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“I would like to thank Martin from Little Red Cup Tea Company for providing me with this sample to review. This is only my second experience with gunpowder green tea, but I find that I am still not...” Read full tasting note
“Thank you for the samples! I recently discovered that gunpowder greens are some of my favorite greens! The dry leaves here are tiny little pellets rolled up, much smaller than the other gunpowder...” Read full tasting note
“Loose Appearance: gunpowder pearls, deep green Aroma when Dry: slightly smoky, vegital After water is first poured: grassy At end of steep: grassy, vegital Tea liquor: At beginning of steep: At...” Read full tasting note
Gunpowder Green Tea, referred to in Chinese as Zhu Cha (“Pearl Tea”), has been made in China for well over a thousand years and exported for almost that long. Traditionally the tea leaves were rolled into small balls or pellets which helps the unfermented tea leaves withstand storage and transportation without undue breakage which could lead to unwanted oxidation or flavor loss. Our Gunpowder Green Tea is not, in fact, rolled into pellets, but the traditional green gunpowder flavor is retained.
Little Red Cup Gunpowder Green Tea has a robust, slightly smoky flavor, and when steeped produces a lovely yellow colored brew. The aroma is light with a mild smokiness which also evokes thoughts of newly mown meadows. Ours is a green gunpowder, nothing like a partially oxidized oolong gunpowder you may have experienced in the past.
Gunpowder Green Tea is a great get-up-and-go tea, marvelous first thing in the morning as well as into the heart of the day.
We're a family-owned Maine company dedicated to importing traditional high quality Chinese tea. Our teas are organic, Fair Trade, whole leaf, and always delicious. Little Red Cup tea is a revelation, if not a revolution.
I would like to thank Martin from Little Red Cup Tea Company for providing me with this sample to review.
This is only my second experience with gunpowder green tea, but I find that I am still not really a fan. Little Red Cup Tea Company says this is great get-up-and-go tea, marvelous first thing in the morning as well as into the heart of the day. Well, it certainly opened my eyes, but not really in a good way. I found it to be much more astringent that I care for and I tend to be very particular when it comes to astringency. I think this is the first miss for me when it comes to this particular company, but after playing around a little bit I found that if I reduced the amount of leaf it produced a much more satisfying cup. There were still some harsh notes to it, but it was much more pleasant to drink.
Thank you for the samples! I recently discovered that gunpowder greens are some of my favorite greens! The dry leaves here are tiny little pellets rolled up, much smaller than the other gunpowder I recently tried. After letting the water cool a while, I steeped for two and a half minutes. It might have been a half minute too long though, unless I used two many leaves. The taste isn’t bad this way, I just know it isn’t what it should be. I mostly get vegetal, sea-like notes, a bit buttery. I wish it were creamier though. But it seems a bit too astringent, so I’ll work on that! I should have figured that since the leaves were smaller, I shouldn’t have steeped them for 2 1/2 minutes. But it will taste better the next cup!
Loose
Appearance: gunpowder pearls, deep green
Aroma when Dry: slightly smoky, vegital
After water is first poured: grassy
At end of steep: grassy, vegital
Tea liquor:
At beginning of steep:
At end of steep: grassy green
Staple? Type No, but will drink if offered/around might drink brand again
Preferred time of day: any
Taste:
At first?: vegital, grass notes close
As it cools?: harsh grass notes surface
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, crisp grass, vegital notes, then the harsh grass notes follow as tea cools
