I recently got a glass gaiwan which at first seemed something that I would use often but at first try I noticed that it’s hard to handle as its rim doesn’t fold outwards like with my other porcelain ones. Nevertheles, I use it every now and then, especially when I have a beatiful leaf to look at while steeping.
This Long Jing is a beauty, the leaves are more wholesome than any other I’ve had so far and the smell or roasted chestnut is amazing. Since my glass gaiwan is 4 Oz in volume i used a whole 5gr sample bag to prepare it according to Teavivre’s instruction, and after a first rinse just by the quick sniff I was sure that this wasn’t an ordinary Dragon Well.
Quick first steep brought out clear and bright emerald tone, and the first sip revealed medium body with initially rich and tad bitter vegetal note of squash and finished off with toasted chestnut. Lingering aftertaste is very savoury.
Second infusion was fuller and richer in taste, and vegetal note was especially prominent. After a few sips I got a certain ‘umami’ feel to this tea. Most pleasant.
Third infusion was particularly sweet and nutty, it’s amazing how the taste evolves with each steep.
Fourth steep showed that the tea was starting to lose its potency but the nutty component was still delivering like in previous three.
Fifth steep was a nice epilogue of mild nutty notes paired with prominent minty element.
To summarize this tasting note, this is the best Dragon Well I have had so far.
Flavors: Chestnut, Mint, Roasted Nuts, Squash Blossom, Sweet, Vegetal
