dragonwell Style”? I believe that’s what David has up in the “How to Brew” for Mrs. Li’s Shi Feng. If you haven’t yet, I recommend it, if only as another comparative brewing method. It’s almost a combination of the gong-fu and Red Blossom methods.. leaves floating in a glass (longer steeping), yet you sip on it continuously (getting snapshots as it goes like gongfu).
I have not… It was in my plans to eventually try it, but it seems it has gotten discontinued. Too much green tea in my cupboard for many months kept me from trying this :(
Ah yes- it has definitely sold out. In any event, it’s still an interesting method to try on your other dragonwell’s when you get the chance.
Have you gotten a chance to try this one “Dragonwell Style”? I believe that’s what David has up in the “How to Brew” for Mrs. Li’s Shi Feng. If you haven’t yet, I recommend it, if only as another comparative brewing method. It’s almost a combination of the gong-fu and Red Blossom methods.. leaves floating in a glass (longer steeping), yet you sip on it continuously (getting snapshots as it goes like gongfu).
I have not… It was in my plans to eventually try it, but it seems it has gotten discontinued. Too much green tea in my cupboard for many months kept me from trying this :(
Ah yes- it has definitely sold out. In any event, it’s still an interesting method to try on your other dragonwell’s when you get the chance.