Organic Green Eyebrow — Lu Mei

I don’t generally catch myself saying, “Self, you need to buy yourself some green tea.” (It’s usually, “Self, you need to spend more money than you need to on bundles and batches of black tea and caffeinate yourself into a coma.”) But if I told myself that, this would be on the short list. Precise balance of greeny and cereally; a second steep holds up nicely; even better when you’re drinking it from your Favorite Sunny Spot.

Finishing off the sample while taking a break. Tonight is band practice and the singers want me to learn three new songs (only one of which do I have a CD to listen while working it out) nothing like pressure. Last Sunday was the first time ever that while we were leading song worship that I wondered how much longer I could keep playing. I love it but I am on oxygen and this last week was not a good week for breathing. I have always had restrictive lung function but as I get older, well… I have never smoked but if you do please stop. I have the equivalent of severe COPD and it is not fun to have blue fingers just going from one room to the other. Take care of your lungs and your body.

Anyway this tea actually reminds me a lot of sheng puerh. It is a green tea but it has that bright mineral/metallic taste I associate with sheng. I have enjoyed it.

I am trying to brew this tea correctly, but it is really fighting back. My first steep (1 1/2 teaspoons, 190 degree water, 3 minutes) was awful. So so bitter, it totally overpowered any of the actual flavors of the tea. The second steep I dumped out half the leaves, lowered the water temp to 170, and steeped for only 2 minutes. And it tasted… like water. Well, the beginning of the sip was watery, then in the middle there’s some nice actual tea notes, then at the end… bitter! What the heck. It does say this is a “sharp” tea but it should NOT be bitter like that at only 170. Something here is going really wrong, so I am going to hold off on actually rating it until I get a gaiwan and can do some really short steeps.

Purchased on Fab.com during a foodie sale. I had Fab credits so got all five of their teas at a very good price. Basically paid shipping.
I am not in love with this tea although I would not toss it out.
I am going to give it more time, and a few more steeps before I decide on a rating for it.
I may give it a go with less leaf.
This steep however is leaving a lot to be desired.

Loose
Appearance: large, bicolored curled leaf, green tones
Aroma when Dry: nutty, fuzzy, hints of sweetness
After water is first poured: seaweed broth
At end of steep: sweetened seaweed broth
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: clear
Staple? Yes
Preferred time of day: Any
Taste:
At first?: bitter sea vegetal, salt, brothy chewy notes
As it cools?: first notes get a bit grassy, salt notes surface more upon close
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, meaty, with sea salt notes

Second steep (5 min)
Salty, lightly brothy, very minor seaweed notes

I would like to thank Martin from LIttle Red Cup Tea Company for providing me with this sample to review.

This tea is rather hard to describe because the flavors just don’t seem to stand out as strongly when compared to other green teas that I’ve tried recently. If I weren’t trying to write an in depth review I would say that it tasted like green tea and leave it at that, but that isn’t very descriptive now, is it? I think this tea is likely best described by what it is not. This tea is not particularly bold in flavor and leans more towards the subtle end. It is not bitter and lacks any hints of astringency, although it does have a rather drying effect while drinking it. It does not have a strong grassy flavor, nor does it have a strong vegetal flavor. When I drink it it doesn’t remind me of something else. It is just green tea, uncomplicated, easy to drink, and because of that I think it would make the perfect everyday green tea.

Check out the full review on my blog
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2013/11/19/tuesday-tea-lu-mei-eyebrow-green-tea-little-red-cup-tea-comp.html

first post in awhile! anyway, I actually like the bitterness in this tea. I prefer less vegetal green teas, so this one works for me. It doesn’t have a huge amount of flavor, but it is slightly vegetal, bitter, and punchy.

This is my go-to tea at my job – I drink it practically any day that I go to the gym before work and thus don’t have a chance to make a cup of coffee. I’m operating under less-than-stellar tea-making conditions there (just getting hot water from a water cooler), but this turns out consistently well for me – pleasantly slightly bitter, not too tannic, and overall pretty delicious. The fair trade, organic aspect (and the immensely reasonable price) are a welcome bonus.